Visiting Scottish Cardinal Touches Hearts, Brings Pope's Blessing
Nov 09, 2007
Catholics in Xi'an diocese, central China, say the visit of Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien has encouraged them greatly.
XI'AN, China (UCAN, October 24, 2007) -- Catholics in Xi'an diocese, central China, say the visit of Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien has encouraged them greatly.
The cardinal, who heads Saint Andrews and Edinburgh archdiocese in Scotland, arrived in Xi'an on Oct. 19 to start a 12-day China visit. Xi'an, 900 kilometers southwest of Beijing, is the capital of Shaanxi province. Since 1985, it has been a sister city of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, part of the United Kingdom.
Cardinal O'Brien visited China at the invitation of the country's State Administration for Religious Affairs. He was scheduled to travel to Beijing on Oct. 23, Shanghai on Oct. 26 and Hong Kong on Oct. 29 before returning home Nov. 1.
Accompanying him are Monsignor David Gemmell, administrator of St. Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, and Columban Father Eamonn O'Brien, director of Cultural Exchange with China, a Catholic-run organization based in London.
His visit comes three weeks after Vietnamese Cardinal Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, visited China Sept. 24-28.
On Oct. 20, the Scottish delegation visited Bishops Anthony Dang Mingyan of Xi'an and Louis Yu Runchen of Hanzhong, whose diocese also is in Shaanxi, at St. Francis Cathedral (South Church) here. Bishop Dang told UCA News he spoke on the Church situation in Shaanxi while Cardinal O'Brien spoke about the Church in Scotland.
All the Church leaders then visited Shaanxi Seminary, in a suburb of Xi'an, where about 110 seminarians and 97 nuns welcomed them warmly at the main gate.
Sister Holy Trinity Elizabeth He Jingru, head of the training program for nuns at the seminary, told UCA News on Oct. 22 that "opportunities for a foreign cardinal to visit the mainland are rare."
She said the guests joined in singing the Pater Noster (Our Father) and Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) in the seminary chapel, to the delight of their hosts.
Cardinal O'Brien, 69, also shared his vocation story. "When he was young, he was rejected twice by the seminary, but God finally answered him after he prayed hard," said the nun from Xi'an diocese's Sacred Heart of Jesus congregation.
"His talk gave us much encouragement, hope and joy," she shared, noting that the cardinal also sang a Scottish folk song.
Father John Baptist Yang Xiaoting, the seminary's deputy rector, told UCA News "all of us were deeply heartened" by the cardinal's humility and sharing. The priest is from Zhouzhi diocese, also in Shaanxi.
The cardinal also imparted Pope Benedict XVI's apostolic blessings to the nuns, seminarians and seminary staff.
On Oct. 21, Mission Sunday, Cardinal O'Brien attended part of a Mass at the cathedral. He entered the building after the homily and sat among the faithful. After Holy Communion, he went up to the altar and spoke in English. An interpreter translated his words into Chinese.
Father Stephen Chen Ruixue of Xi'an diocese, a member of the reception team, told UCA News the cardinal urged unity in faith within the universal Church, and encouraged Chinese Catholics to continue their mission in society and their contributions to the country.
The Scottish prelate also spoke about Pope John Paul II's concern for mainland Chinese Catholics and imparted Pope Benedict's blessing on the diocese, the priest said. The prelate added his hope that under Bishop Dang's leadership, evangelization would prosper.
After the Mass, more than 1,000 people came to kiss the cardinal's ring. He then visited a Church-run clinic and blessed the patients there, Father Chen recounted.
Before departing for Beijing, the delegation visited St. Peter's Church (North Church), a Church-run day-care center for mentally challenged children, and a Buddhist temple, for interreligious dialogue.
Bishop Dang, 40, told UCA News, "The cardinal's visit is not only for the good of the two Churches in Xi'an and Edinburgh, but also fosters growth in relations between the two cities and countries."
Father Chen pointed out that very few cardinals have visited Xi'an, and Cardinal O'Brien is the first since Bishop Anthony Li Du'an of Xi'an died in May 2005. Cardinal O'Brien lauded Bishop Li for his great influence on the China Church. "And after his death, we must give support to his young successor," the priest recalled the visiting prelate saying.
Church people outside China spread a rumor that Bishop Li was one of two cardinals created secretly, in pectore (in the heart), by Pope John Paul II in 1998 and 2003, but this was never substantiated.
Father O'Brien told UCA News on Oct. 23 that the cardinal will not speak with media during his trip but will issue a press statement after returning home.
Visiting Scottish Cardinal Touches Hearts, Brings Pope's Blessing