SEMINARIANS FROM TAIWAN VISIT LMI

On June 18, 2026 there was a farewell breakfast for three Taiwan seminarians who stayed in LMI for three days to have an exposure with seminarians of LMI. It was a momentous moment for them to have a glimpse of the seminary life in LMI. It was a moment of bridging themselves with different cultures, ways of seminary formation, and exposure with seminary atmosphere. The three seminarians come from Taiwan Catholic Regional Seminary in Taipei. These three seminarians are: (from left to right) Seminarians Peter Li, Paul Xu, and John Baptist Wang. The project of visiting LMI was initiated by Fr. Peter Lo who is the current rector of the seminary in Taipei so that the seminarians would feel the universality of the Church and be exposed to intercultural formation that is girded towards mission and evangelization. Fr. Peter Lo was an alumnus of the Lorenzo Mission Institute and he was ordained priest in 2013. As the seminarians stayed in LMI for just a short time, it was a profound experience of brotherhood and friendship. Their comment was the feeling of the oneness of the Church and the universality of its stretching nature and mission. Thus, bridging is a common experience of the Lorenzo Mission Institute.

EVENTS

LRMS AND THE DEVOTION TO OUR LADY OF CHINA

The promotion of popular devotions has been important in the history of missions. Popular religiosity have been part of the evangelization process in the history of the Church. The Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society as well as the Lorenzo Mission Institute kept the devotion to foster oneness in mission and the appreciation of culture and the contexts the local church has been experiencing. To be imbued with the sense of history, popular religiosity plays an important part in the formation of seminarians and for the missionary activity of the priests. There are elements that links popular religiosity with mission.

1) Popular Religiosity predisposes the People to the Liturgy- Popular religiosity and the Liturgy are important venues for the expression of the Christian faith. Through the Liturgy and Popular religiosity, the faith of the people are promoted. Therefore, the promotion of popular religiosity should be inseparable to the celebration of the Liturgy because both are not at odds with each other. The Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy issued by the Congregation on Divine Worship and the Discipline on the Sacraments in 2001 comments: "Genuine forms of popular piety, expressed in a multitude of different ways, derives from the faith and, therefore, must be valued and promoted. Such authentic expressions of popular piety are not at odds with the centrality of the Sacred Liturgy. Rather, in promoting the faith of the people, who regard popular piety as a natural religious expression, they predispose the people for the celebration of the Sacred Mysteries." The Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society promotes the devotion to Our Lady of China in order to lead the people toward the celebration of the Liturgy.

2) Popular Religiosity Needs Proper Catechesis- As the Church is concerned about the value and importance of popular religiosity, it is also the mission of the Church to provide the corresponding catechesis in order for the people to see the value of their cultural expressions of faith through these devotions and its inroad towards the celebration of the liturgy which is the summit of the Christian life. The Directory continues to say: "The correct relationship between these two expressions of faith must be based on certain firm principles, the first of which recognises that the Liturgy is the centre of the Church's life and cannot be substituted by, or placed on a par with, any other form of religious expression. Moreover, it is important to reaffirm that popular religiosity, even if not always evident, naturally culminates in the celebration of the Liturgy towards which it should ideally be oriented. This should be made clear through suitable catechesis." It is the mission of the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society to promote the devotion to Our Lady of China since it is part of culture yet it is also its mission to provide proper catechesis to build a true relationship between the local church and popular piety.

3) Popular Religiosity is Important in Priestly Formation- The promotion of popular religiosity is the promotion of culture. As missionaries to the nations, the Church acknowledges that "popular piety varies according to country and local traditions. Thus, popular piety is linked to a people and culture. It is of paramount importance that popular piety and its relation to the Church's mission should be part of seminary formation as well as the formation among priests. The Directory continues to say that "popular piety can neither be ignored nor treated with indifference or disrespect because of its richness and because in itself it represents an religious attitude in relation to God. However, it has to be continually evangelized, so that the faith which it expresses may become more mature and authentic. The pious exercises of the Christian people and other forms of devotion can be accepted and recommended provided that they do not become substitutes for the Liturgy or integrated into the Liturgical celebrations. An authentic pastoral promotion of the liturgy, will know how to build on the riches of popular piety, purify them and direct them towards the Liturgy as an offering of the people." 

4) Popular Religiosity Promotes Missio ad Gentes- When popular piety is promoted, the local church is assisted in missio ad gentes because shrines and venues of these devotions are places where the proclamation of the Gospel is made possible. The Directory says: "Many shrines are effective places for the proclamation of the Gospel: in the most varied of ways the message of Christ is transmitted to the faithful as a call to conversion and an invitation to follow Christ, as an exhortation to perseverance, as a reminder of the demands of justice, as a word of consolation and peace. The fact should not be overlooked that many shrines support the missions ad gentes in various ways and fulfil an important role of evangelization in the Church."