Our Lady of China is the name given to an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Donglu, China, first appearing in 1900.

 

An officially-sanctioned image of Our Lady of China was blessed, granted and promulgated by Pope Pius XI in 1928, in response to the requests made by the 1924 Shanghai Synod of Bishops in China, the first national conference of bishops in the country. Following the event, Archbishop Celso Costantini, Apostolic Delegate in China, along with all the bishops of China, declared the Chinese people dedicated to Our Lady of China, using the official image. In 1941, Pope Pius XII designated the feast day as an official feast of the Catholic liturgical calendar. In 1973, following the Second Vatican Council, the Chinese Bishops conference, upon approval from the Holy See, placed the feast day on the vigil (day preceding) of Mothers Day (the second Sunday of May).

 

Christian devotion to Our Lady of China has been popular in Donglu.

 

Several churches, chapels, and pastoral centers around the world, predominantly those focused on ministry to Chinese-speaking Catholics, have adopted the name, including a mission in Washington, DC. There is a Chapel of Our Lady of China in the National Shrine of the United States in Washington, DC, established and dedicated in 2002 under the Most Rev. Michael J. Bransfield. There has been some controversy because the image used in the Chapel is not the officially approved image of Our Lady of China, but instead a different Chinese image of the Virgin Mary.

 

The Virgin of Sheshan is another, similar apparition which has attained like acclamation and fame among Chinese Christians.

 

Our Lady of China appeared near Peiping. It stands in a village named Tong Lu. A Poor Mission was started there by the Vincentian Fathers. It was a poor place, perhaps the poorest in the whole region, formerly called “the place of beggars.”

 

In 1900, there were some seven hundred Christians gathered about the little hamlet. Suddenly, the famous Boxer rebellion swept China and grew to such proportions, that even small places like Tong Lu could not escape its fury. In April 1900, a force of ten thousand rioters attacked Tong Lu. The soldiers, in senseless rage, started to shoot into the sky. Then suddenly they fled, frightened, and never came back again. According to the legend, a woman in white appeared above the settlement, and the rioters’ bullets were aimed at her. When the apparition did not fade, attackers had not even time to reorganize because a strange horseman put them to flight. Soon after they had disappeared beyond the horizon.

 

Father Wu, a Chinese priest, confessed to his flock that he invoked the help of Mary.

 

A new church was built on the site and Father Wu placed a picture of Our Lady on the main altar. He asked the painter to dress Our Lady in the royal robes of the dowager Empress Tzi-Hsi. The image of the Blessed Virgin in the royal robes of the pagan Empress, with the Christ Child on her knees, is vivid expression of Chinese tradition. It is a shrine of the Mother and her Son. Though her robes be pagan, she belongs to every age, to all people and to every race. As was told and promised in the Old Testament: “I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge and of holy hope.”

The Tong Lu church was completely destroyed recently by the Chinese Communists, but the picture of Our Lady of China remains intact because only a copy of the picture was used in the church. The original was hidden in the wall behind the copy, and this was recovered and found intact. It is now in possession of Chinese priests who carry out their activities in disguise.

Bishop JIA Zhiguo, the underground Roman Catholic bishop of Zhengding, Hebei, was arrested on March 20, 2002. Bishop JIA is 67 years old and was ordained a bishop in 1980. He was previously in jail for approximately 20 years. He was released shortly after our press release and has been under strict surveillance for many years…..

 

Father PANG Yongxing, 30 years of age, was arrested in his home in December 2001. On Easter Sunday, March 31, 2002, Father MA Shunbao, 50 years of age, was arrested while he was offering Holy Mass.

 

Father WANG Limao, 32 years of age, was arrested on Palm Sunday, March 24, 2002, also while offering Holy Mass.

 

All three priests belong to the underground Roman Catholic Church in Baoding, Hebei. On July 7, 2002, they were sentenced to three years of labor camp for “disturbing the peace of society” under the “cult” law…..

 

Six Roman Catholics from Wenzhou, Zhejiang went to DongLu in Baoding, Hebei for a pilgrimage in May 2002 and were arrested by the authorities. They were fined a total of JMP 30,800 (US $ 3,850) for “illegal pilgrimage.” They were released soon after the fine was paid. …..

