Marian parish returns from China

Marian devotion in China is not just a question of images and sanctuaries: it is a fabric of concrete practices that have shaped the identity of Chinese Catholics over the centuries. Many of these practices were born or matured under persecution, which gives them a character of deep spiritual authenticity. The rosary, in particular, became the sacramental no sacramental of the clandestine Chinese Church: he did not require a priest or church, he could pray in silence, and his accounts could be easily hidden.

What follows is a map of China's most significant Marian parish devotions: the way Chinese Catholics have lived, sung, processed and prayed their love of the Mother of God, from the plains of Hebei to the ports of Shanghai, from the underground communities of the interior to the open parishes of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

May in the clandestine parishes of Hebei

Hebei is the province with the highest concentration of Catholics in China: there are entire dioceses where practically every people have their Christian community with centuries of history. And it is also the province where the tension between the Church faithful to Rome and the Chinese State has been most acute. In this context, the month of May - the month of Mary par excellence - acquired a particular dimension of spiritual resistance.

In the parishes of the "underground" or "underground" Church of Hebei - those who refused to associate with the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (APCC) controlled by the Communist Party - the month of May is celebrated in ways that combine the universal tradition of the Church with the cunning of those who have learned to live under surveillance. The most specific practices include:

• The "rattling rosaries": the community meets before dawn, often in private houses or in granaries, to pray the rosary in a very low voice. The hours before 5 a.m. prevent the controls of local authorities, which rarely patrol at those hours.
• The crowns of flowers to Mary: in the villages of Hebei, it is tradition that on the first day of May a crown of wild flowers - which varies according to the season - is prepared to adorn the image of the Virgin in the domestic oratory. This apparently innocent practice is a public way of declaring the Marian faith of the family.
• The "altars of May"In many homes of Hebei, a corner of the kitchen or the master bedroom houses throughout the month of May an image of the Virgin surrounded by candles and flowers. The domestic altar is the center of family spiritual life and the place where the rosary is prayed in the family every night.
• The night pilgrimages to Donglu:: Although the authorities have banned large concentrations in the Donglu shrine, the faithful of the nearby communities continue to come, alone or in small groups, at night. He walks in silence, praying the rosary mentally, until he reaches the foot of the hill where the sanctuary was.

The persecution was not able to extinguish Hebei's Marian devotion, but it did transform it: it forced it to be more personal, more familiar, more intimate. And paradoxically, that intimacy strengthened the link between the faithful and the Virgin in a way that great public manifestations do not always achieve.

The rosary sung in mandarin: the melodies of Chinese communities

The rosary in China is not always silent. From the early Jesuit missions of the 17th century, the missionaries learned that the Chinese people have a relationship with the song that is a constituent of their culture: to sing is to think aloud, to strengthen memory, to create community. That is why, very soon, the Marian prayers in China took singing forms.

The Chinese term for the rosary is (méi gu je jeg), literally "sutra de la rosa," which combines the Buddhist term for the sacred scriptures (jīng) with the image of the rose as Mary's flower. This name reveals how the rosary was presented to the Chinese: not as something completely alien to their spiritual tradition, but as a "prayer writing" of the same category as the Buddhist texts of meditation.

The specific melodies of the rosary sung in mandarin vary according to the regions and the Community traditions:

• The melody of Hebei: of a modal character, with a pentatonic structure that makes it immediately recognizable as Chinese music. The avemarias are sung in a style close to the traditional Chinese liturgical song, with tonal inflexions that follow the four tones of the mandarin. It is the most widespread melody in the northern communities.
• The tune of Shanghai: of more western influence by the history of the city, combines a harmonic structure closer to the Gregorian song adapted with the prosody of the mandarin. It is more solemn and less popular than the melody of Hebei.
• The rosary in Cantonese (Hong Kong): Hong Kong has its own rosary tradition sung in Cantonese, with a different melody of mandarin due to the tonal differences of both languages. The parishes of Hong Kong keep both traditions alive: the rosary in Cantonese and the rosary in Mandarin, to serve the different generations of faithful.
• The rosary in hakka (Taiwan and Fujian): the hakka community, which has a significant presence in Taiwan and in southern China, retains a rosary version in the hakka language with its own melodies, documented even in written format to preserve the correct pronunciation.

