Shanghai, 15 May 1924: in the Cathedral of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the beginning of the First Council of the Catholic Church in China, convened to encourage and accompany the growth of an indigenous Church in China, with Chinese bishops to whom to entrust the leadership of local communities.

One hundred years later, in Rome, an International Conference is turning the spotlight back on that synodal experience to grasp its scope and relevance for the journey of the Catholic Church in China.

The Conference is entitled “100 Years since the Concilium Sinense: between history and the present”. Organized by the Pontifical Urban University in collaboration with the Fides Agency and the Pastoral Commission for China, the Conference will take place on TUESDAY 21 MAY in the Great Hall of the university, which is an integral part of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for first evangelization and the new particular Churches).

The Pontifical Urban University is located in Via Urbano VIII, 16.

The Conference programme will include interventions by Bishop Joseph Shen Bir of Shanghai, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, and Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, pro-prefect of the missionary Dicastery. There will also be interventions and speeches from academics and researchers from the People’s Republic of China, such as Professor Zheng Xiaoyun and Professor Liu Guopeng, of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

At the opening of the Conference, after the greeting by Professor Vincenzo Buonomo, Pontifical Delegate and Rector Magnificent of the Pontifical Urban University, a video message from Pope Francis will be screened.

ACCREDITATION PROCEDURE

Journalists and media operators who wish to participate must apply, no later than 24 hours before the event, via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system at press.vatican.va/accreditamenti.