A rare glimpse into how an underground Chinese Catholic church celebrates Christmas

Worshippers gather for a secret mass in a factory compound while Vatican and Beijing explore ways of healing fractured ties

PUBLISHED : Monday, 26 December, 2016, 3:27pm
UPDATED : Monday, 26 December, 2016, 11:09pm
Mimi Lau

It was eerily quiet on Christmas Eve in a manufacturing hub city in Pearl River Delta, with machinery silent, except at one factory compound, the temporary gathering point for Catholics who were singing carols.

About three hundred people came to the site to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Dazzling fireworks were set off within the plant at about 11pm. The crowd then went to a factory canteen for a quick meal and at midnight mass began in a prayer hall converted from a workshop.

The location of the underground mass was kept secret fearing a crackdown from the government. Only referrals were allowed to attend the mass, and photographs were banned for security reasons

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2057253/rare-glimpse-how-underground-chinese-catholic-church