Pope Francis’s Mass from the Casa
Santa Marta followed even in China
Through the WeChat app and simultaneous translation,
thousands of people in the People's Republic of China followed the daily
liturgy celebrated by Pope Francis.
By Francesco Liang
Thousands of people in the People's Republic of China joined
in the daily broadcast of the Pope’s Mass over these past few weeks.
Millions of people throughout the world followed these
simple daily liturgies from the chapel of his residence in the Casa Santa
Marta, thanks to the live television and radio broadcasts and news reports in
many languages. This is precisely the gift that the Bishop of Rome wanted to
give each day to so many people unable to move from home during this difficult
time. That gift even reached the Catholic faithful of China.
First broadcast
The first live broadcast in China took place on 27 March.
That's when Pope Francis led the special moment of prayer in the rain in an
empty St Peter's Square to ask God for an end to the pandemic.
On March 30, broadcasts of the Mass from the Casa Santa
Marta then began in China through social media. The first live celebration had
280 views. After that the number increased daily. In the past few days the
number of people connected daily in real time reached between 7 and 8 thousand,
with more than 10 thousand views. The Masses were followed by more than one
member of the faithful connected to a single digital device, especially on
Sundays.
How the Mass was transmitted
The liturgies were transmitted via smartphone, through
the WeChat app, the most popular app in China. It is also
commonly used by older people. In some cases the youngest children, more adept
with new technologies, were able to transfer the images to a computer or
television so the whole family could participate and the images could be seen
better especially by the elderly. A simultaneous translation, also disseminated
through WeChat, allowed all the people connected to understand the
Pope's homily.
Thus adults, children and young people, together with their
grandparents - all forced to stay at home to avoid being infected with the
coronavirus - were able to follow the Pope's morning Masses. It was even more
important because they have been unable to participate in person in the
liturgies celebrated in the Chinese churches for more than three months due to
the Covid-19 crisis.
Connection to Peter and the universal Church
The news that the live broadcast of the Pope’s Mass would
end was greeted with some suffering and also with some tears.
Especially for the elderly and sick, the celebration of the
liturgy by Pope Francis had become a daily appointment through which they felt
accompanied by their shepherd.
Through the liturgy transmitted daily at 1:00 p.m. (7:00
a.m. in Italy), the Catholic faithful in China felt united in prayer with the
Successor of Peter and with the universal Church.
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