The practice of singing rosary has a special role in Chinese tradition: group singing is a form of community prayer that does not require the presence of a priest, which made it especially valuable in periods of clergy shortage. The communities that had been without access to the sacraments for years kept their faith alive precisely through the rosary sung in common, in which the voice of all became a single voice addressed to the Virgin.

The ninth of Sheshan: the 24 of each month and the parallel with Fatima

The devotion to Our Lady of Sheshan has a monthly rhythm that many faithful compare with the parallel of the apparitions of Fatima: just as the Virgin appeared in Fatima the 13 of each month for six consecutive months (1917), the Sheshan community developed the custom of meeting the 24 of each month - date of the feast of Mary Auxiliary - for a special celebration in honor of the Patron of the sanctuary.

The ninth month of Sheshan has the following characteristics:

• The process rise: the pilgrims walk up Sheshan hill and pray the stations of the Via Cruces, which are marked along the way. The rise, which lasts between 30 and 60 minutes according to the rhythm, becomes a meditative pilgrimage.
• The Mass in the Basilica: at the top of the hill, at the basilica consecrated to Our Lady Helper, the Eucharist is celebrated. In the months of May, the masses are multiple throughout the day to serve the thousands of pilgrims.
• The collective rosary: after the Mass, or at times of popular devotion, the faithful pray the rosary together in front of the image of the Virgin, with the urban Shanghai visible in the distance from the top of the hill.
• The liturgy of May 24: the date of 24 May, established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 as World Day of Prayer for the Church in China, has acquired a universal dimension: on that day, Catholics from all over the world pray for the Chinese Church and for religious freedom in that country.

The ninth Sheshan is also notable for the fact that it is celebrated in both Chinese Churches: in both the "official" Church associated with the Patriotic Association and the "underground" Church faithful to Rome. The Sheshan shrine has been, in this sense, a place of spiritual encounter above the institutional divisions, which gives it a symbolic capacity for reconciliation within the Chinese Church.

The Rosary cofradies in Shanghai, Beijing and Canton

Las of the Most Holy Rosary are associations of lay people dedicated to praying the rosary daily and to promoting Marian devotion in their communities. In China, the first confradies of the Rosary were established by the Dominicans in Fujian from 1632, but their influence quickly extended to the large urban centres: Shanghai, Beijing and Canton.

The Shanghai Brotherhood

The Dominican presence in Shanghai dates back to the 17th century, and with it came the organization of the first fellowship of the Rosary in the city. The members undertook to pray the full rosary (the fifteen mysteries) at least once a week, to participate in the monthly mass of the brotherhood and to carry the scapular of the Rosary. The Shanghai cofradies reached their greatest splendor during the second half of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, when the city was a cosmopolitan center with a large and active Catholic community. The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) formally dissolved all the cofradies, but devotional practices continued in the clandestine.

The Beijing Brotherhood

The history of Marian devotion in Beijing is closely linked to the Jesuit presence since the 16th century. The Jesuits of Beijing introduced the rosary as a central Marian practice and organized the first lay associations around this prayer. The Beitang chapel (northern cathedral), founded in 1703 and rebuilt several times, was the heart of the Marian life of the Catholics of Beijing for centuries. The members of the Peking cofradies had the habit of meeting on the first Saturday of the month for an inner procession in the church and the joint prayer of the rosary, a practice that was named "procession of the Rosary."

The Chiradia of Canton (Guangzhou)

Canton was the first Chinese port open to European trade and the first entry point of the missionaries. The long-standing Catholic community of Canton developed its own tradition of Marian co-fradies with influences from the Portuguese communities of Macao and from the Dominican missionaries from Manila. The co-fradies of Canton had a particularly festive character: the processions of the month of May, with images of the Virgin in walks and lit candles, were celebrations that mixed the liturgical solemnity with the exuberance of the culture of southern China.

Las procesiones marianas en Chengdu y Xi’an

Marian processions are a form of devotion that in China has always had an added meaning: in a culture where procession is an act of public presence of the community, taking an image of the Virgin into the street is a declaration of identity that goes beyond the purely religious. In periods of relative religious freedom, processions were mass celebrations; in periods of persecution, they were made at night or within the ecclesial sites.

