Comunidad Catolica Hispana de Shanghai

Since the launching of the “reform and opening up” policy by Deng Xiaoping around 1980, the amount of foreigners residing in China´s major commercial, industrial and financial cities has increased greatly. Among them are many Catholics from every tribe, language people and nation (Rev 6:9) who are in search of pastoral and religious services in their own languages if possible. The author brings forward the case of the Spanish-speaking Catholic community of Shanghai, its origin, development, actual situation and prospects for the future.

Desde el lanzamiento de la política de “Reforma y Apertura” por Deng Xiaoping en torno a 1980, el numero de residentes extranjeros en las grandes ciudades Chinas ha aumentado rápidamente. Entre ellos hay numerosos Católicos de toda raza, lengua, pueblo y nación (Ap 6:9) que buscan, en la medida de lo posible, de atención religiosa y pastoral en su propia lengua, algo que no cuadra con la legislación vigente en China referente a actividades religiosas. El autor presenta el caso de la comunidad Católica hispanohablante de Shanghái, su origen, desarrollo, situación y perspectivas de futuro.  

 

Catholic, Hispanic, Shanghai, migrants, religious policy, pastoral ministry. Católico, Hispanos, Shanghái, emigrantes, política religiosa, ministerio pastoral.

 

It started around 2004-2005.

An SVD Chilean priest ministering in Taiwan went to China for some business and was invited by some friends in Shanghai for a visit. A couple had just a baby, and asked him to celebrate the Eucharist and baptize the baby in a ceremony in their house. Some friends, mostly Chilean, came and celebrated with them, and the common feeling was “We need it. It is worthy it. We want this again more often, with some regularity, and open to other Spanish-speaking Catholics in Shanghai.” The venue was moved to Sacred Heart Church in Pudong briefly, and then to Puxi's Saint Peter and Saint Francis Xavier, where it has been since 2008. Now in 2013 the community celebrates the Eucharist once a month, sometimes twice (Easter, Pentecost), on Saturday at noon.

 

Priests who minister in the community are usually priests who live in China with other work (teaching, studying, congregational assignment...), they are therefore very careful and try to be as much low-profile and under the authority of the parish priest as possible and in constant dialogue with him. Such indeed is the way according to the Catholic canon law regarding the structure and chain of responsibility about pastoral work no matter if it is in relation to the parish pastor or to the diocesan bishop. The foreign priests are usually afraid to “come out of the closet.” While in Shanghai, the visiting priest lives with one of the families, each time a different one, which is a way of going from the “service” to the “friendship” paradigm. We are family.

 

The community consists mainly of families from international companies in Shanghai and university students mainly from international exchange programs at Fudan, and from other universities. Therefore they are a quite mobile community, with an average of 2 to 3 years of affiliation, which at times extends up to even 10 years for some, while others may just stay for only a few months. Around 100 to 200 participate in the Mass, especially on Christmas and Easter. Sometimes, people may even come from places as far as 100-150 Km away from Shanghai just to have the opportunity to celebrate the Sacraments in Spanish.

 

There are two well distinguished age groups: university students (24-30) from Spanish-speaking countries and middle age managers-engineers (30-50). Therefore there are many small kids and young adults in need of catechesis. As most of them study in international schools, they usually join their peers in the English catechetical groups, but still there are some parents who prefer that their children have their formation in Spanish.

 

It's a lay based community, supported by the priests who assist them through the sacraments and counsel. Nevertheless, there is still a bit of reluctance among the leaders to fully take the reins of the community in their hands, which is not uncommon in Catholic communities.

 

The economic situation of the members of the community is quite good, which sometimes is also a source of problem.

 

Most of the contact among the members of the community, including the priests, is done through email, whatsapp, wechat and other Internet means. There isn't a web page yet; some are afraid that as they don't have the government approval yet, its content (names, schedule, pictures...) may jeopardize the very existence of the community. Community events are communicated by word of mouth among new comers to Shanghai.

 

Sunday Mass once a month. Supplemented on special occasions (national feasts, special needs [family anniversaries, sickness, deaths...])

Catechism, mostly preparation for first communion. Preparation for confirmation is mainly done in the English groups available.

Couples sharing (families/marriages have to cope with strong cultural and social imbalances that have to be addressed from the faith: e.g., Karaoke, massage, culture)

Group rosary (women, every Friday) already meeting for 8 years now. They meet in the house of one the women or in one of the parishes. They have a group pilgrimage to Sheshan shrine at least twice a year (October and May). They are surprised at the excessive “control” and police/military presence on those days... first comers are even afraid of it. They would like to go on pilgrimage to other places in China, but they feel that if going to Sheshan, which is just near an MRT stop in an international city like Shanghai, can be so troublesome, how much trouble would there be in going to a Marian shrine in another province in a much more secluded area?

Community retreat (twice a year: Advent and Lent)

Day of prayer (Lent and Pentecost)

Preparation for baptism (godmother/godfather), marriage, confirmation. Sacrament of reconciliation

Assisting the local church in works of charity (Baobei kids, orphanages, classes to disadvantaged kids...) and even creating some of their own, both personally and through the companies they work in.

