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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.

On a day such as this—September 11—it is important to remember the value of friendship, peace, and dialogue among neighbors around the world. Through international virtual Book Circle Discussions, biennial Conferences, and other programs, the USCCA aims to build bridges across differing perspectives, cultivating mutual respect in the midst of differing voices. 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 September 20, the Book Circle will discuss pages 127–141 and 203–226 of Wu's work; these pages cover the sections entitled " Thérèse and Céline " and " Appendix: The Science of Love ."  This discussion will be held at the usual Book Circle discussion time: 6 am PT / 7 am MT / 8 am CT / 9 am ET / 9pm Chinese Standard Time. Prior to the discussion, Book Circle participants are invited to consider the following prompt from Book Circle facilitator Kathy Stout: We will read two separate sections about Thérèse of Lisieux from John Wu's book, Chinese Humanism and Christian Spirituality : "Thérèse and Céline" (127-141); "Appendix: The Science of Love" (203-226). The first section tells the story of the beautiful friendship between Thérèse and her sister Céline, while the appendix speaks of the bridal love between Thérèse and Jesus. You are invited to consider the following questions as you read: What do you find particularly impressive about the relationship between Thérèse and Céline? How does their story speak to us about friendship in general and friendship with God? What do you find most powerful about the intimate bridal relationship between Thérèse and Jesus? How do these chapters help us understand Christianity as "the Religion of Love par excellence" (204)? 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, including Study Tours and biennial Conferences , we invite you to subscribe to the USCCA's email newsletter . ---------------------- 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.

Today, Pope Leo XIV canonizes two young saints, Blessed Carlo Acutis (pictured in portrait) and Blessed Giorgio Frassati, underlining the gifts that young people can share with the global Church through a life of faith. Catholic News Agency has published an article outlining how you can watch the canonization , as well as an article introducing the saints and their life stories . These saints remind us of the importance of outreach to and with young people; such outreach is a distinct emphasis of our Chinese and American Friendship Ministry. Click here to learn moe about how the US-China Catholic Association is reaching out to Chinese students in the United States. ---------------------- 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 Margaret Smetana, USCCA Board Member On the weekend of August 17, 1,258 miles from Chicago—where US-China Catholic Association (USCCA) board members Fr. Ed Griswold, Fr. Hugh O'Donnell, and Tom McGuire recently gave USCCA Mission Appeals—Rev. Rob Carbonneau, CP joined Fr. Cyprian Tatah Ferdzefer to concelebrate Mass at Our Lady of the Eucharist Parish, serving the communities of Lincoln, Howland, and Danforth, Maine. Though the congregations at St. Mary of Lourdes and St. Leo the Great Masses were small, parishioners were fully engaged as Rev. Rob shared the history, mission, and ongoing work of the USCCA. Thanks to Fr. Cyprian’s faithful announcements of the Mission Appeal over the past three weeks, parishioners offered Rev. Rob a warm welcome. On Sunday, Rev. Rob celebrated Mass at St. Leo the Great in Howland (8:00am), St. Mary of Lourdes in Lincoln (10:00am), and then traveled an hour north to St. Anne’s summer chapel in Danforth (12:30pm). These communities—Lincoln (population under 5,000), Danforth (population 636), and Howland (population of about 1,200)—lie in rural eastern Maine, not far from the Canadian border: a region of lakes, rivers, streams, and vast woodlands. Even in these remote parishes, the mission of building bridges of friendship and faith with the people of China is both welcomed and alive. My time with the parishioners and pastor of these Maine communities deeply enriched my understanding of the USCCA's mission and its impact on their lives. Their genuine interest and engagement with Rev. Rob and his stories—as well as their beautiful choirs, heartfelt singing, devotion to Mary, and strong sense of community—left me with lasting impressions of their Catholic faith. Margaret Smetana is an Associate Director on the USCCA Board. Margaret brings a lifetime of experience in organizational and educational leadership to her role supporting the 2024 Conference communications, the 2025 USCCA Mission Cooperative Program, and the 2026 Conference. ---------------------- 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 his prayer intention for August 2025, Pope Leo XIV called for mutual coexistence among neighbors around the world: Let us pray that societies where coexistence seems more difficult might not succumb to the temptation of confrontation for ethnic, political, religious or ideological reasons. Jesus, Lord of our history, faithful companion, and living presence, You who never tire of coming to meet us, here we are, in need of your peace. We live in times of fear and division. Sometimes we act as if we were alone, building walls that separate us from one another, forgetting that we are brothers and sisters. Send us Your Spirit, Lord, to rekindle within us the desire to understand one another, to listen, to live together with respect and compassion. Give us the courage to seek paths of dialogue, to respond to conflict with gestures of fraternity, to open our hearts to others without fear of differences. Make us builders of bridges, able to overcome borders and ideologies, able to see others through the eyes of the heart, recognizing in every person an inviolable dignity. Help us create spaces where hope can flourish, where diversity is not a threat but a richness that makes us more human. Amen. These words from the Pope resonate strongly with the USCCA's mission of building bridges of friendship among Catholics in the U.S. and in China. Tom McGuire, USCCA board member, offered the following reflection on the Pope's August prayer intention: Pope Leo XIV’s prayer is a call for all missionary disciples to be "builders of bridges.” We invite all who feel a call to build bridges and dialogue with the people of China to explore how they might get involved with the US-China Catholic Association. We invite you to join the USCCA's mission of bridge-building through participation in our Affiliates program , our virtual international Book Circle discussions , our Study Tours in China , or our upcoming 30th International Conference . May we honor the Pope's prayer intention for August by moving forward towards peaceful coexistence with brothers and sisters around the world. ---------------------- 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 August 23, the USCCA Book Circle discussed pages 95–120 of John C. H. Wu's book, Chinese Humanism and Christian Spirituality . This encompassed the chapter entitled "St. Thérèse and Lao Tzu: A Study in Comparative Mysticism." Image from Angelico Press During this Book Circle discussion, 16 participants reflected on John C. H. Wu's comparison between Lao Tzu and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. The depth of insights in the writings of these figures challenged participants to consider the paradox of humility as a kind of greatness, bringing to mind biblical passages such as Matthew 23:11 ("The greatest among you will be your servant"). Striking similarities between the teachings of Lao Tzu and the writings of St. Thérèse prompted discussion about similarities in religious experience across cultural divides. Indeed, the role of mystical experience in spiritual growth was another major theme raised by St. Thérèse and Lao Tzu in the course of this recent discussion. Participants remarked on the limitations of language in its attempts to articulate transcendent truths; conversation also developed around the wisdom of simplicity in our increasingly complex world. Even as accustomed as we are to sophistication and complexity in our daily lives, several participants remarked upon the striking ability of people to develop the wisdom of simplicity in the right circumstances. 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! 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 . ---------------------- 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.

