- Title: Catholics celebrate Christmas Eve in Beijing
- Date: 24th December 2019
- Summary: CHINESE CATHOLICS STANDING FOR CEREMONY
- Embargoed: 7th January 2020 16:18
- Keywords: Catholicism in China China religion Chinese church Christmas Eve Mass Christmas in China Pope and China
- Location: BEIJING, CHINA
- City: BEIJING, CHINA
- Country: China
- Topics: Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA002BBC2YPZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hundreds of Catholic followers attended a Christmas Eve mass in Beijing on Tuesday (December 24).
China has 12 million Catholics, who have been split between an underground church swearing loyalty to the Vatican and the state-supervised Catholic Patriotic Association.
In September last year, the Vatican and China signed a landmark agreement giving the Pope a long-desired say in the appointment of bishops in China.
Critics said the deal was a sellout to the Communist government as new candidates will be provided by the party before being sent to Vatican to make final decision.
In a country where Catholicity is in the minority, Christmas has come to mean getting together with friends, giving presents and hosting big dinners.
(Production: Fang Nanlin) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
