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Spiritual Program


We promote prayers both for the Underground Roman Catholic Church in China, and for our separated brothers and sisters in the Chinese government-established Patriotic Association so that those who belong to the Patriotic Association will also be filled with the Holy Spirit and be courageous witnesses of Christ

1) Mass Stipends - "The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer" (Pope Paul VI)

Your Mass requests and offerings will be sent to the underground clergy of the Roman Catholic Church in Communist China or elsewhere the underground priests are studying. This is a direct way for you to support the underground ministry while giving your loved ones the most precious gift.

A great majority of our priests in the Underground Church offer only the Novus Ordo Mass in Chinese language for regular Masses, or nine-day novena Masses, or thirty-day consecutive Gregorian Masses. Only one soul for each set of Gregorian Masses is allowed. Because of logistical issues, we cannot accept any Mass request for a specific date or for any recurring Masses on a specific monthly or yearly dates.

A stipend not less than $10 for each Mass is requested. An optional small donation to defray the high administration cost of this Mass Project is appreciated. We need to pay $50 for each international bank wire-remittance charge, postage, stationery, and other costs in order to put the stipends in the hands of the underground priests.

We are sending approximately 6,000 Mass stipends each year to underground Chinese priests in recent years. This is not enough. To meet their financial needs of some 75 priests on our list, we need another 6,000 Masses making a total of 12,000 Masses for each year. To the dozens of underground priests studying in Europe and elsewhere, we hope to offer a stipend for every Mass that they offer. They rely on these Mass stipends for living expenses as their own bishops have no financial means to support them. Please keep the underground priests in mind when you have an occasion to offer a Mass. In thanksgiving to the Foundation's donors, these underground priests offer hundreds of Masses each year (1) for the intentions of the Cardinal Kung Foundation and (2) for the deceased and living benefactors of this Foundation.

You may download from our website a copy of this Mass Request Form. Or you may send us a request by mail for the form. You may also request free blank Mass cards from us. You may use the Mass card to inform your loved ones when you have requested us to offer a mass to them for your intention. We have two varieties. One for Special Intentions for the living. The other one for the Repose of Souls. Please let us know the number of cards you need, indicating if you also need envelopes for the Mass cards. We will mail them to you.

2) Prayer Sponsor - Members pray for a specific religious in China

The life of an underground clergy or religious is a harsh one, filled with long hours, poverty, risk of harassment, arrest, interrogation or house arrest from a hostile Chinese government. Some of the clergy are elderly. There is no retirement age in the Underground Church. Many are young priests or nuns who follow their vocation rather than seeking jobs in the booming China economy. During the past decade, we also have many clergymen and nuns who have been trained overseas with advanced degrees, but chose to return to the Underground Church rather than the comfort and secured life in an overseas' diocese. Their fidelity to the Underground Church and sacrifices deserve your prayer support.

A Prayer Sponsor will be assigned a name of an underground clergy or nun as one's spiritual partner in their ministry. Your daily prayer will support this clergyman or nun with the grace and wisdom to be a courageous witness of Christ and to spread the gospel in China. We also pray for the return of Patriotic Association bishops to the Universal Church. We will send you a wallet-sized card printed with the name of this clergyman and the Cardinal Kung's Prayer for China. You are free to say the Cardinal Kung's prayer or any prayer of your choice. Unless the clergyman has already been arrested and identified by the communist government, we typically will give you only the Baptismal name and initial to protect the identity of the clergyman. This is an effective way to teach your children the precious gift of religious freedom that they enjoy. To join this program, please contact us by mail or by email (cardinalkungfdn@cs.com) with your name, address, names of other family members joining as prayer sponsors, age if the sponsor is a minor. There is no cost to join this program.

3) Perpetual Rosary - Members pray the Rosary for China

The Rosary is a most powerful weapon against Satan and the most effect prayer for conversion. Cardinal Kung once pleaded in a homily he gave in the US, "The Roman Catholic Church will never disappear in China. We ask you to stay with us with your prayers until Holy Mother saves us in her own time."

Friends of the Foundation pledge to pray at least one Rosary each month for China on a designated day of their choice. Many have pledged weekly or even daily Rosaries for China. With your help, there will be a rosary or rosaries everyday to support the Underground Church. Please download the Perpetual Rosary for China form. You can also request the form by mail. There is no cost to join this program.

4) Annual May 24 Mass - Universal-day of prayer for China

We, together with our benefactors around the world, have been sponsoring an annual Mass in our parishes for many years to pray for the end of persecution of the Roman Catholic Church in China. In union with the intention of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, we offer a Mass on every May 24, the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, who is venerated with great devotion at the Marian Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai. This year (2015) Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, the Bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut, sent Father Robert Kinnally, his Chancellor, to represent him in presiding at the Mass on May 24 at the Basilica of St. John in Stamford, Connecticut, where all prayed for the Roman Catholic Church in China.

5) Prayer Cards - Promotes prayers for China

We have a variety of prayer cards to promote prayers for China. Some are prayers or meditations written by Cardinal Kung himself during the early years of persecutions of the Church and also while he was in jail. There are no specific costs attached to the cards or meditation booklets. Optional donation is appreciated to defray the cost of mailing and printing. You can view the sample cards. You can also request us for a listing of all the cards by mail.