When Yingxióng decided to become a priest, he was 16 years old.It was a very difficult decision, because he was aware that for the next few years he would have to live in hiding and forget about his family so as not to compromise her.He too would have to change his name for security reasons.The rector of the seminary made him a suggestion that marked his life forever: from now on, he told him, even if you are far from your parents, you will never be alone, because Mary is your mother and will always be by your side.At that moment he decided that she would be called Maria, a name that in Chinese does not imply that it was only for women and that only changed when she arrived in Europe.We will call him Yingxióng, whose Chinese translation is hero.In China, the houses of the families are authentic domestic churches.The dining room table quickly transforms into an altar when word spreads that a priest is passing through.The usual thing is to take advantage of that meeting to receive some kind of catechism.It may be years before there is another chance to meet a priest.Yingxióng's family was introduced to Catholicism by his uncle, the first to convert after he met an elderly priest who passed near his town.He took it upon himself to evangelize his family members and they all decided to be baptized as a block when Yingxióng was 7 years old.Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi province, to which our protagonist belongs.It has a population of approximately 5 million people.It is one of the places in China with the largest number of Catholics.At the root of this evangelization is the Jesuit Matteo Ricci, who lived in the region for three years.The first year of the seminar he shared it with about 40 16-year-old boys hidden in a mountain cabin.That year, two other groups with about 40 students each began the seminar in China, a not insignificant amount in a country that suffers from persecution.In that cabin, away from the usual routes of passage so as not to attract attention, they were fed by the Catholics of the town, who secretly brought them the little food they had.Many fell ill and the rector decided that they continue the classes divided into different families that welcomed them in their homes, from which they were moving from time to time so as not to raise suspicions.The day began at 4 in the morning to be able to pray while the neighbors slept.The windows always covered with curtains, unable to speak out loud, laugh, much less sing.Apart from not being able to count on a permanent venue, the greatest difficulty faced by the seminarians is the lack of professors and textbooks to study, which is made up for with ingenuity and practicality.Professors become those seminarians who are simply a little more advanced, those who have managed to get ahead in a subject or have been able to study a manual.Every three or four months they changed places because it was dangerous to stay longer in the same family.The government has spies everywhere and in the end there is always someone willing to give away in order to receive some benefit.Entities such as Aid to the Church in Need support from a distance the training of these seminarians, who today continue to study on an itinerant basis.Yingxióng had to wait 10 years to become a priest, because there was no bishop who could do it.By then he knew that in Chinese society the decision not to marry, as he was the eldest son of the family, was a disgrace to his family.Finally, in 2015, in the presence of only one other priest and one nun, he was ordained a priest.Not even his parents knew about it.For the next year he had to carry out his ministry in silence without telling anyone to try not to be discovered.If his passport was withdrawn he would never be able to leave China to complete his training, as the bishop wanted of him.During his stay in Rome to graduate in Canon Law, the authorities discovered that he had been ordained a priest and went several times to the house of his parents to question them about who and when he had ordained him and who financed his studies. from China.At the moment the government has installed two surveillance cameras in his parents' house to study the movements of those who enter and leave.He also received numerous calls in Rome from unknown numbers from China that he never answered.He knew they were government agents.In the next few days he will return to China and when he does, since the authorities know his status as a priest, he knows that he will be visited two or three times a week by government agents to sign the document of adhesion to the church. patrioticIn addition, according to the latest legislation on religious matters in the country, he will be included in a national database with detailed information on whether his ministry is in force or has been revoked for belonging to the underground church.In this database will appear the list of the "misdemeanors" that he may have committed or the prizes received for his adherence to the regime.These "background" may end up facilitating or hindering access to certain services.And since this new Law obliges religious personnel to oppose religious activities not recognized by the Government, it will be illegal for an official priest to celebrate with one who is not.If he does this "behavior" could be included in his mugshot.In Jiangxi province, the government forced the many Catholics in the region to remove the crosses or images they had in their homes and replace them with portraits of President Xi Jinping.Otherwise, subsistence or poverty benefits would be withdrawn.The officials visited the houses one by one, warning the faithful that they should follow the Communist Party, which is the one who provided them with money, and