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Education of Seminarians and Religious Program


1) Partner in Vocation - Priests, Seminarians and Religious Nuns' education

This program is dedicated to support the education of underground seminarians, priests, and religious sisters studying in China, Europe, and the United States. Between 1993 and May 2015, we have awarded approximately 1,400 annual scholarships, totaling a little over two million U.S. dollars. These scholarships range from a few hundred dollars to more than five thousand dollars each for approximately 210 religious students from the Underground Roman Catholic Church in China. Approximately 75 percent of students completed their Master's degrees, and 10 percent completed PhDs. All those who graduated have returned to China. Many of them are now underground seminary instructors, pastors, chancellors of many dioceses, retreat masters, and convent superiors, among other assignments.

We have approximately fifty religious in this academic year (2014 - 2015) studying in China, in European seminaries and in the United States. Among them, seven are PhD candidates. One of them has just been awarded a PhD in Rome. They are all fluent in the language of their host country. These clergy and nuns, no matter where they were trained - China or overseas - are the future of the Underground Roman Catholic Church in China. They proudly follow their vocations in spite of the hardship and risk for being obedient, loyal, and faithful to the Holy Father. Through the funding of this program, our members can directly assist in the religious formation of the Catholic Church in China. We all understand that we need priests in the Church.

All students studying overseas have tuition scholarship from the seminaries or universities. Some scholarships included room and board. Some even included health insurance. The Foundation offers allowance to pay for room, board and health insurance if these were not provided in the scholarship. The Foundation's allowance also covers the various fees charged by the university or seminary, costs of books, daily transportation, lunches, toiletries, clothing and other necessary expenses. We also pay for the students' medication or treatments if the insurance does not cover. We paid for the trips back to China for ordinations and a final one way ticket to China after their graduation. With their Foundation's allowance, these students were able to focus on their studies. They typically arrived at the overseas seminaries with minimal or no foreign language training. Within 5-8 years, they graduated with Masters and PhD's with honors.

This program costs the Foundation approximately $90,000 each year, while the annual donation to this project from our supporters is only $15,000. We have a serious deficit. We highly recommend this program to you. You can donate any amount to this program.

You can donate with your credit card through our website or mail your donation to us. Please click here for the detailed procedures how to participate in this Partner in Vocation program. If you prefer, you may also request the procedures by mail.

2) Adopt-a-Nun program - To support underground convents

As China is very short of priests, the nuns in China are a very crucial team in evangelization. Many rural areas were visited by priests once a month only. The nuns visit and pray with the sick, teach catechism, and form prayer groups, etc. Very often, the diocese is too poor to pay for the support of these nuns in their diocese.

This program enlists a benefactor to sponsor a nun in an underground convent in China for six months for $100, or one year for $200. The money is remitted to the mother superior twice a year. Similar to the Mass Stipends, we will disburse 100 per cent of what we receive to the convents. For your charity, the nuns will pray for the intention of their benefactors daily. Such prayer effort is certified by their superiors. We now have some 250 sponsors helping religious in four convents. The convents use the money to support the living expanses of the nuns, the spiritual formation of the novices, and also for the nuns' higher education in China. In past years, we have educated dozens of underground sisters in their pursuance of a professional specialty, such as that of a physician in both Western and Chinese medicine, nursing, computer programming, teaching or other social services. In addition, when the convents are short of funds to pay for the sister's tuition, the Cardinal Kung Foundation paid for the difference from its general fund.

We all have special prayer needs in the family. Holy Mother Mary will look kindly on these needs when you have an underground sister in China praying daily for your intention. Please click here for the details of this program and a sign up form. If you prefer, contact us by mail.