Chinese Priest Ministers to 18,000 Immigrant Compatriots
PRATO, Italy, NOV. 19, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- Father John Ding, 37, wanted to be a missionary in China. Instead, he is proclaiming the Gospel to Chinese immigrants in Italy.
Born in Beijing, Father Ding is "parish" priest to his compatriots in the Italian locality of Prato, an industrial city in Tuscany, one of the principal textile regions of Europe.
Over the past decade, a large Chinese community has established itself here. Out of a total population of 180,000, 12,000 are legal Chinese immigrants. The figure rises to 18,000 if illegal immigrants are included. The majority of these immigrants come from Zhejang, a region south of Shanghai.
There are many businessmen among the Chinese immigrants, who produce knitted fabrics. Their commercial enterprises are also expanding. The immigrants' integration into their new land has not been easy, especially since there are few Catholics among them. The evangelical community, however, is fairly numerous, and for several years has been meeting in one of the local Catholic parishes.
The diocese had been seeking a Chinese priest for some time. The request was taken up by the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), of whom Father Ding is a member. He accepted the task, and now joins the efforts of Sister Magdalen Poh, who has been working with Caritas in this locality.
"I am very happy to work and be in touch with my compatriots," Father Ding said. "I had been in Prato on other occasions to celebrate a weekly Mass for the Chinese. At last, I now have the possibility to be dedicated full time to proclaiming the Gospel. ... I hope to begin visiting all the Chinese families soon."
This Chinese priest is accustomed to difficulties. He has a history of "catacombs" and humiliations, as most Chinese Catholics have. He comes from a Catholic family, who probably converted at the end of the 19th century. He was secretly baptized by his grandfather, at a time when violent persecutions erupted against Catholics and there were no priests. Those priests who remained alive in China were in prison.
"I learned about Christ thanks to my grandmother who taught me the catechism at home every Sunday, after firmly closing the windows," Father Ding recalled. "I had to wait until the churches were reopened, at the beginning of the '80s, to attend Mass."
His vocation flowered within the family, where the faith was tenaciously cultivated. Father Ding was able to leave China in 1986. When he arrived in Italy, he entered PIME in Monza. He was ordained a priest in 1995. At present he lives in Prato, in Ascension Parish, which will become a Chinese center for pastoral care.
"It is a young community, but I am very hopeful," the priest said. "I am convinced that the Holy Spirit 'works well.' Above all thanks to Caritas, over these years much has been done to foster their integration."
Zenit - The World Seen From Rome
19. november 2000