Father Tadeo Wang Yuesheng was appointed Bishop of Zhengzhou by Pope Francis on December 16, 2023, and the announcement of his appointment coincided with the day of consecration within the framework of the interim agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China. Agreed. .
From Vatican News
Bishop Taddeo Wang Yusheng is the new bishop of Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. His episcopal consecration took place on January 25, 2024.
Pope Francis was appointed bishop on December 16, 2023.
This was announced on Thursday in conjunction with the consecration of a new vicar, which took place within the framework of an interim agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.
According to the Holy See’s Press Office, the new bishop was born on February 27, 1966 in Zhumadian (Henan province) and studied philosophy and theology at Zhongnan Seminary (1987-1993).
He was ordained a priest in Hankou on October 17, 1993, and served as a parish priest in Zhengzhou.
Since December 2011, he has served as the parish priest of Huizi District, Zhengzhou City.
Church life in Zhengzhou
The Vatican’s Fidesz news agency recalls that after the resumption of church life that began in the late 1970s, the Zhengzhou diocese had no bishop, only a diocesan administrator. Since the 1980s, several churches have been restored or newly built. Church life continued to beat, but it never regained the intensity of prosperity that was evident in the 1950s. At that time, there were more than 20,000 baptized Catholics out of a population of 4 million. According to estimates from various sources, today the population has more than doubled, and the number of baptized Catholics ranges from 10,000 to 20,000. ”
Since the interim agreement was signed between the People’s Republic of China and the Holy See on September 22, 2018, there has been no more illegitimate episcopal ordination celebrated without a pope in China, the evangelical statement said. Fidesz, who is part of the bureau, recalls: This agreement had caused a painful rift among Chinese Catholics since the late 1950s. Since the signing, six new bishops have been ordained in China. In the same period, six so-called “secret” bishops, who in the past were appointed without regard to the state, “following the protocol, have asked for and obtained recognition of their roles by civil authorities as well. Among them is Nanyang Bishop Pietro Jin Lugan, also from Henan province, who was officially recognized by the government on January 30, 2019.