China’s Catholics show fervour in Shanghai celebration

Thousands of Chinese Catholics gathered in Shanghai on Friday for a celebration to honour the Virgin Mary, in a show of religious fervour permitted by the Communist-ruled state.

China exercises strict control over religion, requiring followers to worship in state-approved churches.

In an annual tradition dating back more than a hundred years, pilgrims walked up Sheshan – or She Mountain – the site of two churches and the seminary for Shanghai’s Catholic Diocese in the city’s southwest.

One man carried a wooden cross grasped in both hands in front of him while others knelt on the ground, crossing themselves and chanting prayers, before a statue of the Virgin Mary.

“Today Catholics throughout the world are praying for the Church of China,” a nun said.

“We gathered here to honour this important date, and pray for Mary, for God, for our faith, for the Chinese people and eternal love,” she said.