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In a recent post on the Beijinger website, author Katherine Zhang dives into the history of four churches in Beijing. In the article, entitled "Tracing the History of Four Beijing Churches," Zhang provides readers with brief histories of St. Joseph's Church, Church of the Saviour, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We invite you to read her article in The Beijinger . ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations  are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

by Benny Mattis, Digital Communications Coordinator In the opening chapter of the Analects , Confucius acknowledges the "great joy" to be found when "a friend visits from far away." I would not claim to understand the depth of meaning in that sage's wisdom, but I can attest to the joy that was felt during a lunch gathering in Maryland when Peter Tan, Board Chair of the US-China Catholic Association, visited Maryland from his home in Texas. This occasion brought together the people in the photo below: from left, those present included myself, current Executive Director Ben OuYang, Ben's wife Jia-Shieu, Jean Lovejoy, former Executive Director and current Board Member Doug Lovejoy, and current Board Chair Peter Tan. As we relished the cuisine of Rockville's Taipei Café, I had the privilege of listening to some of the US-China Catholic Association's leadership as they discussed upcoming USCCA events and recalled personal anecdotes of international friendship. Their enthusiasm for the USCCA and its mission was inspiring and energizing. Looking back on this gathering, I gained a new understanding of the importance of in-person fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ, even (and especially) when we are typically separated geographically by long distances. The USCCA's upcoming October 2025 Study Tour will include plenty of opportunities to dine and discuss with neighbors from near and far; subsequently, the 30th USCCA International Conference will bring scholars and lay people together once again for dialogue around the theme of "Nourishing Trust and Friendship: Following the Way of Christ." I reckon that my recent lunch excursion brought only a taste of the blessings that participants might find in these upcoming USCCA events! Benny Mattis is the Digital Communications Coordinator of the US-China Catholic Association. He resides in Silver Spring, Maryland. ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations  are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

Book available from Angelico Press On May 24, the USCCA Book Circle discussed pages 77–90 of John C. H. Wu's book, Chinese Humanism and Christian Spirituality . This was the latter part of Wu's chapter entitled "The Wisdom of Chuang Tzu: A New Appraisal." Wu's philosophical exploration of Chuang Tzu (also translated as Zhuangzi or Zhuang Zhou ), the sage of ancient Taoism, challenged Book Circle participants to consider the limits of technology, language, and even ethical practice as distinct from one's ultimate purpose: For [Chuang Tzu], the ultimate end of man is to be united with the Tao; he looked at moral virtues, such as humanity and justice, as a necessary stage toward this end. (p. 77) Book Circle participants drew connections between Christian thought and Chuang Tzu's emphasis on union with the Tao, wherein virtues "are no longer practiced as onerous duties imposed on you by an external authority or as a categorical imperative, and in performing them you will feel no sense of being virtuous, but only a deep joy" (p. 77). Participants also wrestled with Chuang Tzu's ambivalent attitudes toward technology and civilization in general: Chuang Tzu "called a halt to all arts of civilization" (p. 81), but later writings described by Wu indicated that "the true man of the Tao would use the instruments [of technology] as others do without being attached to them" (p. 83). Book Circle participants found this discussion particularly thought-provoking for a time such as ours, where new developments in artificial intelligence are emerging every month. This meeting was the last Book Circle discussion of the Spring 2025 semester, and we look forward to re-convening in Fall 2025. If you are interested in receiving email updates about the USCCA Book Circle, we invite you to fill out the Book Circle interest form ! Also, please note that in Fall 2025 we will continue reading John C. H. Wu's book, Chinese Humanism and Christian Spirituality . With the discount code wu15 , you may purchase the book from Angelico Press at a 15% discount. We extend our heartfelt thanks to our supporters for making the USCCA Book Circle Discussions possible. Building on their generosity, we invite you to contribute your own gift . Your donation will help sustain the vital work of fostering understanding between the U.S. and China through shared learning and dialogue. ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

