Pope Leo Prays for China, Mideast Christians on Pentecost Sunday

Pope Leo XIV prayed for China on Sunday, remembering the victims of a deadly explosion in a coal mine and asking believers around the world to join him in praying especially for the Catholic faithful of the country.

The pontiff made his appeal in remarks following the traditional Regina Coeli prayer on Pentecost Sunday, which this year coincided with the Day of Prayer for the Church in China, which Benedict XVI instituted in 2007.

May 24 is the liturgical memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, “venerated with great devotion in the Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai,” as Pope Leo XIV recalled in his remarks.

“Let us join our prayers with those of Chinese Catholics,” the pontiff said, “as a sign of our affection for them and of their communion with the universal Church and with the Successor of Peter.”

“May the intercession of the Queen of Heaven obtain for the believing community in China the grace of unity and grant everyone the strength to bear witness to the Gospel in their daily struggles, to be a seed of hope and peace,” Leo said.

In 2018, during the pontificate of Francis, the Holy See and the Chinese