Chengdu: capital of the Catholicism of Sichuan

The Catholic community of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, has a history of almost four centuries linked to the Paris Etrangères Missions. The diocese of Chengdu has organized, since the religious opening of the 1980s, Marian processions during the month of May that follow the model of the European processions: image of the Virgin on the shoulders of the faithful, Marian songs in mandarin, lit candles, taken through the streets of the historic district where the cathedral is. These processions have become a sign of the vitality of the Catholic community in a city that is now one of China's most dynamic economic centers.

Xi’an: entre el antiguo santuario y la nueva comunidad

Xi’an, la antigua capital imperial de China en Shaanxi, tiene una comunidad católica que remonta sus orígenes a las misiones jesuitas del siglo XVII. El santuario de Zhou Zhi, a 80 km de la ciudad, es el lugar de peregrinación mariana más antiguo de China (fundado en 1717), y los fieles de Xi’an y su región acuden a él en mayo en una procesión-peregrinación que mezcla los elementos de la procesión urbana con los de la peregrinación de montaña. En la ciudad misma, la iglesia del Inmaculado Corazón de María organiza una procesión mensual del Rosario que es uno de los momentos más sentidos de la vida parroquial.

The devotion to the Virgin of Revelation in the communities of Macau

Macau, the Portuguese enclave that was the first European territory in China and the last to leave Portuguese sovereignty (1999), has a unique Marian history that reflects its door position between two worlds. The advocation of Our Lady of the Fatima It has a very special presence in Macao, due to the historical connection with Portugal: the Basilica of Grace, opened in 1638, has for centuries hosted an image of the Virgin that the faithful venerate as a protector of the city.

However, the most specifically Macaense invocation is that of Our Lady of the Guidewhose chapel, built in 1622 on the top of the highest hill of the city, is the oldest Christian building in the Far East in continuous operation. Originally built to guide the sailors entering the port, the image of the Virgin of the Guide was adopted by the fishermen and sailors of Macau as their special patron, in a confluence of the tradition of Stella Maris European with the devotion of the Chinese fishermen of the region.

The communities of Macau celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Guide with a night procession of torches from the center of the city to the chapel of the hill, which is one of the most beautiful devotional shows in the city. The procession mixes the Lusian element - the Portuguese cantics - with the Chinese element - the faithful who pray in Cantonese and Mandarin -, creating a popular liturgy that is a living summary of the history of Macau.

The night rosary as a clandestine practice during persecution

The practice of the night rosary - prayed after midnight, in maximum silence, sometimes in complete darkness not to draw attention - is perhaps the purest expression of the clandestine Marian devotion of the Chinese Church. This practice, documented by researchers and journalists who have had access to the underground communities of Hebei and Shanghai, has its roots in the long history of religious persecution in China.

During Cultural Revolution (1966- 1976)all acts of veneration were prohibited. The churches were closed or destroyed. The priests were imprisoned, sent to work camps or executed. In this context, the night rosary became the most common way to keep the spiritual life of the community alive:

• The minimum group: the night rosary was usually prayed in groups of two to six people, small enough not to raise suspicion and to meet in a single room in a particular house.
• The replacement accounts:: Since the possession of a rosary was dangerous, the faithful learned to pray counting on the knuckles of the fingers, or with rice grains lined in the palm of the hand, or with small pebbles collected on the way.
• Total silence: Unlike the rosary sung of the times of freedom, the nocturnal rosary of the clandestine was praying in a whisper barely audible or completely silent, with the lips moving without sound.
• The hidden image: the visual point of reference of the night rosary was an image of the Virgin who could be sewn in the lining of a garment, hidden inside a book, or stored between the pages of a Party newspaper. Some faithful memorized an image of the Virgin so that she could see her inside during the prayer.

The night rosary was not just a survival strategy: it was also a school of contemplative prayer. By praying in silence and darkness, the Chinese faithful developed a relationship with the Virgin who was deeply inner, mystical, far from all formalism. The persecution, unintentionally, created contemplative.

Today, this practice has survived in some communities as a voluntary devotional tradition: groups of faithful who meet occasionally in the early morning to pray the rosary in memory of those who prayed to him in persecution, as an act of memory and communion with those who suffered by faith.

Lady of the Rosary, who you accompanied your Chinese children in the darkness of persecution, be also our company in the nights of the spirit, and always lead us to the light of your Son. Amen.