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Have you signed up for the upcoming Free Public Video Lecture featuring Dr. Stephanie Wong, Assistant Professor of Comparative Theology, East Asian Religions, Systematic and Constructive Theology at Villanova University? At 7pm ET on July 31, Dr. Wong will present on the topic of "Christian-Confucian Dialogue in the Contemporary World." Click here to sign up for this free public lecture, accessible via live video . In the weeks leading up to Dr. Wong's free public video lecture, we invite you to learn from some of her prior works: Villanova University's YouTube account showcases a lecture by Dr. Wong on the topic of ""Should Governments Regulate Religions? Perspectives from Christianity and Confucianism" . Georgetown University has published a video of a panel discussion featuring Dr. Wong on the topic of "Theology without Borders: Essays in Honor of Peter C. Phan" . In the St. Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology, an entry on Chinese Christian Theology by Alexander Chow and Stephanie Wong teaches us about the history of theology cultivated through the Church in China. For more about Dr. Wong and her accomplishments, we invite you to read her faculty bio on the Villanova University website . Don't forget to read our recent blog about her upcoming free public video lecture ! All are invited to sign up as a virtual attendee . ---------------------- 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 this Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, we invite you to consider the acts of service that are made possible through friendships among God's people. At this time last year, such acts of service were exemplified among the Church in China as brothers and sisters in Christ joined in support of flood victims. We invite you to read more about what happened in this article from Agenzia Fides . May all of our friendships aim to glorify God through service even in difficult circumstances! Original photo of Baoding Cathedral, licensed by Vardion under CC BY-SA 3.0 ---------------------- 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 USCCA celebrates opportunities for dialogue and mutual learning. For that reason, we invite you to read a book about the Church in China this summer! Available from Ignatius Press In On the Road , renowned photographer Lu Nan documents the life of the Church in China through imagery across over 100 churches located in ten Chinese provinces. This book is available from Ignatius Press for 20% off with the discount code USCCAOnTheRoad20 . Available from Angelico Press In Chinese Humanism and Christian Spirituality , Chinese Catholic legal scholar and statesman John C. H. Wu explores the wisdom of ancient Chinese sages through the lens of his Catholic faith. This book is being discussed in 2025 by the USCCA Book Circle ! Wu's classic can be purchased from Angelico Press at a 15% discount with the discount code wu15 . We hope that you are able to join us this summer in reading abut the Church in China. As an additional summer learning opportunity, please sign up for the upcoming free virtual lecture by Dr. Stephanie Wong, who will be speaking at 7pm on July 31 on the topic of "Christian-Confucian Dialogue in the Contemporary 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.

Dr. Benjamin T. OuYang has accepted the Executive Director position with the USCCA. Dr. OuYang is a retired public educator who served for over thirty years. During his professional educational career, Dr. OuYang worked as a school counselor, an Assistant Principal, a Principal and then a Director. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rochester and a Master's in School Counseling and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Maryland. He also has several years of training in the diaconate program. Dr. OuYang has over fifteen years of experience as a youth group leader, twelve years as a Married Couples Group Coordinator, and over twenty years as an English Ministry Liaison for Our Lady of China Pastoral Mission in Rockville, Maryland. Dr. OuYang worked for the US Catholic Mission Association, where he was a podcast coordinator and host. He has also been on several mission trips, and has diverse experiences with OCIA, prison ministry, food pantry, and serving as an Eucharistic Minister, Lector, and Acolyte. Dr. OuYang has been married to his wife Jia-Shieu for thirty years this June, and they have three children: Kaitlin, Jackson, and Timothy. Kaitlin—whose religious name is Sister Ma Li Ya Zhi Ai Zhi Nu (A Chinese name meaning Sister Mary Beloved Daughter)— is a nun with the religious order of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin Matara, Jackson is a sophomore at Penn State University, and Timothy will be a freshman at Belmont Abbey College. The USCCA is personal to Dr. OuYang. His mother was converted to Catholicism in Shanghai, China. In the late 1930s, a wonderful missionary reached out and built a relationship with Dr. OuYang's mother and her family. As an immigrant to the US, his mom was all alone, but was taken care of by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Those relationships and acts of friendship have had a lasting impact on the OuYang family. In his opening remarks to the world, our new Pope Leo shared: We are disciples of Christ, Christ goes before us, and the world needs His light. Humanity needs Him like a bridge to reach God and His love. You help us to build bridges with dialogue and encounter so we can all be one people always in peace. The USCCA’s mission is aligned with Pope Leo XIV's hopes and prayers. We are called to build bridges to develop dialogue and friendships with every individual that we encounter. Please pray for Dr. OuYang as he begins the process to lead USCCA in building bridges and establishing new friendships in a world that needs peace so much. ---------------------- 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 June 11, 2025, Joseph Lin Yuntuan was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Fuzhou, China. On behalf of the entire USCCA family, congratulations, Bishop Lin Yuntuan on your appointment to the Archdiocese of Fuzhou. May your leadership be inspired by the Holy Spirit to promote faith, hope and love for the better good of your faithful. Our prayers are with you and your archdiocese. City of Fuzhou, 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.

