IN PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV prays for Chinese Catholics

Updated On: 25 May, 2025 11:11 PM IST | Asif Ali Sayed

Pope Leo XIV asked Sunday for prayers for China`s Catholics to be in communion with the Holy See, as he made his first public remarks about one of the thorniest foreign policy issues facing his new pontificate. (Pics/AFP and Text/AP)

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History`s first American pope recalled that on Saturday the Catholic Church marked a special feast day to pray for the church in China

<p>Pope Benedict XVI had initiated the feast day as part of his efforts to unify China`s estimated 12 million Catholics who were divided between an official, state-controlled church that didn`t recognise papal authority, and an underground church that remained loyal to Rome through decades of persecution</p>

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Pope Benedict XVI had initiated the feast day as part of his efforts to unify China`s estimated 12 million Catholics who were divided between an official, state-controlled church that didn`t recognise papal authority, and an underground church that remained loyal to Rome through decades of persecution

<p>Leo noted that on the feast day `in the churches and shrines in China and throughout the world, prayers have been raised to God as a sign of the solicitude and affection for Chinese Catholics and their communion with the universal church`</p>

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Leo noted that on the feast day `in the churches and shrines in China and throughout the world, prayers have been raised to God as a sign of the solicitude and affection for Chinese Catholics and their communion with the universal church`

<p>Speaking from his studio window during his noontime blessing, Leo prayed that Catholics in China and elsewhere `obtain the grace to be strong and joyful witnesses of the Gospel, even in the midst of trials, to always promote peace and harmony`</p>

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Speaking from his studio window during his noontime blessing, Leo prayed that Catholics in China and elsewhere `obtain the grace to be strong and joyful witnesses of the Gospel, even in the midst of trials, to always promote peace and harmony`

<p>Pope Francis took Benedict`s unifying efforts further by approving a controversial deal in 2018 over bishop nominations. The details of the deal were never released, but it affords the state-controlled church a say in its church leaders, though Francis insisted he retained veto power over the ultimate choice</p>

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Pope Francis took Benedict`s unifying efforts further by approving a controversial deal in 2018 over bishop nominations. The details of the deal were never released, but it affords the state-controlled church a say in its church leaders, though Francis insisted he retained veto power over the ultimate choice

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IN PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV prays for Chinese Catholics

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