Franciscan University Missionaries Visit China

November 24, 2008 - 11:52 PST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY

STEUBENVILLE, OH (NOVEMBER 24, 2008) -- Franciscan University of Steubenville professors and students who engaged in evangelistic and humanitarian work in China this past summer shared their experiences at a November 13 convocation held on campus.

Shannon Walsh, a 1998 Franciscan graduate who has served in Chinese orphanages for over seven years, addressed the packed audience in Pugliese Auditorium via live videoconference. Last year Walsh founded the Loving Heart Home in Beijing, a hospice that receives the dying children who are abandoned because of their medical defects. "What blessings and joys these children are able to give us in their short little blessed lives," she said.

Students snacked on traditional Chinese food as Dr. Brian Scarnecchia, chair of the University's Department of Humanities and Catholic Social Thought, and five students spoke about their three-week mission in August to China and the Asia-Pacific regions.

In their travels, they met many Chinese Catholics and participated in parish events, catechized on beaches, and stood in solidarity with the Chinese as they celebrated the sacraments.

"My goal for this sojourn in Asia was to shore up long-standing connections as well as lay an expanded base for academic and professional connections in the Pacific Rim--most particularly in China," said Dr. Scarnecchia. "I also wanted to be there to simply be open to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Most of us on the trip felt that we were, in some mysterious way, called to be there."

Scarnecchia and the students attended some of the Olympic games in Beijing. An impromptu moment to share their faith came when a thunderstorm sent them scurrying for shelter beneath an overpass. Soon they were leading a large group of Chinese in religious songs and prayers. Near Shanghai, they were allowed to pick up and distribute several boxes filled with approved Bibles.

Kevin Kacvinsky, senior theology major, traveled with a separate group that taught Chinese Catholics about their faith. He spoke of the importance of bringing catechists to China.

"The people who are Catholic are strong and faithful," Kacvinsky said. "Their faith has been passed down to them, but they do not know the reasoning behind it. They need people who can explain these truths, giving them a firm foundation so that they can pass it on."

Also traveling with that group was Sister Mary Paul Friemel, OSF, a student in Franciscan University's Master of Arts in Theology and Christian Ministry Program, and some students from the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington D.C.

They hosted what is most likely the first Theology of the Body conference in China, spending two days in a private home explaining John Paul II's writings on the dignity of each human person. Sister Friemel said she has already seen the fruits of her talk, in the form of an e-mail from someone who received an emotional healing during that event.

Dr. Mark Miravalle, a Franciscan University theology professor who has traveled to China several times and is the author of the book, The Seven Sorrows of China, talked about the relationship between the state church and underground Catholic Church in China.

He explained that the unity between the two called for by Pope Benedict XVI would be difficult to achieve due to the long history of state persecution, perceived betrayals and even martyrdom.

At the end of the presentations, Dr. Scarnecchia presented a blessed picture of Our Lady of China to Franciscan University that was accepted by Dr. Max Bonilla, vice president for Academic Affairs.

Contact

Franciscan University
http://www.franciscan.edu
OH, 43952 US
Tom Sofio - Associate Director of Public Relations, 740 284-5893

Keywords

China

Category

OTHER

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