The US-China Catholic Association (USCCA) recognizes Cardinal Blase Cupich's leadership and his support in building bridges of friendship and dialogue, particularly between Chinese and American communities. We congratulate Cardinal Cupich on the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination, which was recognized during a celebratory Mass on August 16. The Archbishop's anniversary was highlighted in such media channels as CBS News , ABC 7 Eyewitness News , and Chicago's WGN 9 . We invite you to read Cardinal Cupich's homily from that celebratory Mass at the Archdiocese of Chicago website . Cardinal Blase Cupich The USCCA remains grateful to Cardinal Cupich for his contributions as an Honored Guest of the 29th USCCA International Conference , which was held in Chicago in August of 2024. For more information about USCCA conferences, including our upcoming 30th International Conference , we invite you to sign up for email updates from the USCCA . ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations  are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

Would you like to learn about the Church in China through an in-person visit to historical sites and living communities? Our next Study Tour will be held October 11–23, 2025 , in mainland China; you may click here to view the itinerary for this upcoming October 2025 Study Tour . This Study Tour's agenda includes such destinations as Beijing North Cathedral, Chengde Imperial Summer Resort, and Shenyang Forbidden City. If you are able to join us for this trip, please click here to register today for the October 2025 Study Tour . Space is limited—register today! ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations  are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

In the USCCA's Book Circle discussions, attendees from around the world come to discuss history, Chinese culture, theology, philosophy, and the life of the Church in China. Since January, the Book Circle has been reading John C. H. Wu's Chinese Humanism and Christian Spirituality , available from Angelico Press  for 15% off with the discount code wu15 . Image from Angelico Press On August 23, the Book Circle will discuss pages 95–120 of Wu's work; these pages cover the chapter entitled "St. Thérèse and Lao Tzu: A Study in Comparative Mysticism." This discussion will be held at the usual Book Circle discussion time: 6 am PT / 7 am MT / 8 am CT / 9 am ET. This is 9pm Chinese Standard Time. Prior to the discussion, Book Circle participants are invited to consider the following prompt from Book Circle facilitator Kathy Stout: For our first meeting in the fall on Aug 23, we will read pages 95-120 of John C. H. Wu's book, Chinese Humanism and Christian Spirituality . This chapter is about the wonderful coincidences between Laozi and Thérèse of Lisieux in their mysticism and spirituality. It is structured around a series of paradoxes. You are invited to consider the following questions as you read: 1) How do the Daoist paradoxes (masculine and feminine, white and black, glorious and lowly, 98-109), illuminated by the examples of Thérèse and Laozi, help you see the Gospel in a different light?  2) The next section of the chapter deals with these topics: the motherliness of God, the relationship between virtue and mysticism, redemptive suffering, and Dao as the eternal Law. What do you find most interesting? What questions do you have? If you have not yet joined us for a Book Circle discussion, please sign up for Book Circle email updates today , and invite your friends to do the same! For additional opportunities to learn about the Church in China, we invite you to sign up for the upcoming October 2025 Study Tour in Northern China. ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations  are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

Are you a scholar of International Relations, Political Theory, Political Philosophy, Sociology, Anthropology, Religious Studies or Theology? If so, then we invite you to read more about an upcoming online workshop on Asian Catholics in International Relations ! Photo from Unsplash The workshop's description reads as follows: As Asia becomes an increasingly critical region for both global geopolitics and the future of the Catholic Church, this workshop will examine how Asian Catholics—both laypeople and ordained ministers—are contributing to and shaping international relations in Asia and beyond. This workshop will be hosted by Initiative for the Study of Asian Catholics (ISAC); proposals are due on August 15, 2025 . ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations  are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

