Pope Francis on May 22, 2019, expressed his closeness to Catholics in China, noting the upcoming feast on May 24 of the Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians.
«Next Friday, May 24, we will celebrate the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary ‘Help of Christians,’ particularly venerated in China at the Shrine of ‘Our Lady of Sheshan,’ near Shanghai, the Holy Father said during his General Audience in St. Peter’s Square.
«This happy occasion enables me to express my special closeness and affection to all Catholics in China who, amid daily toils and trials, continue to believe, to hope and to love,» Francis continued. «Dear faithful in China, may our Mother in Heaven help you all to be witnesses of charity and fraternity, keeping yourselves always united in the communion of the universal Church. I pray for you and I bless you.»
An image of Our Lady, Help of Christians, is found in the Shrine dedicated toOur Lady of Sheshan in Shanghai and is an object of special devotion to the faithful in China. In May of 2007, in his Letter to Chinese Catholics, Benedict XVI asked that the feast of Mary, Help of Christians – 24 May – be celebrated as a World Day of Prayer for the Church in China. The following prayer, published in 2008, was composed by Pope Benedict for the occasion:
Prayer of His Holiness Benedict XVI to Our Lady of Sheshan
Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother,
venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title «Help of Christians»,
the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection.
We come before you today to implore your protection.
Look upon the People of God and, with a mother’s care, guide them
along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be
a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.
When you obediently said «yes» in the house of Nazareth,
you allowed God’s eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb
and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.
You willingly and generously cooperated in that work,
allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul,
until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary,
standing beside your Son, who died that we might live.
From that moment, you became, in a new way,
the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith
and choose to follow in his footsteps by taking up his Cross.
Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed
with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.
Grant that your children may discern at all times,
even those that are darkest, the signs of God’s loving presence.
Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China,
who, amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love.
May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world,
and of the world to Jesus.
In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high,
offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.
Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love,
ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.
Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!
