St. John XXIII College Preparatory welcomed Chinese priest, Fr. Yifu Lyu, and Mr. Luke Liu, a teacher at St. Theresa Catholic School and a board member of the Spiritan China Education Fund for Advanced Formation, for a presentation on March 6 about the current status of the Catholic Church in China. Students, faculty, and staff were honored to be able to learn about this most critical time in Vatican-Chinese relations, as China represents the last and greatest frontier of evangelization on the planet.

Mr. Liu spoke about the history of the Catholic Church in China and gave background information concerning the rights of Catholics in places like China to express their religious freedom.  He mentioned the struggle that many Catholics experience in his country and the issues surrounding the divided opinions amongst the faithful themselves about how to move forward in their Catholic identity. Mr. Liu also reminded our students that they, having grown up in a nation that allows the opportunity to express personal opinions with respect to religion, must realize the difficulties Catholics in China face.

Fr. Yifu, who was ordained on October 22, 2010 and is a sixth-generation Catholic (as is Mr. Liu), acknowledged that while there is still progress to be made, Chinese Catholics have hope and they have faith.  He noted, “All of us—not just the Chinese—struggle with sin. Our faith, our relationship with God—hold on to it!  It will bring you through!”  He agreed that suffering and struggle exist, but that one should look for hope within the struggles.  Fr. Yifu then went on to describe many of the good things happening in his diocese in China even though Catholics within China are in the minority.  He showed photos of his Cathedral in Shandong province which was rebuilt after it was destroyed in 1997.  He mentioned the pilgrimage that occurs on Mother’s Day, and provided photos of the pilgrimage along with photos of First Communicants and of other activities in China which strengthen Catholic faith.  Fr. Yifu also reminded those in attendance that one needs to find “our joy, our happiness in our lives” and that, in order for it to occur, one needs to “look inside to find our heavenly states.”

Both speakers asked those present to pray for the Church in China and to Our Lady of Sheshan, as well as for the 120 Martyr Saints of China.

Through the Spiritan China Education Fund for Advanced Formation, Fr. Yifu is currently pursuing his Master of Arts in Faith and Culture at the University of St. Thomas.  The Fund hopes to bring more Chinese priests and religious to Houston for advanced study so they can return to better minister to their parishioners in China.  The group will be having a dinner on April 19 which will honor His Eminence Daniel Cardinal DiNardo and hopes to raise funds for tuition for Chinese priests. For more information about the dinner, visit facebook.com/chinaeducationfund, or contact Luke Liu at lukeliuhang@gmail.com.