St. Joseph was officially named the patron saint of China in 1924 during the first council of Chinese ecclesial affairs. The Catholic Faith has been present in China since the 1600s, long before the establishment of Communism.
First and foremost, it is essential to understand the CCP’s ultimate objective regarding the Catholic Church. According to the Catholic News Association, that end goal is:
“…to isolate Chinese Catholics from Rome and to create an independent “patriotic” Church. To do this they adopted a multi-pillar strategy that consisted of levying high taxes (and ultimately expropriating) Church property, implementing education reform — the “thought-reform” campaign — to align school curriculum with Marxian tenets, and developing a surveillance apparatus to monitor the movement of the clergy (especially foreign missionaries). These measures were coupled with an intense propaganda campaign to discredit the foreign missionaries and to delegitimize the Holy Father. The party gave an ultimatum: to either register with the government and denounce the pope or face social ostracism and imprisonment.
“To oversee the process of nationalizing religion, the party created the Religious Affairs Bureau, today called the National Religious Affairs Administration, which was predicated upon the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (self-government, self-support, and self-propagation). While Protestant churches were easier to nationalize, due in part to their more decentralized structure, the Catholic Church was particularly vulnerable not only due to the complex history of the missions but also because of the Church’s inherent universality, embodied in the figure of the Roman pontiff.”
Recommended prayer:
Reflecting on Joseph’s example as a holy father
St. Joseph, adoptive holy father of the infant Jesus and spouse of the Blessed Virgin, we implore your intercession before the throne of grace for the Catholic Church in China.
In your humility, you accepted the call to protect and defend the Child Jesus and His Mother, Mary. The Chinese people have always been close to you in their suffering.
Now, in this time of great darkness and deception, we pray also for wisdom and courage for Pope Leo XIV, who must now in word and deed repent of the deep betrayal of long-suffering underground Catholic faithful that was accomplished through his predecessor’s secret agreement with Chinese atheists. Let not the Catholic faith in China become distorted and destroyed. Let not an earthly, atheistic, authoritarian dictator claim the worship due to Christ alone and usurp the power and authority of our Holy Father, the Roman Pontiff.
St. Joseph, we humbly ask you to intercede in prayer with us in defense of the Catholic faith in China. We pray that Jesus, through His Vicar on earth, may lead Chinese Catholics to an authentic expression of our faith and true union with our Holy Father in Rome, for the glory of God.
Amen.
All Catholics are also encouraged to pray the prayer Pope Benedict XVI wrote in honor of Our Lady of Sheshan, Help of Christians.
Here are some recommended prayer points to consider when pondering and praying on the persecution of Chinese Catholic Christians and the strategic adulteration of the faith by the CCP:
Friday, May 16
For Strength and Endurance:
- Pray that Chinese Catholic Christians will find their ultimate source of strength and hope in Jesus Christ, who endured suffering for their salvation.
- Pray for resilience and courage in the face of persecution, surveillance, harassment, and severe restrictions on the practice of their faith.
- Ask God to grant them the grace to forgive their persecutors and to love their neighbors, even those who may seek to harm them.
Saturday, May 17
For Freedom and Justice:
- Pray for an end to the suppression of religious freedom in China, that all people may worship and practice their beliefs without fear or coercion.
- Pray for the release of imprisoned Christians and for fair treatment within the legal system for those facing unjust charges.
- Pray for Catholics in China that they may remain faithful to the doctrines of their faith and not lose faith while the Chinese Communist Party mandates clergy to preach the doctrines of atheistic Communism instead of the Gospel.
Sunday, May 18
For Spiritual Growth and Witness:
- Pray that even amidst suffering, the faith of Chinese Christians will deepen and grow, becoming a beacon of hope for others.
- Pray for the continued spread of the Gospel in China, that more people may come to know the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
- Pray for Chinese Christians to be bold and courageous in sharing their faith, even when it is risky, and that their lives may be a testament to the transformative power of the Gospel.
Monday, May 19
For Families and Children:
- Pray for an end to Chinese religious laws and regulations that ban children under 18 from taking part in religious activities of any kind.
- Pray for Chinese Christian parents in China to be able to successfully transmit their faith to their children, even as they face being turned in by their own children for their faithfulness.
- Pray that persecution under Communism leads to a revival of faith instead of extinction.
Tuesday, May 20
For the Faithful Underground Church:
- Pray for the repose of the soul of Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei, who suffered decades of torture and detainment rather than renounce the “foreign” influence of the Pope.
- Pray for Catholic faithful who are caught between living their faith authentically and compromising with the government.
- Pray for Catholics in China to be resilient and joyful in the midst of suffering for the Gospel of Christ.
- Pray for Chinese Catholics to remain in communion with the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, the Vicar of Christ on earth and the head of the universal Catholic Church.
Wednesday, May 21
For Missing and Detained Clergy:
- Pray for the 10 Catholic bishops who are missing or detained in China.
- Pray for the beatification of Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei.
- Pray that Pope Leo XIV will rescind the secret Vatican deal with Chinese Communists and free these shepherds and servants to be true witnesses to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Thursday, May 22
For Pope Leo XIV:
- Pray for Pope Leo XIV’s courage and discernment in all his dealings with representatives of the Chinese Communist Party.
- Pray Pope Leo XIV will reaffirm the prophetic voice of the long-suffering Underground Catholic Church in China, that their Christ-like witness for the Gospel is not in vain.
- Pray for Pope Leo XIV to renounce and repeal the Vatican’s secret deal with Chinese Communists.
Friday, May 23
For the Catholic Church in China:
- Pray for unity and mutual support among believers, that they may encourage and strengthen one another in their faith.
- Pray for the protection and guidance of church leaders and pastors, who are legally bound by the CCP to promulgate the ideology of Communism and idolize its leader, Xi Jinping.
- Pray for the development of bold and faithful local churches, equipped to nurture and disciple believers in China.
- Pray that Chinese authorities, who persecute Christians and people of other faiths, might come to recognize the error of their ways and resolve to end the persecution of all faiths and beliefs in China.
Saturday, May 24
Remembering Jesus’ Example:
- Recall Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.
- Reflect on the suffering of Jesus as a model for Christians, demonstrating how enduring trials with faith and grace can be a powerful witness.
- Ask for the Holy Spirit to empower Chinese Christians so that they may bear a sacrificial witness to the love and hope found in Jesus Christ, even amid difficult circumstances.
In meditating on the suffering of Jesus and the long-suffering faith of Chinese Catholics, we can unite in solidarity with them as we seek God’s provision of strength, wisdom, and protection for believers in China. Ultimately, we believe prayer will lead to the transformation of hearts and circumstances in that country.
“To separate from the sole representative of Jesus Christ on earth, the Roman Pontiff, is to make myself losing the most basic Catholic faith, becoming a heretic without the pope … This is a serious issue in the history of the holy Catholic Church for which millions of people have fought by shedding their blood and sacrificing their lives.”
— Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei
“When the Faith is compromised by someone in authority in the Church, the true Christian is the one who makes a stand for the truth rather than the one who does nothing under the specious pretext of submission to lawful authority.”
— Dom Guéranger
The Abuse of Ecclesiastical Power