not God.In May 2021, a new regulation came into force that directly affects Catholic priests who do not accept belonging to the patriotic church and, by extension, those responsible for other religions.These “New Regulations on Religious Activities” require every religious leader to register with the authorities and pledge to “love the motherland, support the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, support the socialist system, and abide by the Constitution, laws, regulations, and rules".At the same time, he must "practice the core values ​​of socialism, adhere to the principle of independence and self-management of religion and China's religious policy, upholding national and ethnic unity, religious harmony and social stability."This regulation meant a new twist to force "dissidents" to become part of the patriotic church, because it exposes unregistered or clandestine priests and bishops, recognized by the Holy See, but not by the regime. .But what is serious is that it also declares illegal all possible gestures of communion or collaboration between the patriotic and the clandestine church.The harassment of underground Catholics continues unabated.According to Asia News, the most informed publication on the situation of persecuted Catholics in China, a layman was fined 25,700 euros for daring to invite an unregistered bishop to celebrate Mass in his home.He was charged with "illegal religious activities" for hosting a minister ordained by a foreign institution.Orphanages run by nuns have also been closed and since 2018 those under the age of 18 have been banned from attending Mass and other religious activities.One of the priorities of the regime is to nullify any type of “religious influence” on minors.The cameras installed in the churches serve to control whether the celebrations are attended by members of the party or other people who, due to their work, are required not to profess any religion.Since diplomatic relations were broken in 1951, the Holy See has insistently tried to build bridges with the Chinese Government in parallel to the painful persecution suffered by the Catholic community in the last half century.In September 2018, the Holy See announced an agreement on the appointment of bishops that would allow the faithful to have bishops in communion with Rome, and at the same time be recognized by the Chinese authorities.With concessions by both parties, the objective was to spiritually unite the entire Chinese Catholic Church, divided by the imposition of the regime.Until this agreement was reached, hundreds of conversations were necessary and as many meetings were held discreetly for years, including the "Letter to Chinese Catholics", which Pope Benedict XVI published in 2007. The basis of this agreement, with lights and shadows was to allow greater freedom in the local churches.Throughout these years "ad experimentum" the Holy See has been taking note, always hoping that the Asian giant respects the religious freedom of its people.The agreement has been renewed every two years and in principle it should be renewed next fall.The text remains secret by the will of Beijing, but its content, at this point, is not a mystery to anyone.Provisionally, as its name indicates, it simply regulates the ordination of bishops by mutual agreement, without for the moment implying diplomatic relations or even legal status for the Church.The appointment of bishops was the main stumbling block between the Vatican and the Chinese regime due to the division between the official Church and the underground.Since then, there have been half a dozen appointments by mutual agreement, two in the first two years and four after renewal.But in the midst of this confusion there is an important and unthinkable fact years ago: the authority of the Pope is recognized.The problem is that religious persecution of the six million Catholics who belong to the underground Church persists.YingXióng is convinced that the agreement will contribute to unity, although it has not stopped the persecution from continuing.The government continues to prevent the building of churches and many Catholics who refuse to sign their adherence to the patriotic church are arrested or mysteriously disappear or are denied access to jobs or subsidies necessary to survive in a country in which the majority of Catholics faithful are poor.Devotion to the Virgin in China plays a fundamental role in their faith, the mortar to keep them united with each other and with Pedro.Before saying goodbye, YingXióng gave me an image of Our Lady of Sheshan.It was wrapped in a parchment that she unrolled with great devotion and care while she explained to me the symbols contained in the image: Mary raises her Son high, with her arms above her head, as if she wanted to give him the opportunity to look even more far away and cover with his gaze as much as possible of the lands that surround him.Jesus has his arms outstretched towards the world, as if to embrace it, so that, from afar, the figure of the mother with her Son merges into the shape of a cross.The composition has as its background a circle on which a beautiful prayer composed by Benedict XVI is written in Chinese and which ends as follows:“Our Lady of Sheshan, encourage the commitment of those who, in China,in the midst of daily fatigues, they continue to believe, hope and love,so that they never fear to speak of Jesus to the world and of the world to Jesus.Help Catholics to always be credible witnesses of this love,keeping united to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.Mother of China and Asia, pray for us now and always.Amen"The most read© Radio Popular SA - COPE.CIF A28281368, C/ Alfonso XI, 4. 28014, Madrid.All rights reserved.Developed by