By UCA News reporter
SHANGHAI – Catholics in the Shanghai diocese reclaimed two 19th-century churches when their bishop re-consecrated and dedicated them to St Joseph, whose feast the Catholic Church observes on Mar 19.
Bishop Joseph Shen Bin of Shanghai re-consecrated the St Joseph Church in Tianma, in Songjiang district, on Mar 16, in the presence of some 1,000 Catholics, reported Vatican agency Fides.
The Tianma church was built in 1850. At the time, Canossian nuns managed a hospital attached to the Church.
It was opened for public worship in December 1989. Currently, a public hospital stands on the site of the former hospital.
“Since the visible temple has been rebuilt, we must now also make the interior temple of our heart more spiritually alive,” the prelate told the gathering attending the ceremony on the second Sunday of Lent.
Shen Bin also administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to over two hundred adults.
The bishops wished the rededicated Church to become “a welcoming house of faith for all so that we can walk together towards holiness under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”
On Mar 15, the bishop, along with 300 Catholics, re-consecrated another church dedicated to St. Joseph in Beitaowan, Baoshan district.
He also administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 17 parishioners.
The Church in Baoshan was built in 1650 during the Qing dynasty and rebuilt around 1875. The local Catholics also built a primary school attached to this church in 1949.
In 1989, it was restored and reopened for worship, becoming the first Catholic Church to be reopened for worship in the Baoshan district.
These churches were among several closed during the decades of religious suppression in China.
St Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ, is a popular saint among Chinese Catholics, who have named several people, parishes, and Church institutions after him. – UCA News
