Church in China

Ignatius Ding Zuyao, a priest born in 1986, was consecrated this morning in Jiangsu province under the terms of the agreement with the Holy See. This diocese saw Bishop Shen Bin moved (by the Communist Party) to Shanghai. Ding becomes the youngest bishop in the world, confirming a clear trend in episcopal appointments in China.

At a reception for the 115th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China, Ambassador Anthony C. Y. Ho highlighted the values​​ Taiwan and the Holy See share. These values ​​have been put into practice through the HOPE initiative, with aid already provided to more than 50,000 people in need across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

The American bishop, a pioneer of television preaching who is to be beatified on 24 September, visited China in 1948, where he also met Chiang Kai-shek. He often cited ‘young Li’ as a model of devotion to the Eucharist. Through the magazine *Worldmission*, he recounted the communist persecutions but, even more so, the great faith of Chinese Catholics.

Father Andrew Ding Wang, 44, was ordained today under the 2018 Sino-Vatican agreement. Leo XIV conferred on him the title of archbishop, as required by the jurisdiction of the Holy See (and the history of the local Church), even though China has no metropolitan sees. Three of the four bishops chosen in recent weeks in China were born after 1980.

The episcopal ordination of Fr Paul Liu Honggang, 56, took place today, the first in over 20 years for this diocese in Shanxi. The appointment was made under the China-Vatican agreement. After the expulsion of the missionaries, a local priest, Father Guo Yingong, kept the faith alive even during the Cultural Revolution.

An exhibition hall dedicated to Bishop Dong Guangqing – the first bishop appointed by Beijing in 1953 without Rome’s consent – opens in Wuhan: “A pioneer on the path to independence, autonomy and self-management”. Meanwhile, the faithful denounce new restrictive measures on pilgrimages to churches.

The oldest Trappist monk in the world has passed away at the age of 108. But his story evokes the brutal "death march" with which Mao's communists wiped out the monasteries of Yangjiaping and Liesse in the 1940s. He took part in the rebirth of the Abbey of Our Lady of Joy in Hong Kong in 1956.

A few days after the episcopal ordination in Chifeng, a new ordination took place today in Inner Mongolia, under to the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China regarding the appointment of Bishops. The new prelate, 46, will join Bishop Du Jiang, who was secretly ordained in 2004 and recognised by the government in 2010.

After serving an 18-month sentence for the “public sale of religious books”, the former head of Zhejiang’s large Catholic community was welcomed by hundreds of the faithful. The authorities are exerting ever-greater pressure even on “official” communities, including a ban on minors entering churches. by Andrew LawChina28 July 2026

Chang Yanfeng, 42, was ordained bishop today under the Sino-Holy See agreement to a diocese that has been without its own pastor for 20 years. Just three weeks ago, the new prelate had to publicly commit the local Church to a controversial law designed to eliminate minorities.

AsiaNews will host an evening of reflection to mark the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China. The event on May 21, in Milan will rediscover the testimony of Fr Robert Greene, a Maryknoll missionary imprisoned in Guangxi in the 1950s, and highlight the challenges faced by today’s Catholic communities in Beijing.

The second part of a reflection by an AsiaNews source with first-hand knowledge of the Church’s journey in China, marking the year since the death of Francis and the start of the pontificate of Leo XIV. “Silence on the Pope; political study activities dominate. Controls and regulations stifle missionary work”.