New bishop in Lüliang (Shanxi) under Provisional Agreement

Rev Anthony Ji Weizhong, 51, took office today as head of a diocese with a new name and canonical boundaries, replacing lieu Fenyang, which had been established by Pius XII. Pope Francis approved the appointment on 28 October. Fujian is also in the news this week.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Episcopal appointments under the Provisional Agreement between the Vatican and Beijing have started again, beginning with Shanxi province, northern China.

Rev Anthony Ji Weizhong was ordained this morning in the Cathedral Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Fenyang, in the city of Lüliang. Hitherto, the 51-year-old priest served as vicar general of the local Church.

The new bishop takes on a see that was vacant since the death of Bishop Huo Cheng, a prelate who spent 14 years in prison during the Cultural Revolution and had led the Church of Fenyang in communion with the Holy See since 1991.

Bishop Meng Ningyou of Taiyuan, vice-president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, led Rev Ji Weizhong’s consecration ceremony, assisted by Bishop Ding Lingbin of Changzhi, Bishop Liu Genzhu of Linfen, and Bishop Ma Cunguo of Shuozhou.

About 130 priests from dioceses across the country attended the consecration ceremony, as did nuns, seminarians and lay people, for a total of about 450 people.

The Holy See confirmed that the ordination took place in accordance with the Provisional Agreement and that Pope Francis had already approved this candidacy on 28 October, a few days after the Provisional Agreement between the Vatican and Beijing was renewed for a third time, for another four years.

The Vatican also announced changes to the name and boundaries of the diocese, which now will be named after the prefecture-level city of Lüliang and follow Chinese administrative boundaries. This confirms the Vatican's decision to redraw the geography of local Churches to fit the government’s, a goal pursued by Chinese authorities for some time.

Now “territory of the diocese of Lüliang conforms to that of the prefecture-level city of Lüliang, with a total area of 21,000 km2 and a total population of 3,346,500 inhabitants, of whom approximately 20,000 are Catholics, served by 51 priests and 26 religious sisters,” reads a statement by the Holy See Press Office.

Bishop Ji Weizhong was born on 3 August 1973 in Wenshui County, Lüliang. He studied theology and philosophy at the National Catholic Seminary in Beijing from 1995 to 2001 and was ordained a priest in October 2001 for the Diocese of Fenyang.

He studied from 2005 to 2010 at the SVD Saint Augustin University of Philosophy and Theology in Germany where he obtained a licentiate in dogmatic theology.

Back in his diocese, he served first as deputy parish priest, then head of the diocesan Pastoral Centre and eventually vicar general. On 19 July, he was chosen bishop, later confirmed by papal appointment.

His is the first episcopal appointment since the Provisional Agreement was renewed. That of the Coadjutor Bishop Matthew Zhen Xuebin of Beijing, although announced at the end of October, had actually taken place in August, the eleventh since the start in 2018 of a new relationship between the Vatican and Beijing.

As in the recent past, more appointments for the Church in China could arrive shortly; for example, the Diocese of Fuzhou (Fujian province) announced the installation ceremony of its new bishop this Thursday, 23 January.

This is one of the historically most important sees for Chinese Catholicism, left vacant since the death in April 2023 of Archbishop Peter Lin Jashian, who was one of the "underground" bishops officially recognised by Chinese authorities as part of the Provisional Agreement.

Unlike previous cases, the announcement by the diocese does not indicate the name of the successor; local sources suggest that it might involve a bishop moved from another diocese in Fujian province.

• china
• vatican
• shanxi
• lüliang
• fenyang
• episcopal appointment
• anthony ji weizhong
• provisional agreement