by Fr. John Li, priest from a northern diocese in China Pilgrimage is not just about going somewhere, but about meeting God and oneself again. Pilgrimage is familiar to Catholics, and its origin can even be traced back to the earliest centuries of the Catholic Church. The etymology of the word "pilgrimage" is profound, and its meaning has hardly changed. The word comes from the Latin per ager , which means "through the field," and another meaning is "across the border." In the Bible, Abraham was a pilgrim because he "left his country, his family and his father's house" (Gen. 12:1). Jacob was a pilgrim; he knew with faith that "this is the dwelling place of God, the gate of heaven" (Gen. 28:17). Moses was a pilgrim; he saw with wonder the flames of fire on a bush that did not burn, and heard God's call to him in the wilderness (cf. Ex. 3:2-4). Former Pope Francis encouraged people to be "pilgrims of hope" during the Jubilee Year of 2025; he said, "In this year, we must rediscover the priceless treasure of heart-to-heart dialogue with God, and thus become pilgrims of hope." The Pope also emphasized that pilgrims are "people on the journey" and always have the desire to move forward. Here, I would also like to share my two pilgrimage experiences, because the pilgrimage journey has changed my existence and led me to discover God on the road. The first pilgrimage was in 2009 - that year was the Year of Priests, promulgated by the universal Church. In response to the Pope's call to pray for priests, our pilgrimage group, after several days of material and spiritual preparation, embarked on the pilgrimage journey on July 19, 2009, for the sanctification of priests. We set out on bicycles from Hebei Province, passing through 18 Catholic churches in southern Hebei, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, and 22 counties and cities in the heat, wind and rain, resulting in exhaustion and hunger. We arrived at our destination, Sheshan Holy Land in Shanghai, at 6 pm on August 1. The entire journey lasted 25 days, a total of 2,250 kilometers, and 122 hours of cycling. During the journey, Father Liu, the leader of the team, said that he saw that many local churches were developing slowly, and some were declining. The current situation was not optimistic. There was a serious shortage of priests and nuns, and the faithful were like sheep without a shepherd, scattered everywhere, lacking the proper pastoral care. Our group said that through this pilgrimage, we benefited a lot. Not only did we increase our understanding of the church and know the urgent needs of the faithful, but we also increased our enthusiasm for God and the church, and we became more determined to follow God on the path of our priestly vocation. The second pilgrimage was in 2012, which was the Year of Faith promulgated by the Church. In order to deeply experience the true faith, my friend and I set out from the Bishop's Palace of Liaoning Diocese on July 8, with the blessings and expectations of priests and brothers and sisters, and embarked on a pilgrimage journey - the destination was Taiyuan, Shanxi. It took us 14 days, visiting 12 churches in southern Liaoning and Hebei provinces. In the wind and rain, we passed through 14 counties and cities and arrived at our destination on the morning of July 21. The entire journey included a total of about 1,162 kilometers, with the cycling time being about 120 hours. Along the way, we felt faith because we touched her - we searched for her in the bitter sweat, lived her with boiling blood, and witnessed her in young lives. Faith is not used to explain life, but to carry life, so that we can go further and go deeper - this is the courage that faith gives to life. On the pilgrimage, I thought we would have a lot of topics to talk about along the way. But there were few opportunities in the fast cycling, and the invasion of fatigue made us unable to speak. Only when we slowed down could we chat for a few words about each other's views and understanding of various things. We were silent most of the time on the road, and we have slowly learned silence, learned to experience and enjoy it. In silence, we pray sincerely. When tired, every time we pedaled the bikes, pedaling with all our strength, we dedicated the effort to a specific intention. Repeat again and again... Facing the hilly areas of Anhui, every time we saw a big slope, we were happy and worried. The joy was that we didn’t have to pedal going down, and the worry was the great difficulty placed before us going up. In silence, we reflected on ourselves and came to know ourselves. In silence, we tasted the real ups and downs in life, the true love and warmth of the world, and more importantly, we experienced the loving companionship of God. God is always by our side and always watching over us. On the pilgrimage, God encouraged us with different images, different ways, and different words. The most common phrase we heard was: "Have a good trip." The most common action we saw was people giving us a thumbs-up. The most honest faces we saw were full of smiles. Many times, people's eyes expressed their wishes for us. Many people were witnesses of God's love, the elderly, children, women...Their actions gave us great comfort. On the pilgrimage, we learned to put down our maps. We brought atlases on the road, and we also had maps copied from the computer. The purpose was to point out the approximate direction so that we could find a way and plan the route and itinerary before setting off. It can be said that most of the roads were within our understanding, but there were always more unknowns than knowns. Sometimes, God arranges to let us walk out of our own "map" and onto the road he has arranged for us. Pilgrimage is not just a long road with one step and one kneeling, but also the direction for the soul to go home. Offering is not just a gift in your hand, but also the most sincere love in your heart. Pilgrimage is every approach; it is every giving; it is every offering. Chinese with English Translation of the Sacred Song of Our Pilgrimage 献上（Title） Dedication （Title） （Verse1） 我献上，我的满目疮痍---- I offer, my wounded body 我献上，我的痛哭流涕---- I offer, my tears 我献上，我的支离破碎---- I offer, my broken pieces 我献上，我的奄奄一息---- I offer, my dying breath （Verse2） 我主啊，请圣化我的五内---- My Lord, please sanctify my heart 我主啊，请治愈我的伤悲---- My Lord, please heal my sorrow 我主啊，请垂顾我的疲惫---- My Lord, please look upon my fatigue 我主啊，请收纳我的颓废---- My Lord, please accept my decadence （Chorus） 献上，我献上，我的是是非非---- I offer, I offer, my right and wrong 献上，我献上，我受伤的花蕊---- I offer, I offer, my wounded stamen 献上，我献上，我生命的卑微---- I offer, I offer, the humbleness of my life 献上，我献上，我干涸的爵杯---- I offer, I offer, my dry cup Fr. John Li is a priest from a northern diocese in China. To respect confidentiality, names have been changed in this blog. ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

