A newly created Catholic diocese in China’s Shanxi province has witnessed the ordination of its first bishop under a recently renewed China-Vatican agreement. Source: UCA News.
Fr Antoine Ji Weizhong, 51, was ordained as the Bishop of Luliang on Monday in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, located in Fenyang.
Bishop Ji will lead Luliang Diocese, formed from the now-suppressed Fenyang diocese, which will remain a suffragan of Taiyuan Archdiocese.
Pope Francis approved his appointment on October 28, 2024, just days after renewing a provisional China-Vatican agreement on the appointment of bishops, making Bishop Ji the 11th prelate to be ordained under this arrangement.
The Vatican and China signed the agreement in 2018 outlining procedures for ensuring that Catholic bishops elected by the Catholic community in China are approved by the Pope before their ordinations or installations.
The provisional agreement, which has never been published, was renewed for two years in 2020 and 2022 and then extended to a four-year term in 2024.
Bishop Ji was born on August 3, 1973, in Wenshui County, Luliang. He studied philosophy and theology at the National Catholic Seminary in Beijing from 1995 to 2001.
He was ordained a priest in October 2001 for the Diocese of Fenyang, and he later pursued language studies at Xi’an University.
He also studied at the Society of the Divine Word missionary-run St Augustine Faculty of Philosophy and Theology in Bonn, Germany, from 2005 to 2010, where he obtained a licentiate in dogmatic theology.
He has served in various roles such as parish vicar, then as head of the Diocesan Pastoral Center, and finally as vicar general of the now-suppressed Fenyang diocese.
Bishop Meng Ningyou of Taiyuan, who is vice president of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, presided over the episcopal ordination ceremony.
FULL STORY
China ordains 11th bishop under Sino-Vatican agreement (UCA News)
RELATED COVERAGE
First bishop of Lüliang consecrated, in accordance with China-Holy See agreement (Vatican News)
