New Bishop is Ordained in China with Pope Francis' Approval after Over 70 Years of Resident Episcopal Vacancy
In China, the Catholic diocese of Zhengzhou has a new Bishop, after being without a resident Bishop for over seventy years. On Thursday January 25, the episcopal ordination of the Reverend Thaddeus Wang Yuesheng was celebrated in the Church of Qinghuayuanlu in Huiji District, dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes.
The Vatican Press Office bulletin stated that the ordination - took place "in the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of Cina". The Reverend Taddeo Wang Yuesheng was "appointed by the Holy Father as Bishop of Zhengzhou, in the Chinese Province of Henan, on December 16, 2023".
Wang Yuesheng's consecration was celebrated by Joseph Shen Bin, Bishop of Shanghai, as well as co-consecrants Joseph Yang Yongqiang, Bishop of the Diocese of Zhoucun and Joseph Zhang Yinlin, Bishop of the Diocese of Anyang. Peter Jin Lugang, Bishop of the Diocese of Nanyang, and more than 300 priests, nuns and faithful from all the dioceses in the province also participated in the liturgy.
Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, a province in central China .
About the Bishop
The new Bishop, Reverend Thaddeus Wang Yuesheng is 58 years old. He was born on February 27, 1966 in Zhumadian (Henan) and attended courses in philosophy and theology at the Centre South Seminary from 1987 to 1993. He was ordained a priest on October 17, 1993. He has held the office of Parish Priest in Zhengzhou. Since December 2011 he has served as parish priest in the District of Huiji, in Zhengzhou. The process, which ended with the papal appointment last December 16, was also favored by the direct contribution of the various components of the local Church, according to the criterion of synodality. (photo screenshot from the Chinese Patriotic Association of the Ordination)
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Asia News' History of the Diocese
The Church of Zhengzhou was established as an apostolic prefecture in 1906 and entrusted to the Italian Xaverian missionaries. With the rite celebrated today with the papal mandate, Msgr. Wang Yuesheng - who is originally from the city of Zhumadian and has been a priest since 1993 - becomes the successor of the Italian bishop Msgr. Faustino Tissot, a Xaverian missionary, appointed by Pius XII in 1946 and then expelled by the communist regime together with his confreres in 1953, after years of real martyrdom.
The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association released this statement on its Website:
On January 25, 2024, the ordination ceremony of Bishop Wang Yuesheng of the Catholic Diocese of Zhengzhou was held at the Catholic Church on Qinghuayuan Road, Huiji District, Zhengzhou City.
The ordination ceremony was officiated by Bishop Shen Bin, Chairman of the Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and Shanghai Diocese; Bishop Yang Yongqiang, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference and Zhoucun Diocese; Vice Chairman of the Henan Catholic Patriotic Association and Deputy Director of the Academic Affairs Committee, Anyang Bishop Zhang Yinlin of the diocese, deputy director of the Henan Provincial Catholic Academic Affairs Committee and Bishop Jin Lugang of Nanyang Diocese supported Li. Father Yang Yu, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of China, read out the letter of approval. More than 300 people, including more than 40 priests, nuns and lay representatives from Chinese Catholic Churches and dioceses in the province, attended the ordination ceremony.
Bishop Wang Yuesheng was born on February 27, 1966 in Zhumadian City, Henan Province. His holy name is Dadou. From September 1987 to July 1993, he studied theology at the Central South Theological and Philosophical College. He was ordained a priest in October 1993. In June 2005, he was appointed as the director of the Zhengzhou Catholic Academic Affairs Committee and the chief priest of the Qinghuayuan Road Catholic Church in Huiji District. In 2011 In December, he served as chairman of the Henan Catholic Patriotic Association and deputy director of the Academic Affairs Committee. In January 2013, he was elected as the rector of the Diocese of Zhengzhou. On March 22, 2022, he was elected as the bishop-elect of the Diocese of Zhengzhou.
Wang Yuesheng's consecration was celebrated by Joseph Shen Bin, Bishop of Shanghai, as well as co-consecrants Joseph Yang Yongqiang, Bishop of the Diocese of Zhoucun and Joseph Zhang Yinlin, Bishop of the Diocese of Anyang. Peter Jin Lugang, Bishop of the Diocese of Nanyang, and more than 300 priests, nuns and faithful from all the dioceses in the province also participated in the liturgy.
Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, a province in central China .
About the Bishop
The new Bishop, Reverend Thaddeus Wang Yuesheng is 58 years old. He was born on February 27, 1966 in Zhumadian (Henan) and attended courses in philosophy and theology at the Centre South Seminary from 1987 to 1993. He was ordained a priest on October 17, 1993. He has held the office of Parish Priest in Zhengzhou. Since December 2011 he has served as parish priest in the District of Huiji, in Zhengzhou. The process, which ended with the papal appointment last December 16, was also favored by the direct contribution of the various components of the local Church, according to the criterion of synodality. (photo screenshot from the Chinese Patriotic Association of the Ordination)
.png)
Asia News' History of the Diocese
The Church of Zhengzhou was established as an apostolic prefecture in 1906 and entrusted to the Italian Xaverian missionaries. With the rite celebrated today with the papal mandate, Msgr. Wang Yuesheng - who is originally from the city of Zhumadian and has been a priest since 1993 - becomes the successor of the Italian bishop Msgr. Faustino Tissot, a Xaverian missionary, appointed by Pius XII in 1946 and then expelled by the communist regime together with his confreres in 1953, after years of real martyrdom.
The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association released this statement on its Website:
On January 25, 2024, the ordination ceremony of Bishop Wang Yuesheng of the Catholic Diocese of Zhengzhou was held at the Catholic Church on Qinghuayuan Road, Huiji District, Zhengzhou City.
The ordination ceremony was officiated by Bishop Shen Bin, Chairman of the Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and Shanghai Diocese; Bishop Yang Yongqiang, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference and Zhoucun Diocese; Vice Chairman of the Henan Catholic Patriotic Association and Deputy Director of the Academic Affairs Committee, Anyang Bishop Zhang Yinlin of the diocese, deputy director of the Henan Provincial Catholic Academic Affairs Committee and Bishop Jin Lugang of Nanyang Diocese supported Li. Father Yang Yu, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of China, read out the letter of approval. More than 300 people, including more than 40 priests, nuns and lay representatives from Chinese Catholic Churches and dioceses in the province, attended the ordination ceremony.
Bishop Wang Yuesheng was born on February 27, 1966 in Zhumadian City, Henan Province. His holy name is Dadou. From September 1987 to July 1993, he studied theology at the Central South Theological and Philosophical College. He was ordained a priest in October 1993. In June 2005, he was appointed as the director of the Zhengzhou Catholic Academic Affairs Committee and the chief priest of the Qinghuayuan Road Catholic Church in Huiji District. In 2011 In December, he served as chairman of the Henan Catholic Patriotic Association and deputy director of the Academic Affairs Committee. In January 2013, he was elected as the rector of the Diocese of Zhengzhou. On March 22, 2022, he was elected as the bishop-elect of the Diocese of Zhengzhou.
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The Vatican's Agenzia Fides explains: Since the signing of the Provisional Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Holy See (September 22, 2018), there are no longer any illegitimate episcopal ordinations in China, those that were celebrated without papal approval, which had caused painful wounds among Chinese Catholics in the late 1950s. Since this signing, six new episcopal ordinations have taken place in China. During the same period, six so-called "clandestine" Bishops, who had been appointed in the past without taking into account state protocols, also sought and received recognition of their role by civil authorities. These include Peter Jin Lugang, Bishop of Nanyang, in Henan province, who was officially recognized by the government on January 30, 2019. (Agenzia Fides, 25/1/2024)
The Vatican's Agenzia Fides explains: Since the signing of the Provisional Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Holy See (September 22, 2018), there are no longer any illegitimate episcopal ordinations in China, those that were celebrated without papal approval, which had caused painful wounds among Chinese Catholics in the late 1950s. Since this signing, six new episcopal ordinations have taken place in China. During the same period, six so-called "clandestine" Bishops, who had been appointed in the past without taking into account state protocols, also sought and received recognition of their role by civil authorities. These include Peter Jin Lugang, Bishop of Nanyang, in Henan province, who was officially recognized by the government on January 30, 2019. (Agenzia Fides, 25/1/2024)
Sources: https://www.chinacatholic.cn/html/report/24010636-1.htm - Vatican News - AsiaNewsIT and Fides
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