07/10/2015, 00.00
CHINA - VATICAN
Send to a friend

Bishop Martin Wu of Zhouzhi installed today, 10 years after his episcopal ordination

by Jian Mei
After years of restrictions, msgr Wu is now free to work openly as the bishop of Zhouzhi. Bishop Dang Mingyan of Xi’an and Bishop John Baptist Yang Xiaoting of Yulin, originally from Zhouzhi, as well as about 70 priests attended and concelebrated.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – Bishop Joseph Martin Wu Qinjing was installed to work openly as the bishop of Zhouzhi, Shaanxi Province, today, on July 10 at 9 am at the Cathedral of Immaculate Heart of Mary of Zhouzhi.

Bishop Wu, appointed by the Holy Father, is now recognized by the Chinese government and by the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the government-sanctioned bishops’ council (Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China).

Bishop Dang Mingyan of Xi'an and Bishop John Baptist Yang Xiaoting of Yulin, originally from Zhouzhi, as well as about 70 priests attended and concelebrated.

The installation took place before the Mass and in front of the altar. Bishop Yang, vice president of the bishops’ council, chaired the ceremony, and Bishop Dang handed over the mitre and the staff to Bishop Wu, according to a participating priest in the liturgy.  Bishop Wu "looked calm and sober today”, the priest said.

Father Li Hui of government-sanctioned bodies read the approval letter of the bishops’ council.

In 2005, Bishop Wu was appointed by the Holy See as the bishop of Zhouzhi. As he was under pressures from the Chinese government, he was quietly ordained as the bishop of Zhouzhi. The ordination was made known in 2007. He was then restricted at the minor seminary in Xi’an city. Later, he was allowed to move about in the city, and occasionally returned to Zhouzhi. His priests and crowds of faithful constantly visited him in Xi’an.

However, several priests of Zhouzhi were absent from the installation.

Born on Nov. 11, 1968, Wu entered the minor seminary of Zhouzhi, and then the Regional Seminary of Sheshan, Shanghai. In 1995, he graduated from the seminary, and was ordained a priest by Bishop Yang Guangyan of Zhouzhi in 1996. He was a parish pastor before teaching at the Shaanxi Seminary in 1998. In August 2000, he studied in the United States and specialized in liturgy, spirituality and spiritual direction. In 2005, he returned to China.

In 2005, he was ordained the bishop of Zhouzhi. In September 2007, the police took him away and placed him under house arrest in Xi’an. After 10 years of his appointment, his installation took place on July 10, 2015. From now on, he can work openly.

TAGs
Send to a friend
Printable version
CLOSE X
See also
Zhouzhi bishop arrested; he defied government for love of the Pope
14/09/2006
National Commission for Women asks for 'immediate action' in the nun rape case in Kerala
07/02/2019 17:28
Shaanxi bishop in custody for over a month
25/04/2007
Catholic music to promote dialogue in Ambon, the city of sectarian violence
17/10/2018 13:29
Bishop An Shuxin, former underground bishop installed as ordinary of Baoding
07/08/2010


Newsletter

Subscribe to Asia News updates or change your preferences

Subscribe now
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”