The Vatican thanks Chinese groups for donations to combat coronavirus

The Vatican thanks Chinese groups for donations to combat coronavirus
The Vatican thanked Chinese organizations for donating medical supplies to help fight coronavirus.

The Holy See press office said on April 9 that the Vatican Pharmacy received donations from Chinese groups including the Chinese Red Cross and the Jinde Charities Foundation of Hebei province.

The press office hailed the gifts as "an expression of the solidarity of the Chinese people and Catholic communities with those involved in the relief of people affected by COVID-19 and in the prevention of the current coronavirus epidemic".

He continued: "The Holy See appreciates this generous gesture and expresses its gratitude to the bishops, Catholic faithful, institutions and all other Chinese citizens for this humanitarian initiative, assuring them of the Holy Father's esteem and prayers".

In February, the Vatican announced that it had sent thousands of masks to China to help limit the spread of the coronavirus. He has donated between 600.000 and 700.000 masks from the Chinese provinces of Hubei, Zhejiang and Fujian since January 27, the Global Times, a state-run Chinese news point, reported on February 3.

The medical supplies were donated as part of a joint initiative of the Office of Papal Charities and the Missionary Center of the Chinese Church in Italy, in collaboration with the Vatican Pharmacy.

China broke diplomatic ties with the Holy See in 1951, two years after the communist revolution that led to the creation of the People's Republic of China.

The Vatican signed a provisional agreement with China in 2018 regarding the appointment of Catholic bishops. The text of the agreement was never published.

On February 14 of this year, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, secretary of the Holy See for relations with states, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Munich, Germany. The meeting has been the highest level meeting between officials of the two states since 1949.

The Chinese Red Cross Society, founded in Shanghai in 1904, is the national Red Cross Society in the People's Republic of China.

The Jinde Charities Foundation is a Catholic organization registered in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province.