A funeral ceremony for Bishop Fu Tieshan who had just passed away was held in the Babaoshan Cemetery in Beijing on April 27, 2007.Chinanews, Beijing, Apr. 30 – Members from the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and the China Catholic Bishop College gathered at the Beijing Southern Catholic Church in Xuanwumen on Saturday to attend the requiem mass held for Bishop Fu Tieshan who had just passed away. About 1,100 bishops, holy fathers, nuns, priests, and religious followers attended the ceremony.At 9:30 in the morning, the requiem mass began. Religious followers started to sing the Introit for the funeral ceremony, when a holy father walked into the hall slowly with the photograph of Fu Tieshan and his cinerary casket in both hands. The funeral ceremony was presided over by bishop Jin Peixian, deputy chairman of the China Catholic Bishop College and the bishop of the China Catholic Religion in northeastern diocese.At the funeral ceremony, priest Sun Shang'en from the Beijing Southern Catholic Church recalled the honorable life of Fu Tieshan, his devotion to the church and the society, things that he did for saving people's lives, for the vulnerable group in society and for the public welfare.In memory of Bishop Fu, we should remember his patriotism and his spirit of running the church independently. Bishop Fu had set a good example for us and we should carry his spirit forward, said Sun.Many religious followers, who listened to Fu's sermons, came from Beijing suburbs to attend the funeral. Mr. Yi was one of them. In order to attend Fu's funeral, he set off early in the morning in his house in Mentougou in the suburb of Beijing. He recalled that Bishop Fu was very kind and his sermons were always enlightening. He felt sad about Fu's death. Another religious follower, 60-year-old Ms. Kang, said she was thankful that Fu once helped her daughter to recover from her illness. She could never forget his devotion to other people.The funeral ceremony was then followed by singing saint songs, reading holy scripts, singing Alleluia, reading gospel, saying prayers by religious followers, giving signs of peace, running religious ceremony for the dead, and spraying holy water. The ceremony ended at 11:10 late that morning. Then the ashes of Fu were sent to and laid in the Babaoshan Cemetery under priest escort.The Xuanwumen Catholic Church was established in 1605. It was the earliest church built in Beijing. It serves as the main church where the bishops of Catholic religion work there. It is also the administrative institution that manages religious affairs in Beijing.