March 17, 2009 - Chinese speakers can now choose to access Vatican.va in their own language. The Holy See website in traditional and simplified Chinese characters is the newest and only non-European language available.

Now the website can be accessed in 8 languages, including Latin introduced last year. The Chinese Vatican website was launched during the Day of St. Joseph, patron of the universal Church.

The Vatican hopes the Chinese website can bring China’s Catholics closer to the Pope’s messages and close the gap between China’s split Catholic Church.

China’s Catholics are divided into an official institution controlled by the government and a persecuted underground Church loyal to the Holy See.

Some fear the new website could be blocked by the Chinese government like they have done with other religious websites in the past. China is, however, the country with the most internet users worldwide.