At 7:00PM ET on July 31, 2025 , the USCCA's speaker series, in collaboration with ChinaSource and China Academic Consortium, will host Dr. Stephanie Wong as speaker on the topic of "Christian-Confucian Dialogue in the Contemporary World." Click here to sign up for this free public lecture, accessible via live video. Dr. Stephanie M. Wong is an assistant professor at Villanova University, where she teaches classes in Catholic theology, Chinese religious and philosophical traditions, and on comparative theology and inter-religious relations in East Asia. Dr. Wong will share about contemporary efforts in the Catholic Church to carry forward dialogue with Confucian communities in East Asia and around the world. She will reflect on not only her contributions to the work of the Dicastery of Interreligious Dialogue in developing a guidebook on Christian-Confucian relations, but also on current trajectories in Catholic comparative theology. ---------------------- 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.

Did you know that today is Trinity Sunday? The Most Holy Trinity is a perfect example of friendship and dialogue. As you reflect on the Trinity on this day, we invite you to read Pope Francis' words on the Trinity from June 7, 2020 : The Trinity is therefore Love, wholly at the service of the world, which He wishes to save and re-create. And today, thinking of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we think of God’s love! ... Dear brothers and sisters, today’s Feast Day invites us to let ourselves once again be fascinated by the beauty of God; beauty, goodness and inexhaustible truth. But also beauty, goodness, and humble and close truth, which became flesh in order to enter our life, our history, my history, the history of each one of us, so that every man and woman may encounter it and have eternal life. And this is faith: to welcome God-Love; to welcome this God-Love who gives himself in Christ, who moves us in the Holy Spirit; to let ourselves be encountered by him and to trust in him. This is Christian life. To love, to encounter God, to seek God; and He seeks us first; He encounters us first. ---------------------- 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.