One of their main worries is the unavailability of a Spanish-speaking priest during emergencies (accidents, sickness...) for some sacraments (reconciliation, anointing of the sick, Eucharist), rituals and for spiritual and moral support (great concern).

 

• Language and culture “feeling”. Not everyone, usually the wives but also the husbands, are proficient in English, which is a business or basic conversation/survival tool. After a time, kids usually manage better as most of them study in international schools. Singing to the Lord in a foreign language is usually not as delectable as doing it in your own. Also, English Masses are celebrated mostly by Chinese priests, whose English proficiency is even made hardly understandable by the bad acoustics in some churches. Some of those priests are happy to have visiting priests to celebrate the Mass in English and/or say the homily. The local pastors are doing a great job, and the people are thankful to them, but they also know their limitations.

• Faith education. Parents worry that their children may feel ill at ease when they return to their country of origin, and cannot integrate/adjust if all their faith formation and celebration (catechism, Masses, sacraments...) are now done in English.

• There are some personal/moral issues they prefer to share in their mother tongue in confession and spiritual direction.

• Adult formation courses (confirmation, marriage...).

• It is a help to ease the cultural shock. Most of them tell of a rebirth of their faith commitment after coming to China. The cultural shock sometimes causes a deep crisis that helps them to realize how their faith was and is a factor that gives stability and meaning to their lives, and creates a movement of return to their religious roots. They come to value their faith more (and its transmission to their children) than when they were in their own countries.

 

Official recognition. It needs a lot of red tape and is quite secretive. It is not a transparent process and its success is usually related to “local/provincial and national government climate”, the extent of relationships and the “interpretation” of the local authorities. They are also required to submit a lot of personal information about the foreign priest who assists the foreign language community, which some priests are not willing to do due to that lack of transparency and for fear that the information may be used for other purposes. They are afraid that the authorities may tag them and may unnecessarily complicate their present and future work in China. Sadly, and because of this, priests from outside the diocese feel more at ease and safer in their exercise of the ministry than those who live in the diocese.

The Catholics also feel it is awkward, because in their experience in other places where they have resided (Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao...), the creation of foreign language Catholic communities was done mostly on the discretion of the local parish priest who would offer the parish as the venue and celebrate the Mass, or agree on inviting a priest to celebrate it when he did not master the language. This increases the feeling among the foreign community that the Catholic faith/church is somewhat persecuted in China (or at least heavily controlled). Such becomes a quite silent and continuous ongoing “bad PR” for China and its government.

The Spanish speaking community asked for official recognition on April 2012, but they are still waiting for an answer.  As we know, the Shanghai Diocese has been in quite a “stormy” situation in the last two years. Recent events indeed reinforced the just mentioned “persecution/excessive control” feeling among them.

Of course, the situation is much better than 10 years ago, as some of the old members told me: the police (even undercover) waited at the door, asking for passports and took pictures of those who came. Some of the foreign Catholics reported that in some of the international Masses, they are still seeing some Chinese who didn't look Catholic (they were smoking, talking, sleeping in the church, without any devotion as would usually be shown by almost every Chinese Catholic), and asked if they might be plainclothes police checking what the priest is saying in the homily. I told them I was not sure, but who knows!

 

Feedback on the local Church

They feel and admire the support of the local pastors, and their efforts to provide them with a venue for their religious activities, even putting themselves at risk. Many of those Chinese pastors who assist the foreign communities have been outside China for their studies and had been migrant themselves, so were aware of and had experience of pastoral ministry to foreigners, even ministering themselves to Chinese Catholic communities abroad. This pastoral service creates an ongoing building up of mutual trust and support between the local Chinese Church and the foreign Catholics.

As they are integrated in these local church structures (contrary to the Protestant system or the much more “independent” Catholic hotel/embassy set up), they are not isolated islands, but in constant and close relation with the local Church, creating an opportunity for dialogue and mutual enrichment, respect and value diversity while living and promoting unity. The last two years, the Chinese- and Spanish-speaking communities have celebrated together the ritual of the light at the beginning of the Easter Vigil Mass as an expression of the common faith in the risen Christ. After the ritual of the light and the blessing of the paschal candle, each community continues their celebration in their own place and in their own language.

 

• The Spanish-speaking Catholic community in Shanghai expects for the normalization of their status and hopes for a simplification of today's complex and rigid bureaucratic situation regarding the Catholic faith and worship in China. Any delay on this issue would maintain a bad PR for China.

• They hope to have their community celebration better and more often (biweekly or even weekly).

• The group is in answer to a need. In today's China there are not many possibilities for naturalization of foreign nationals (like in the USA or Europe), therefore the group will disappear if one day there are no more Spanish-speaking Catholics in Shanghai. As China's economic and cultural relations with Latin America are expanding, the lack of Spanish-speaking Catholic expatriates or university students doesn't seem to be a concern for the near future.