Faith that generates science and culture

For a whole year, the Diocese of Getafe celebrated the 450th anniversary of the founding of the Jesuits Diego de Pantoga. “We have tried to discover a Jesuit who was born in a town in my diocese, a small town like Valdemoro, who He had the courage, for the love of God, to go to the ends of the earthto China, knowing that he was going and would never come back,” he explains. Jesus R. Fulgado GarciaDiocese delegate for culture.

Can Pantoja (Valdemoro, 1571-Macao, 1618) The first Spaniard to fulfill Saint Francis Xavier’s dream: to reach China. He was the first European to play and teach music in the Forbidden City and also the first to enter the Imperial Palace. What he constantly surprises me, he adds, is how his preaching not only makes people know God, but also how his faith generates life, culture, and science. This has been a reflection throughout this year of remembrance.”

Pantoja reveals himself more. Says Volgado, who has just risen Navalcarnero premieres a documentary corroborating it from academic research. “We want to appreciate the dimension that is sometimes not emphasized, that Diego de Pantoga raises Chinese culture, raises the Chinese flag, because he believes in God, because he knows that the Bible raises human dignity. There is no conflict in Pantoga between culture, science and faith.”

Evangelization the Spanish way

The documentary titled Diego de Pantoga, SJ: A Bridge Between East and West. From Valdemoro to Beijing it was produced by the Diocese of Getafe. Fulgado himself signs the text and direction. “Looking at my work in the academic field in many countries, I saw the possibility of bringing together high-ranking professors. Also, after that we were fortunate enough to be able to You have Federico Lombardi’s father, Which I think is essential in this documentary,” he says. In addition to Fulgado himself and who was the spokesman for the Holy See, he also does, among others, Ana Garcia Barrios (University of Ray Juan Carlos), Krah Noblet Bar (Autonomous University of Madrid) and Zhou Meng (Central China Normal University).

Jesus R. Fulgado, who is also a professor at the Ecclesiastical University of San Damaso (Madrid), claims that Pantoja’s character is Spanish evangelism symbol: “Pantoja is part of a tradition that we called ‘Spanish evangelization.’ In other words, contact with the Kingdom of Granada, coexistence with other cultures, such as Muslims and Jews, makes us want to convert the other, but respecting their own basic cultural realities, which can perfectly coexist with The Bible. And that’s what we see in America and also in Asia since the arrival of Pantoga.”