Since 1999, the flagship journal of ChinaSource has published deep insights pertaining to Christianity in China and the global church. Did you know that past issues are accessible on the ChinaSource website ? image fom ChinaSource As indicated in a recent announcement from ChinaSource, the name of this journal changed in March from ChinaSource Quarterly to ChinaSource Journal . To read more about the history, present and future of ChinaSource Journal , we invite you to read Andrea Lee's article about the name change on the ChinaSource website . ---------------------- 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 Anne S. Tsui, Ph.D., Board Secretary of the USCCA During my month-long visit in Shanghai, I went to the Mass at the Basilica of Holy Mary, the Help of Christians, on Sheshan three times. My last visit was on May 25, 2025, the day after the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China. Sheshan is about 30 kilometers to the west of Shanghai downtown. I was curious about the meaning of the name “Sheshan” and asked ChatGPT for assistance. There are three explanations, or more likely legends, about the origin of this name. The first is that a person with the surname She (佘) practiced Daoism in that mountain and thus it was named after him. A second explanation is about a large number of people with the surname She (佘) lived in the area, so the mountain took on the name. The third is that during the Eastern Han dynasty, a general surnamed She (佘) lived in seclusion on this mountain. Today, there is a She General Temple (佘将军庙) on the mountain to commemorate him. I consulted Wikipedia for a brief history of the Sheshan Shrine. I learned that the first church was built in 1863 by the Jesuit missionaries in China. Later expansion by the French Jesuits in the period of 1870 to 1900 included a mid-level church (which is now used by the locals), the Three Saints Pavilions 三圣亭 dedicated to Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph, respectively, and the stations of the cross on a windy path along the hillside. The construction included an astronomical observatory which still stands in the same location today. The entire holy site is inside the Sheshan National Forest Park with an entrance for tourists (and informal pilgrims) on the north and an entrance on the east for formally organized pilgrim groups. I entered the north gate after registering with the security guards. After a long flight of stone steps, there is a one-way tree-lined trail made of wood planks and then a stone paved path to the top of the hill. The Mass is always in Chinese, with beautiful hymns and deeply devotional faces that moved me to tears. At the end of the Mass, the congregation recited the Holy Mother of Sheshan prayer. It asks Mary for protection and to lead us on the road to truth and mercy. On the top of the Basilica is a statue of Mary holding up baby Jesus with spreading arms, showing his love for all people in the world. Because Shanghai is located on the easternmost edge of China, the statue of the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus on the roof of the Basilica faces westward, symbolizing her protection and care over all of China. Pilgrims waiting to enter the Basilica I saw three groups of pilgrims in differently colored uniforms lining up outside the Basilica, waiting to enter it for the 11 am Mass. The Basilica does not have a resident priest. The pilgrims bring their own priest to celebrate Mass. The pilgrim groups usually bring one or two doctors to meet any urgent needs. There were many volunteers wearing colorful vests to direct traffic and keep order. I met a friend after Mass, and she shared with me a brief history of the pilgrims to Sheshan from the early days to the present time. After the reconstruction of Sheshan in early 1900s, pilgrims would come to Sheshan using fishing boats on rivers flowing into the Shanghai estuary. With the advance of motor vehicles and highways, later pilgrims came on large tour buses seating 40 to 50 passengers. A group typically has more than ten buses. From the foothill, they would parade up the hill carrying the Marian stature, chanting in unison, and praying at the stations of the cross. Millions would come during the height of the pilgrim season, usually May each year. The entire mountain would be covered with people. My friend said, “It was a very grand and spectacular sight.” Nowadays, especially since the beginning of 2025, the number of pilgrims has greatly declined, to probably between 20% to 25% of what it was before. Since January 2025, government does not allow pilgrimages outside of a province. People can only organize formal pilgrims within a province. The formal pilgrims to Sheshan are only from churches in the Shanghai metropolitan area. Official pilgrim groups need to register online and wait for approval before embarking on their journey. Parading with the Mary stature is no longer allowed. However, this new policy has no impact on private pilgrims. There are still devoted Catholics, both from the open church and underground, coming to pray at the foot of Mary at Sheshan. Every day, the prayers in various local dialects, like beautiful music, linger around the Three Saints Pavilion. The earnest gestures of the faithful often draw curious visitors to stop and watch. At the Mary statue in the Three Saints Pavilion, faithful people in deep prayers. When the pilgrims finish their prayers, they sit down on the ground beside the pavilion, eating the simple food they have brought with them to satisfy their hunger. Although the food is plain and there are no tables or chairs, the pilgrims' hearts are filled with deep contentment and joy. This is why, year after year, Sheshan continues to attract countless pilgrims. For it is here that believers can feel the protection of the Virgin Mary and the power of their faith. Today, there are probably now more tourists than pilgrims, though some of the tourists may be pilgrims in disguise. People from other provinces come as groups of tourists. It is difficult to know exactly the scale of the informal pilgrims. I suppose nothing can prevent the faithful followers of Jesus from visiting his mother, who is also a mother of China. Attending Mass and praying at Sheshan, especially witnessing the deep devotion of these pilgrims, made me believe that people's faith in Jesus Christ and their pursuit of truth in God will never cease no matter the circumstances, good or bad. On the contrary, the greater the constraints and pressures, the stronger the power of faith becomes. My pilgrimage to Sheshan allowed me to personally witness the fervent faith and steadfast dedication of Chinese Catholics. There is no doubt that the Church in China is full of vitality and life, for I have seen the power of God in them. Anne Tsui May 26, 2025 Shanghai, China **My deepest gratitude to my friend for sharing her knowledge about Sheshan and for the gift of her spiritual editing of this essay. Dr. Anne S. Tsui is currently Professor Emerita at Arizona State University, and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Peking University and Fudan University, China. Dr. Tsui has been a leading force in the development of Chinese management research as well as global efforts to transform business research into a force for the common good. ---------------------- 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.