 

On July 18, 2002, in Dong-An village, Fujian province, 31 underground Roman Catholics, 26 of whom were students under 18 years of age, were arrested during a summer vacation catechism class in a private home. Among the 31 arrested were a Catholic nun, Sister Chen Mei, 27 years of age, and four chaperons. The children and chaperons were released after one day. The situation of Sister Chen Mei is unknown…..

 

Bishop WEI Jingyi, 44 years of age, the underground Roman Catholic Bishop of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, was arrested Sept 9, 2002. He was too released shortly after our press release.

The Cardinal Kung Foundation is promoting the celebration of an annual Mass for the persecuted underground Roman Catholic Church in China. The Foundation has chosen, as the annual date for this Mass, the Sunday before October 1, which is the National Day of the founding the People’s Republic of China and also the anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s canonization of the 120 blessed martyr saints of China.

 

Hail, Holy Mary, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ,

Mother of all nations and all people.

You are the special heavenly Mother of the Chinese people.

Teach us your way of total obedience to God’s will.

Help us to live our lives true to our faith.

Fill our hearts with burning love for God and each other.

Stir up in our youth an unconditional giving of self to the service of God.

We call on your powerful intercession for peace, reconciliation and unity among believers

and the conversion of the unbelievers in China and throughout the world,

for God’s mercy is our only hope.

Our Lady of China, Mother of Jesus, hear our petitions and pray for us.

Amen.

Source: Daisy Y.Y. Lin, MD, MPH

Imprimatur: Bishop William E. Lori, Bishop of Bridgeport Connecticut

 

 

 

this article discovered here

 

 

 

 

On May 11, the first Brazilian-born saint, Anthony of Saint Anne Galvão was canonized in Campo de Marte, São Paulo, Brazil, with an estimated one million people in attendance.  Saint Anthony has been venerated in Brazil for centuries.  However, the saint’s influence is spreading throughout the world.  The following story happened here in the United States.

 

In October, a Catholic mother of four was ecstatic when she learned she was pregnant with her fifth child.  However, when she went to the doctor to get an ultrasonic first glimpse of the child, she received the dreaded news that there was no baby in her womb.  Furthermore, hormonal tests seemed to indicate that she was no longer with child.

 

Devastated, she returned home.  Her pro-life doctor was so certain of a miscarriage, he told her to come back in a week to schedule a D&C.

 

At home, she called her oldest brother and told him the sad news.  Her brother had traveled many times to Brazil and knew the story of the then Blessed Galvão.  He knew that during the saint’s life, he had cured a woman who was dying in child birth by having her swallow a small piece of paper, on which he had written: “Post Partem Virgo, Inviolata Permansisti, Intercede Pro Nobis Sancta Dei Genetrix.” (It is a Latin phrase taken from the hour of Sext in the Little Office of Our Lady, meaning: “After giving birth, O Virgin, Thou remained inviolate, Intercede for us Holy Mother of God.”)

 

He told his sister the story, explaining that it had become customary for devotees to swallow similar parchments, when asking favors from the saint.  In fact, the nuns of Saint Galvão’s convent still make little parchments with the same text printed on them, put them in capsules and distribute them to the faithful.  (In fact, during 2006, 90,000 such pills were consumed each month.  After the announcement of the saint’s canonization, that number increased to 140,000.)

 

She was little consoled, but decided to give it a try.  Since she did not have time to order the “pills” from Brazil, she simply wrote the phrase on a small piece of paper and swallowed it.

 

The next week, when she went in for a final check up and to schedule the D&C, her doctor, being pro-life, decided to take another ultrasonic look.  Happily he looked up at the mother and asked: “Do you believe in little miracles?”

 

“I believe in little miracles and big ones too,” she replied.

 

He said: “Good, because you have a perfectly healthy and full-size baby boy in your womb.” 

 

Overcome with emotion, the mother returned home.  A couple of weeks later she learned that Father Galvão was due to be canonized shortly before her delivery date.  Full of gratitude, the family celebrated the saint’s canonization and decided to name the child Anthony, in honor of the saint they believe saved him.

 

Such stories are common.  The nuns at Saint Galvão’s convent keep a tally of the written testimonials of special graces received through the saint’s intercession.  The numbers for the years 1930 to 1990 are as follows:

 

37,673 graces received

7,028 cures

2,702 safe births

332 kidney stones safely passed

123 conversions

 

Saint Galvão’s prodigious assistance from Heaven is not surprising to those familiar with his life.

