I spent 5 years in the seminary of the underground Church. Life was very difficult and very risky. Wake-up time was 5 a.m. After a half hour of meditation, we celebrated Mass and then Lauds. After breakfast, we would clean up and then our studies would begin. We would go to bed at 10 p.m. Life in an underground seminary is a bit hard: we lived in a country house made available to us by a member of the faithful. But when we got news that the police had discovered us, we were forced to flee and settle in another place. In 5 years, we changed location 3 times.
We seminarians had to take care of the cleaning, but also the cooking, preparing meals for everyone. From the material standpoint, life was truly difficult: little food, few vegetables, hardly ever meat; crowded rooms with no extra space… But, in my heart, I felt peace and even an entirely new joy, different from what I previously felt. There was a strong friendship and sense of brotherhood among the seminarians. Difficulties were quickly overcome since everyone was ready to love each other.
After 5 years of study, the day came for my priestly ordination. There was a lot of tension at that time in my diocese and we risked being jailed by police. Thus, we celebrated the ordination Mass at 4 o’clock in the morning: at that time everyone in China is asleep, even the policemen.
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