Pontifical Urbaniana University marks 100 years since the Council of China with a Jubilee event, book launch, and talks on the Church’s mission in China.
Newsroom (08/10/2025, Gaudium Press ) On Friday, October 10, at 5 p.m., the Pontifical Urbaniana University will inaugurate its academic year with a landmark event titled “One Hundred Years since the Council of China: Between History and Present.” Held in the Aula Magna on Janiculum Hill, the occasion will blend scholarly reflection with spiritual celebration, marking a significant moment in the university’s Jubilee of Hope.
The day begins with a morning pilgrimage, as students, faculty, and staff pass through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by a Eucharistic celebration led by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches). This act of faith sets a reverent tone for the academic proceedings to follow.
In the afternoon, the university will host a presentation of the volume One Hundred Years since the Concilium Sinense: Between History and the Present 1924-2024, published by Urbaniana University Press and edited by the Missionary Dicastery. The book compiles insights from an international conference held on May 21, 2024, exactly a century after the historic Council of Shanghai. Esteemed speakers, including Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Tagle, Hong Kong professor Erica Siu-Mui Lee, and Father Federico Lombardi, President of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation, will deliver lectures exploring the Catholic Church’s evolving presence in China since the 1924 council. The event will conclude with remarks by Professor Vincenzo Buonomo, Pontifical Delegate to the university.
A Milestone Conference
The May 2024 conference, organized by Urbaniana University in collaboration with Fides Agency and the Pastoral Commission for China, drew global attention. Opened with a video message from Pope Francis, it featured five speakers from the People’s Republic of China, including Bishop Joseph Shen Bin of Shanghai—the first bishop from the PRC to address a public conference organized by a Holy See Dicastery in Rome. This gathering underscored the university’s commitment to fostering dialogue on the Church’s mission in China.
Legacy of the “Chinese Council”
The Primum Concilium Sinense, convened on May 15, 1924, in Shanghai’s Cathedral of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a pivotal moment for the Catholic Church in China. Led by Archbishop Celso Costantini, Apostolic Delegate to China, the council brought together bishops, vicars general, religious, and priests—many of whom were foreign missionaries. Guided by Pope Benedict XV’s 1919 Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud, which rejected the notion that faith in Christ required submitting to foreign influence, the council sought to nurture a truly indigenous Chinese Church.
The Shanghai Council issued decrees to dismantle colonial attitudes within ecclesiastical practices, promoting the appointment of Chinese bishops and priests to lead local communities. These measures laid the groundwork for a Church rooted in Chinese culture, aligning with the universal mission of evangelization.
Friday’s event at Urbaniana University not only honors this transformative legacy but also bridges past and present, offering a moment to reflect on the Church’s ongoing journey in China amidst contemporary challenges.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Fides news
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