 

 

Anthony Galvão was born in 1739 in the village of Guaratinguetá.  His father, also named Anthony, belonged to an illustrious Portuguese family and was well educated, as evidenced by his writings.  He excelled in business, the military and public administration, leading him to serve well as the village mayor.

 

His mother, Doña Isabel Leite de Barros, came from Pindamonhangaba in São Paulo, Brazil.  She descended from aristocratic stock on both her paternal and maternal sides.  Her great-great grandfather was a famous leader named Fernão Dias Paes Leme, known as the “Emerald Governor.”

 

Anthony was the forth of ten children.  Three died in their infancy and the other six married and left many descendents.

 

However, Anthony always felt inclined to the religious life.  At the young age of 13, he left the family home to pursue priestly studies at the Jesuit “Belém Seminary” in Bahia, where he remained for the next five years.  While there, he received an excellent formation.

 

Shortly thereafter, he became a novice in the Franciscan monastery of Saint Bonaventure of Macacu, in the capital of Rio de Janeiro.  In religious life, he adopted the name: Friar Anthony of Saint Anne Galvão, as a sign of his devotion to Our Lady and because Saint Anne was his family’s patroness.

 

He was ordained a priest in 1762, even before he had finished the regular courses of philosophy and theology.  This showed the confidence his superiors placed in his virtues and cultural formation.

 

After ordination, he was sent to São Paulo, where he spent several years finishing his studies and graduated, with highest honors.

 

As he grew and matured, his devotion to Our Lady increased.  In 1766, he consecrated himself as a slave of Mary.  Although this devotion was systematized and developed by Saint Louis de Montfort, who had died fifty years earlier, his writings were not yet known. 

 

Nevertheless, the same devotion had been practiced by Sister Agnes of Saint Paul, a Spanish Conceptionist nun, and had gained papal recognition a century before Saint Louis de Montfort. 

 

Almost immediately, many famous historic figures began practicing slavery to Our Lady, such as: Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and his wife, King Philip III and his wife Margarida, Austrian archduke Albert and his wife Elizabeth and, of course, Father Anthony Galvão.

 

In 1768, he finished his obligatory studies and the provincial chapter of his order named him “preacher, confessor of the people and porter of Saint Francis’ Monastery in São Paulo.”

 

He extended his apostolate, by walking to all the cities surrounding São Paulo.  Throughout the region he was known and admired for his virtues.

 

In 1770, he was named confessor of the Retreat House of Saint Theresa.  While there, he met Sister Helen Mary of the Blessed Sacrament, who had spent many years living in austerity with the community.

 

During this time, she received visions from Our Lord, Who commanded her to found a new retreat house in São Paulo, where ladies would live as religious, without taking vows.  She confided this to Father Anthony and asked his advice.

 

Balanced and prudent, he was slow to approve of the project.  He carefully examined all the circumstances surrounding the supposed apparitions, analyzed Sister Helen’s psychology and recommended that she take much care, so as not to be fooled by the devil. 

 

After much study and thought, he concluded that Sister Helen’s visions were authentic and therefore that the construction of the new house was the will of God. Since he was suspicious of his own judgment, he consulted other clerics who were well known for their wisdom and learning.  Unanimously, they agreed with Father Galvão’s decision.

 

However, construction of a new retreat house seemed impossible.  The impious Marquis of Pombal was then a highly influential minister of the Portuguese King Joseph I.  He influenced the sovereign to prohibit the foundation of any new convents in all Portugal’s lands, which of course included Brazil.

 

Neither Sister Helen nor Father Anthony recoiled before these seemingly insuperable obstacles, but rather both busied themselves in the project, convinced that if it were truly God’s will, the retreat house would eventually become a reality.

 

Sister Helen wrote a letter to the Governor of São Paulo, Dom Luiz Antonio de Souza Botelho e Mourão, a noble and pious man.  In it, she outlined her plans for the retreat house and asked for his support. 

 

A month later, he responded and pledged all the construction costs.  He saw the project as a means of honoring his family’s two special patrons, Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady of Delight. 

