Matteo Ricci, “a model of dialogue,” says Pope An example of “impossible is nothing”!

Father Matteo Ricci, the famous Italian Jesuit missioner to China, was "a model of dialogue and respect for the beliefs of others," Pope Benedict XVI said in a message commemorating the anniversary of the priest's death.

Portrait of Father Ricci

In the message, released by the Vatican on May 18, the Pope praised the originality and style of Father Ricci's "prophetic" mission in China. Father Ricci lived in China from 1583 until his death in Beijing on May 11, 1610, at the age of 57.

Pope Benedict said Father Ricci was "gifted with profound faith and extraordinary cultural and scientific genius," and "dedicated long years of his life to weaving a profound dialogue between West and East, at the same time working incisively to root the Gospel in the culture of the great people of China."

"Even today, his example remains as a model of fruitful encounter between European and Chinese civilizations," the Pope said.

He said this was the approach "that characterized his mission," as he set out to look for "possible harmony between the noble and millennial Chinese civilization" and Christianity.
"What made his apostolate original and, we could say, prophetic was the profound sympathy he nourished for the Chinese, for their cultures and religious traditions," the Pope said.

Pope Benedict said that "notwithstanding the difficulties and misunderstandings that he encountered," the Jesuit priest "wished to remain faithful to this style of evangelization to the end of his life, using – one might say – a scientific methodology and a pastoral strategy based, on the one hand on respect for the wholesome customs of the place ... and on the other hand on his awareness that (divine) Revelation could further enhance and complete (those customs)."

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Next year will be the 400th anniversary of the death of the priest who lived the final 27 years of his life in China.

The Jesuit-run Macau Ricci Institute held a forum on May 11, the day Father Ricci died in Beijing in 1610.

Father Ricci, known as Li Madou to the Chinese, was a prolific writer, a Sinologist, linguist and an accomplished scientist.

Father Ricci, an Italian, began to learn the Chinese language on arrival in Macau, then a Portuguese colony and the gateway for foreigners entering China. After mastering the language, the priest set off for Beijing, arriving there in 1601.

Many people viewed Father Ricci's life in China as a success.

"In fact, he had many setbacks and difficulties," such as his discouragement upon seeing his companions die on the trip to Beijing, said Father Criveller.

Father Ricci is often remembered as a man of science, but he was much more than that, Father Criveller said.

The tombstone of Jesuit Father
Matteo Ricci in Beijing

Some of the Jesuit's techniques for introducing Christianity to China were controversial at the time. He preached the message that God was one and the same with the Chinese deity, the "Lord of Heaven".

However, Father Criveller said Father Ricci had "talked and written about Christ ... on certain occasions when people were ready to learn about Christ."

Father Criveller, based in Hong Kong, has been living in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and mainland China for 18 years. The PIME scholar researches, teaches and writes on the reception of Christianity in China.

Father Gianni Criveller (left) and Jesuit Father ArturWardega,
director of the Macau Ricci Institute