The Sanctuary of the Rosary Villa
from the village of Fu Jian

Among the Marian Sanctuaries in China, the latest and newest on was built in 1993, located on a hilltop in the village of Long Tian, close to Fu Zhou, the capital of the province of Fu Jian. The shrine is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary.

In 1993 Bishop Chang Cheng Zheng, the first Chinese Bishop of the diocese of Fu Zhou, retired at the age of eighty. He requested the Committee of the Village of his home town to give him a piece of abandoned land in the mountain. Thus began the colossal work of the Sanctuary. Today there emerg the famous Rosary Villa, consisting of the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, a house of retreats and training for priests and religious, a library, a church, a niche of the Virgin and one with the image of Sacred Heart of Jesus, and statues of Saints Peter and Paul and St. Michael the Archangel. It includes a Way of the Cross, a four-story building with a chapel for permanent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, a shelter for the pilgrims, an elderly home and fields of crops needed to self sustain economically.

But the Rosary Villa is not just a place that awaits the pilgrims but also strives to bring the Gospel and God’s love to all. Indeed, the Catholic community of the place (i.e. the diocese) periodically offers a free medical service, collects funds for school and road construction, in addition to building a church dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary and a Catholic cemetery.

In the first year since its construction the village has welcomed more than ten-thousand pilgrims from neighboring villages. At present, pilgrims have come from Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao. It has also been received many guests from Italy, Spain, France, England, Belgium, Germany, United States, Poland, Canada, Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia. The village has become the center of religious and cultural exchange in the Catholic community of Fu Jian. In this place people can seek to harmonize theology and Western philosophy with China's traditional culture, thereby making this Marian sanctuary, an oasis of harmony.

Reference: Father. Anh Thu Tran (John the Baptist),C.S.J.B., Marian Shrines in China, Published by St. Francis Xavier Church (Chinese Community),Vancouver, BC. Canada,2009.

Address: St Francis Xavier Parish, 428 Great Northern Way, Van.,BC,V5T 4S5,Canada, Tel 1-(604)254-2727, E-mail address: jbtat@yahoo.com

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