 

Thus, his pledge was made on the conditions that: the retreat house would have perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady of Delight would be made the institution’s patroness and the “nuns” would pray for two intentions: the eternal salvation of he and his family and that he would always remain in the service of God, the King and those for whom he was responsible.

 

Attaining Portuguese approval for the project was the next challenge the governor faced.  The way he conducted himself, demonstrated the flexibility and shrewdness for which Brazilians are known.  He drafted the proposal and sent it to Portugal in a package full of other governmental documents, hoping it would be overlooked.

 

His hopes were realized when the response came with no mention of the retreat house.  Unknowingly, the government in Lisbon had given tacit approval for the project.

 

Even before governmental permission had been secured, however, the community had been informally established.  Sister Helen came to be called Mother Helen Mary of the Holy Ghost and eight young ladies lived a conventual life with her on the site of the future retreat house.

 

One year later, Mother Helen died in the odor of sanctity.  It was a great blow for the aborning community.

 

Losing their foundress was by no means the least of the “nuns’” problems, but neither was it the worst.  In June, Governor Luiz’s administration came to an end and a wicked man named Martim Lopes de Saldanha replaced him.  Governor Saldanha despised the new community.

 

One of his first acts as governor was to persuade the bishop to order its closure.  The weak bishop conceded to his wishes and ordered Father Galvão to board up the building.  Everything seemed lost.

 

Father Galvão, always obedient to his superiors, celebrated Mass for the “nuns” on June 29, 1775 and after giving them Holy Communion, told them the sad news with calm and resignation.  His attitude, in face of the apparent ruin of his life’s work, justifies the epitaph that describes him on his tombstone, which reads: “He always held his soul in his hands.”

 

Nevertheless, true obedience does not mean one must be a drone.  Perhaps it was the formation Father Galvão had given the “nuns” that taught them this lesson.  They analyzed the Bishop’s order and, seeing that it only commanded them to close the house, but not disband, all but three secretly continued to live as religious behind the boarded windows and doors.

 

Doing so required heroic confidence.  They had no food or water on the premises and could not ask help from anyone outside their walls lest their presence be betrayed, which would almost certainly provoke the bishop to disband them.

 

They lived in this desperate situation for over a month.  During this time, Providence provided for them in a spectacular manner that is described in the convent’s chronicles:

 

The amount of work was tremendous.  They endured hunger and miseries, maintaining the absolute resolve to remain…They ate without flour or salt, abandoning themselves entirely to Providence.  After some time, even their benefactors from the city gave up hope that they were there, since all the doors were shut and the convent showed no signs of life.

 

However, God, Whose Providence especially protects those who serve Him with constancy, manifested His love, sustaining them with His grace and working miracles, two of which are described below.

 

The first was when the “nuns,” having spent several days without water, resolved to implore God’s mercy.  They met in the choir and began to pray, fervently.  Immediately, the sky clouded over and began to thunder.  A torrential rain began and continued until all the vessels they had in the house were filled.  Shortly afterwards, the rain stopped.

 

The other miracle involved a strawberry patch that was within the walls.  The “nuns” ate all the tender leaves and shoots that grew, since they had no other food.  Nevertheless, the patch grew so much and produced such an amount of fruit that the “nuns” were not able to eat it all…many strawberries were left out to rot.

 

Our Lord did not leave them in this state of desperation for long.  In less than two months, the bishop lifted the ban on the retreat house and the community again began to prosper.

 

Providential Help: The Viceroy’s Support

The retreat house, which became know as the “Convent of Light,” was not destined to suffer persecution for the whole of Father Galvão’s life.  The Portuguese viceroy, who had jurisdiction over São Paulo’s governor, was favorable to the convent.  When he heard of its closing by Gov. Martim, he immediately sent a letter, reprimanding the politician.

 

While this eased the pressure against the retreat house, it hardly assuaged the persecution the governor waged against Father Galvão.  Shortly thereafter, the minister unjustly condemned a soldier to death.  Saint Anthony pointed out the injustice and united his voice to many others in protest.  The proud governor condemned Father Galvão to exile and ordered him to leave immediately for Rio de Janeiro.

 

As always, Father Anthony held his soul in his hands and immediately prepared for departure, without a word of complaint.  However, before he left the city, the citizens of São Paulo rose up to defend him.