Lumen Orientis , a new magazine focused on Chinese Catholic culture, has released a Call For Papers on the topic of "The Village and the Technological Age." This topic is explored in more detail in the following passage: As children of modernity, who we are has been fundamentally shaped by technology, no matter how much or how little we choose to interact with it. Nevertheless, we have also been formed by people and their relationships whether those relationships take the form of a family, village, city, or other institution. A comparison between the relatively close-knit community life of the village and the vastness of the technological era merits much consideration, including, but certainly not limited to these possibilities: how we view instrumentality in the life of the village and in the technological era; artifice vs. the organic, natural, or human; how modern technology and the life of the village might alter how we perceive man's purpose; and what the right relation of man is to the village or community and to technology. We invite contributors to reflect on these and many other questions through historical, theological, or philosophical essays, as well as through interviews, personal reflections, commentaries, art, photography, poetry, and literature. Please click here to read the full Call for Papers from Lumen Orientis magazine . For more opportunities to learn about the history, culture, and life of the Church in China, we invite you to subscribe to the USCCA email newsletter for updates about our upcoming 30th International Conference: SAVE THE DATE: U.S.-China Catholic Association 30th International Conference When: July 31-August 2, 2026 Theme: "Nourishing Trust: Following the Way of Christ" Where: University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas ---------------------- 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 May 2007, Pope Benedict XVI (1927-2022) released a Letter to Chinese Catholics, in which he asked that May 24 each year be celebrated as a World Day of Prayer for the Church in China. He chose May 24 because it is the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, who is venerated at the Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai. Image from the Passionist China Collection. Digitized at the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History at Boston College. Image copyright © Passionist China Collection On this World Day of Prayer for the Church in China, we at the USCCA are glad to share the following "Save the Date" for our upcoming International Conference: SAVE THE DATE: U.S.-China Catholic Association 30th International Conference When: July 31-August 2, 2026 Theme: "Nourishing Trust: Following the Way of Christ" Where: University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas In closing, we invite you on this day to join us in prayer and petition for the Church in China: We join together this May 24, 2025. We ask Mary to look with love on the People of China...and open their hearts to her Son's Gospel of truth and love... Help us build bridges of understanding between cultures and traditions...Guide the Church in China to be a leaven of harmony and peace among all its citizens...Foster true friendship and open dialogue that respects both faith and diverse perspectives...That together we may be instruments of Christ's peace through patient listening and sincere encounter... Click here to subscribe to our newsletter and stay in touch for more conference 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.

On May 18, 2025, the USCCA joined Catholics around the world in celebrating the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican. As Vatican News reports , "The Pope upheld the missionary spirit" in his homily: This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world. We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people. Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. With my predecessor Leo XIII, we can ask ourselves today: If this criterion “were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return?” (Rerum Novarum, 21). We rejoice in Pope Leo XIV’s description of missionary spirit. It is precisely “to offer God’s love to everyone" that informs the USCCA's mission of building bridges of friendship and dialogue. Our response to the question he raises from Pope Leo XIII is "yes." In the image above, an intercessory prayer is read in Chinese at the inauguration. In English translation, the prayer reads: Lord God, you look with constant kindness upon your sons and daughters: receive the prayers which your Church lifts up to you with gratitude and confident trust. Through Christ our Lord. May God bless Pope Leo XIV with peace and wisdom in the papal office. ---------------------- 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.