Chinese Catholics Worship As Pope Sends Rare Greetings to Nation's Leader

BEIJING, CHINA-AUGUST 15: A Chinese Catholic woman kneels at a confession booth during a service for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary at a government sanctioned church on August 15, 2014 in Beijing, China. In his first visit to Asia , Pope Francis sent a rare message of goodwill to China's President Xi Jinpeng on Thursday before landing in Seoul, South Korea. There have been no official relations between China and the Vatican since 1949. The Catholic Church in China is split into two avenues of worship: a state sanctioned Church known as the Patriotic Association that answers to the Communist Party, and underground Churches where worshippers are loyal to the Pope in Rome. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)