 

They threateningly circled the governmental palace and obliged Gov. Martim to rescind Father Anthony’s sentence.  When he did so, the saint calmly unpacked and continued his ministry in São Paulo.  In 1782, Governor Martim left office and the public authorities never again persecuted the Convent of Light.

 

No report on Saint Galvão’s life would be complete without narrating some of the many miracles he performed.  These marvels were often subtle.  For example: on a trip he made through the Brazilian countryside, he arranged to stay the night with a couple he had befriended.

 

This couple was having marital problems and argued incessantly.  When time for bed arrived, the couple directed the saint to his room, but when he approached it he stopped and refused to enter.  Pointing to the master bedroom, he said: “I must sleep in that room.”

 

Taken aback, the couple agreed, all went to sleep and the next morning, Saint Galvão moved on to another city.  Much to the couple’s delight, from that day on they never argued again.

 

Other wonders were less subtle.  As is often the case with founders, he was gifted with discernment of the thoughts and souls of others.  Once, going to procure donations for the convent, he traveled to the house of a well-known rich man in another city.  A drifter, who knew of the saint, but was not yet convinced of his virtue, saw him approach the house and thought silently to himself: “Father Galvão just arrived and already he is going to adulate the rich.”

 

Immediately, Saint Anthony turned around and said: “My brother, do not rash judge me.  I am not going to adulate the rich, but merely ask this man for a donation for my convent.”

 

The astonished transient left, no longer doubting the priest’s sanctity.

 

In addition, Saint Anthony was known to levitate during prayer and bi-locate to bring the sacraments to the dying.

 

After the persecutions of the Convent of Light ceased, Saint Anthony dedicated himself to finishing construction on the convent and its chapel and spiritually forming the community. 

 

He wrote the “nuns” a rule of life that they continued to use until 1929, when they received official Vatican approval and joined the Conceptionist order.

 

The construction work was another matter.  All in all, Saint Anthony dedicated 48 years to building the chapel and convent.  During that time, he served as architect, engineer, superintendent and manual laborer.

 

Saint Anthony died in 1822, before the completion of the church’s tower.  While suffering in his final illness, he designed the tower and wrote its architectural plans on the wall of his sickroom.

 

He was buried in the beautiful chapel of the Convent of Light that he had spent his life constructing.  During life, he maintained strict poverty for himself and his “nuns.”  However, he spared no expense in building the House of God.  He constructed the Church of the finest materials and richly decorated it.

 

The magnificent complex still stands today, where pilgrims visit the shrine and beg favors while venerating the saint’s remains.

 

This article is a summary of an article published in the monthly Brazilian magazine Catolicismo by Armando Alexandre dos Santos.  It was translated, edited and summarized by Michael Whitcraft, who also added several sections and facts.  All this was done without the author’s revision.  All facts herein contained come from this Catolicismo article and the book, Frei Galvão, Bandeirante de Cristo (Portuguese), written in 1954 by Maristela.

 

this article discovered here

 

 

 

Father Vincent Robert Capodanno was born February 13, 1929, on Staten Island in New York.  Vincent Robert Capodanno studied at Maryknoll seminaries and was ordained to the priesthood on June 7, 1957. He served for the first 8 years of his priesthood as a Maryknoll missionary in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

 

Commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Dec. 28, 1965, Father Capodanno asked to serve with the Marines in Vietnam and joined the 1st Marine Division in 1966 as Battalion Chaplain. Marines affectionately called Chaplain Capodanno the “Grunt Padre” for his ability to relate well with soldiers and his willingness to risk his life to minister to the troops.

 

Father Vince extended his one-year tour of duty in Vietnam in order to continue serving with his men. Fatally wounded by enemy sniper fire September 4, 1967, he was posthumously awarded the nation’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor, “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his own life and beyond the call of duty.”

 

The US Archdiocese for Military Services, on May 21, 2006, opened the formal cause for canonization (sainthood) for the Grunt Padre. If you wish to know of his life, you can contact CMJ Marian Publishers for the book “The Grunt Padre” by Father Daniel L. Mode. If you wish Father Vincent to intercede in Heaven for any military (esp. Marines) then, just ask Father Vincent to watch over those “grunts”, keep them safe and close to God.