For the first time in the history of the church in China, a Catholic seminary on the mainland is offering a master’s degree to train pastoral workers and catechists. The three-year pastoral and catechetical master’s program will start on Oct. 5 at a seminary in Beijing. Most of the six applicants—a mix of priests, nuns and lay people—are from dioceses in northern China. The Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium is helping to organize the program. Michel Marcil, S.J., executive director of the U.S. Catholic China Bureau in South Orange, N.J., called the initiative “a breakthrough.” The “devout faithful in Chinese parishes” have been helping prepare candidates for baptism every year, Marcil said, but they have been following a question-and-answer format based on studying the catechism. The new course of study would guide them in a form of catechesis more in line with the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
Chinese Church Launches Training
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
Pope Leo XIV urged new archbishops to help him foster unity in a church rich in diversity. Eight of those new archbishops are from the United States, and they spoke to Catholic News Service about how they can help promote fraternity in today’s polarized world.
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Christopher White about his new book, ‘Pope Leo XVI: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy.’
Kerry Weber is an executive editor for America. On May 20, 2025, the Catholic Media Association announced that she was elected president,
"The whole church needs fraternity, which must be present in all of our relationships, whether between lay people and priests, priests and bishops, bishops and the pope," he said during his homily at Mass on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29.