A traveler from China
In the early morning of May 13, after 24 hours of flight from Shangqiu (Honan), Ma’am Zhang YueChun, of 56 years old, arrived at the airport of Madrid. She travelled with Jose Yan Tao, an Augustinian recollect, resident of Shangqiu and delegate to the Provincial Chapter of San Nicolas de Tolentino representing the religious of China. Together with other people at the airport, Adolfo Suarez from Madrid, waited for SunShen, 32 years old, daughter of Zhang YueChun.
This has nothing to be surprised of because nowadays it is normal to see Chinese travelling, or even residing in the west. What makes this case very special is that Zhang YueChun travelled to Spain to enter in a cloistered convent, specifically in the community of Augustinian recollect sisters of Vitigudino (Salamanca).
She was baptized and her entire household
And not only that, SunShen, her daughter, is a Missionary of Augustinian Recollects (MAR), in Spain. In China she also has other three younger daughters who are also religious of the same congregation: Sun Yuan Yi, Sun ChengZi and Sun Li Jin, of 28, 26 and 23 years of age. Anyway, the youngest of the family, Sun Guang Le, 20 years, also has the calling to the religious life and is now in the formation house of the Augustinian Recollects.
It came out also that nobody from them was catholic until very recently. They came from a normal family from the city of Cangzhou (Hebei), although they lived in Shangqiu. Because of a serious illness, Zhang YueChun had an intense spiritual experience. Influenced by her sister, who was a catholic, she started to go to Church. Her journey ended, just like in the Acts of the Apostles, with a baptism of the whole family. The five women were baptized in July 1, 2007, taking the christened names of Mary, the mother; and Mary of the Sacred Heart, Maria Faustina, Trinidad Maria Nieves and Teresa of Jesus. The father and son were baptized on Christmas of that same year.
Conversion, baptism, religious life
Soon enough the daughters directed their way to religious life and asked to be admitted among the Augustinian recollect sisters missionaries, in the same mother house of Shangqiu, the place where they once lived and where the MAR started their life in 1931.
Zhang YueChun, on her part, dedicated her life in the ministry, specially especially when she became a widow in 2008. She dedicated in visiting sick people and spent long hours in prayer. She entered in the Secular Augustinian-Recollect Fraternity and later on elected as president. In the parish she was always a very active person, cooperating and responsible. She was simply the soul of the secular fraternity.
SunShen, laughing out loud to hide her modesty and pride, said that she already knew for three years that her mother would one day be a cloistered nun.