"Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia ---", the chorus echoed at Sunday's Easter Mass, presided over by Bishop Fu Tieshan in his white chasuble, with staff in hand. Hundreds of believers kneeled in the church, singing together joyously.

In the domed church located at Xuanwumen, in the Chinese capital of Beijing, followers congregated Sunday morning to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, from a little girl to a gray-haired grandma.

"More people are coming to the church these days," said a priest from Xuanwumen church, who refused to be identified.

"Some older people come into the church every morning, while onweekends, youngsters show up to join in mass."

The priest said that with the popularity of the English language in China, more and more young and well-educated people are showing an interest in Christianity. Most of them are not baptized, but willing to participate in the program.

Priest Joseph Zhang from Shenyang, in northeast China's Liaoning Province, where many missionaries were based in the early 20th century,said he felt that the government had given much support to his church. "Religion is compatible with socialist society," he said.

"One example is that the Chinese catholic church is now allowedto organize some charity programs," he said.

During the past two decades, Chinese catholic churches have been struggling to survive, Joseph said, but now they are able to extend a hand to others.

The Catholic church in Shenyang has opened a clinic and a rest home. In February this year, some priests and sisters visited Thailand to learn about their experience in AIDS prevention, hoping to contribute to this pressing problem in China.

"China's charity cause needs attention from all walks of society, while the Catholic church is always ready to extend the merciful love of God to the sick and frail," said Joseph.

Statistics show that China has over 100 million religious people pursuing different religions and 100,000 worship places.

Bi Suzhen, a 77-year-old believer in Shenyang, studied in a catholic primary school in her childhood. In 1991, shortly after she retired, she passed a catholic church near the school one morning.

She went in, to find her old teachers had already gone, but then she suddenly felt connected to the church and got baptized soon after.

"I am so glad that I heard the gospel from half a century later," she said. "Now I go into the church almost every morning. I hopethe rest of my family can join me too."

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao talked about religion during his interview with the US-based Washington Post last November. He saidthere is a catholic church not far from his work place Zhongnanhai, suggesting the journalist check out the congregation, where priests deliver sermons and followers pray freely.

Compared with two decades ago, Chinese priests and nuns now receive a better education. Some of them have studied abroad for master or doctoral programs, now presiding over mass in Latin and English across the country, serving Chinese and foreign followers.

Source: Xinhua