Towards the 4th centenary of Matteo Ricci’s death

A statue in China. Father Peter Wang Leizhen decided to erect a statue in honour of Matteo Ricci, on the occasion of 400th anniversary of his death in a parish near Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi, East China. Father Leizhen is the first resident priest in this area in 40 years. The statue will be place in the spot where, according to tradition, the missionary lived for some time around 1595. The statue is expected to be placed next October in the garden of the church of Xuposhan, a village at about one hour trip drive from Nanchang. The only problem facing Father Wang is “to find somebody gifted enough to make a statue of Ricci” and at a good price, since the parish priest has little money. Before 1949, the church of Xuposhan was an important center of missionary activity and the region included about 3.000 Catholics. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) everything was confiscated and it was only in 1980 that the church was returned to the diocese who occasionally sent some priests to celebrate Mass. (Source: Electronic News Service SJ, Vol. 13, n. 14, July 20, 2009)