The Catholic diocese of Shanghai has announced that pilgrimages to the shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan will be cancelled in May due to the Covid-19 pandemic. On the other hand, the amusement park on Sheshan Hill has been open for some time, as have many mass tourist spots in the country.
The shrine of Sheshan is a national Marian shrine and in the month of May there is a tradition from the various Chinese dioceses to go on pilgrimage walking up the hill on which the basilica stands, stopping in the intermediate chapels and marking the stations of the Cross, up to the summit where the church stands, crowned by the statue of Mary presenting her Son to the world.
According to the diocesan announcement, “as the pandemic at home and abroad is still not under control, and measures for the prevention of the pandemic are still in place in the nation, to comply with the demands and regulations of the [Shanghai] municipal government … The annual May pilgrimage to Sheshan has been cancelled”.
The announcement explains that the Sheshan basilica, the intermediate chapels and other areas are closed and there will be no pilgrimages and religious activities. The presence of groups of pilgrims and individuals are not allowed. Catholics are advised to stay home and pray asking for an end to the pandemic, so that they can return to normal life.
Throughout China, places of worship have been gradually reopened in many provinces since March and community religious practice has resumed. Despite strict health measures, many Catholic churches have also reopened and masses are again being celebrated with the live participation of faithful. In Beijing, Shanghai and other provinces, the reopening was enthusiastically announced, although the closure continues in some parts of the country.
In many dioceses – for example in Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Inner Mongolia – the reopening coincided with the celebrations of Holy Week: the mass in Coena Domini with the ceremony of the washing of the feet; the Via Crucis; baptisms of catechumens at Easter; the distribution of Easter eggs.