On July 31, 2025, Dr. Stephanie Wong delivered a Free Virtual Public Lecture on the topic of "Christian-Confucian Dialogue in the Contemporary World." Drawing upon her work with two efforts of the Vatican's Dicastery of Interreligious Dialogue — the international "Women Building a Culture of Encounter Inter-religiously" network, and a project drafting a guidebook on Christian-Confucian relations — Dr. Wong shared insights on the prospects for Christian-Confucian Dialogue at the intersections of the academy and the Church. She spoke to the way that assessments of Confucianism as a religious, philosophical, ethical, or cultural tradition continue to inform and puzzle dialogue efforts, as these categories are institutionalized differently both state and church governments. She also highlighted the importance of a spirit of friendship and curiosity in navigating questions of ecumenical diversity and women's roles, as Christian and Confucian communities may hold stereotypes about the other and have limited knowledge about the other community's internal diversity and debates. During the Q&A session afterward, Dr. Wong answered questions from the audience, exploring in more detail the different ways in which Christian-Confucian dialogue has developed in different geographical locations and historical moments. For more research from Dr. Wong, we invite you to keep an eye out for her upcoming book on the early twentieth-century indigenization movement, Making Catholicism Chinese: The Catholic Church in Modernizing China (forthcoming with Oxford Univeristy Press, December 2025). ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations  are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

Have you attended any of the USCCA's previous International Conferences? At our last conference—the 29th USCCA International Conference—we celebrated 35 years of the USCCA! You can find media from that conference on the Conference 29 web page . Videos from our 29th and 30th International Conferences are also viewable on the USCCA YouTube channel . We are glad to share that the 30th USCCA International Conference will be held from July 31–August 2, 2026, at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX. The Conference Theme will be Nourishing Trust and Friendship: Following the Way of Christ . We invite you to mark this day on your calendars, and to subscribe to the USCCA's email newsletter for the latest conference updates . Chapel of St. Basil, University of St. Thomas ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations  are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

Dr. He Simeiqi, a Catholic moral theologian and social worker from mainland China, has shared the paper she recently delivered at the annual convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America. In her paper, Dr. He re-envisions the meaning of baptism in conversation with such thinkers as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Fang Dongmei. We invite you to read her paper by clicking here . Click here to read Dr. He's paper He Simeiqi, Ph.D., LMSW is a Catholic moral theologian and a social worker from mainland China. Her writings have previously appeared in Journal of Moral Theology , International Journal of Catholic Studies , Catholic Theological Review , Asian Horizons , and U.S. Catholic . ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

Have you signed up yet for Dr Stephanie Wong's free virtual public lecture on "Christian-Confucian Dialogue in the Contemporary World"? This lecture is just a week away! Dr. Wong is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Theology, East Asian Religions, Systematic and Constructive Theology at Villanova University. Her presentation will be available via video webinar at 7pm ET on July 31, 2025. We look forward to learning with you! Click here to sign up for this free public lecture, accessible via live video . ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations  are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.