“Spreading the Gospel: Christian Posters in Early 20th Century China,” a presentation by Professor Daryl Ireland, was given at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, on Wednesday evening, April 26. Dr. Ireland is a Research Assistant Professor of Mission at Boston University’s School of Theology. Between 1919 and 1949, posters were the most common Christian visual imagery in China. They were printed by the millions and hung in tea rooms, on city walls, and on temple gates. Posters were put up in houses and churches; they were unfolded for street evangelism. They were extremely popular because they were aesthetically pleasing, symbolically rich, yet easy to understand. Unlike theological treatises written by Chinese theologians, these images were designed by laypeople and intended for popular consumption. In this lecture, Daryl Ireland will showcase some of the 700 Chinese Protestant and Catholic posters he has located and explain why they are changing the way we think about Chinese Christianity. about daryl ireland Daryl Ireland focuses on the history of Christianity in Asia, as well as the intersection of International Development and Faith. His recent book, John Song: Modern Chinese Christianity and the Making of a New Man (2020), explores how a Chinese revivalist’s spirituality, whose itinerant ministry initially operated on the fringe of mainline Protestant Christianity, came to be the dominant expression of Chinese Christianity today. The ten-year investigation into the life and work of Song has prompted Ireland to write more broadly about revitalization movements, the role of women in revivalism, and religious conversion. He is the director of the Chinese Christian Posters project, which has digitized and made publicly available 700 Christian posters from the Republican Era in China (1911-1949). Nationalists, Communists, and Christians all used posters to convert people’s imagination, to visualize for them the good life and what was keeping them from achieving it. In so doing, the posters became a graphic depiction of the contested nature of what China’s national salvation meant in the first half of the twentieth century, and how Christians competed directly with China’s political parties to save the nation. He is also the co-director of the China Historical Christian Database (CHCD), a massive international collaborative effort in the Digital Humanities to identify where every Christian church, school, hospital, convent, publishing house, and the like, were located in China between 1550 and 1950, and to record who was connected to those places, both foreigners and Chinese. The combined temporal, spatial, and relational information allows the CHCD to quantify and visualize Christianity in China in new and powerful ways, allowing scholars to use ‘big data’ to rethink the connections between China and the West. the presentation urther resources Visions of Salvation , Chinese Christian Posters in an Age of Revolution > Drawing on a landmark collection of more than 200 color prints, assembled and analyzed here for the first time, leading scholars in Chinese Studies, mission history, Chinese Christianity, and visual culture reassess various facets of Chinese life in the second quarter of the twentieth century. In an age of revolution, political activists were not the only ones advancing prescriptions for change. Chinese Christians also pursued a New China, as one poster explicitly put it. Though later suppressed and largely forgotten, Christian posters placarded the country for thirty years with an alternative vision of national salvation. John Song: Modern Chinese Christianity and the Making of a New Man > In John Song: Modern Chinese Christianity and the Making of a New Man , Daryl Ireland upends conventional images of John Song and theologically conservative Chinese Christianity. Working with never before used sources, this groundbreaking book paints the picture of a man who struggled alongside his Chinese contemporaries to find a way to save their nation. Unlike reformers who attempted to update ancient traditions, and revolutionaries who tried to escape the past altogether, Song hammered out the contours of a modern Chinese life in the furnace of his revivals. Daryl Ireland's Profile, Boston University, School of Theology >

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.

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.

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.