Pope Leo XIV prayed today for the unification of Catholics in China, on a day that the Catholic Church marks as a holiday for believers in China.
The Pope prayed that Catholics in China and elsewhere "may be strong and joyful witnesses of the Gospel, even in the midst of temptations, always promoting peace and harmony."
The holiday was introduced by Pope Benedict XVI as part of an effort to unite some 12 million Chinese Catholics, divided between the official state-controlled church that does not recognize papal authority, and a church that has remained loyal to the Vatican despite decades of persecution.
Pope Francis continued his efforts to unite Chinese Catholics with a controversial 2018 agreement on bishop nominations. Details of the agreement were never made public, but it gives the state-controlled church the right to independently select bishops, although Francis insisted he retained veto power over the final selection.
The deal was criticized by conservative Catholics, who saw it as a concession to Beijing's demands. The Vatican claimed it was the best agreement that could be reached, and it was periodically renewed.
Pope Leo will have to decide whether to proceed with the renewal of the agreement. In the meantime, Beijing has allegedly been violating the agreement with some unilateral appointments that took place without the Pope's consent.
The Pope told the Archbishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Stephen Cho, that he had "visited China several times and got to know Chinese culture and reality," according to the missionary news agency Fides.
Chou added that he expects Leo to follow Francis's policy regarding the church in China. He said he gave Leo a small statue of Our Lady of Sheshan, a statue of the Virgin Mary that is particularly revered by the Chinese. Chou, a Jesuit, said he had asked the pope "not to forget the church in China and the Chinese people."
The Vatican has been working for years to try to improve relations with China, which were officially severed more than seven decades ago when the communists came to power.
Relations have long been at a standstill due to China's insistence on its exclusive right to appoint bishops as a matter of national sovereignty, while the Vatican has insisted on the pope's exclusive right to appoint them.
Bonus video:
