Melchior Shi Hongzhen

Last updated
Most Reverend

Melchior Shi Hongzhen
Bishop of Tianjin
BishopMelchiorShi.jpg
Native name
石鴻禎
Church Catholic Church
Diocese Tianjin
In office8 June 2019
PredecessorPaul Liu Shuhe
Orders
Ordination4 July 1954
Consecration15 June 1982
by Bishop Paul Liu Shuhe
Personal details
Born (1929-01-07) 7 January 1929 (age 95)
Tianjin, China
Nationality Chinese
ResidenceHouse arrest
Motto温良和愛德該照耀我的一切工作
Coat of arms Coat of arms of Melchior Shi Hong Zhen.svg

Melchior Shi Hongzhen is a Chinese Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Tianjin since 2019. [1] [2] He had been under house arrest after refusing to join Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. [3] [4] [5] [6] The government recognized him as bishop of Tianjin in 2024. [7]

Biography

Hongzhen was born in Tianjin, China, on 7 January 1929. He was ordained a priest on 4 July 1954. He was consecrated on 15 June 1982 by Bishop Paul Liu Shuhe as Coadjutor Bishop of Tianjin.

After the death of Liu Shuhe on 8 June 2019, Hongzhen succeeded him as Bishop of Tianjin but he was not recognised by the Chinese authorities because he refused to join the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA). [1] He was then placed under house arrest by the Chinese government. [8] [3] He was recognized by the government as bishop in 2024. [7]

Related Research Articles

The ChineseCatholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) is the national organization for Catholicism in China. It was established in 1957 after a group of Chinese Catholics met in Beijing with officials from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Religious Affairs Bureau. It is the main organizational body of Catholics in China officially sanctioned by the Chinese government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Zen</span> Chinese cardinal of the Catholic Church and former Bishop of Hong Kong

Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, SDB is a retired Chinese cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Hong Kong from 2002 to 2009. He was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 and has been outspoken on issues regarding human rights, political freedom, and religious liberty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in China</span>

The Catholic Church first appeared in China upon the arrival of John of Montecorvino in China proper during the Yuan dynasty; he was the first Catholic missionary in the country, and would become the first bishop of Khanbaliq (1271–1368).

Joseph Ma Yinglin is the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association-sponsored Bishop of the diocese of Kunming, China. He was consecrated a bishop on 30 April 2006, at age 41. The diocese had been vacant for 11 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Shanghai</span> Catholic diocese in China

The Diocese of Shanghai is a diocese of the Catholic Latin Church in the municipality of Shanghai, China. It was erected on December 13, 1933 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Shanghai by Pope Pius XI and was later elevated to the rank of a diocese on April 11, 1946, by Pope Pius XII. The diocese is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Nanking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Li Shan</span> Catholic bishop

Joseph Li Shan is a Chinese Catholic prelate who serves as Archbishop of Beijing. He was consecrated a bishop on 21 September 2007, at age 42 at a ceremony at Nan Tang in Xuanwumen. His main consecrator to become bishop was John Fang Xingyao. Before becoming archbishop he served as parish priest of Saint Joseph's Church in Wangfujing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Tong Hon</span> Roman Catholic cardinal

John Tong Hon is a prelate of the Catholic Church from Hong Kong. A cardinal since 2012, he was auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong from 1996 to 2008, then coadjutor bishop of the diocese for a year, and Bishop of Hong Kong from 2009 to 2017. In January 2019, he became the apostolic administrator of the diocese, in a caretaker role, after the death of his successor, Michael Yeung.

Pope Pius XII and the Church in China involves relations of the Holy See with China from 1939 to 1958. The Vatican recognized Chinese rites in 1939, elevated the first Chinese cardinal in 1946, and established a Chinese hierarchy.

Persecutions against the Catholic Church took place during the papacy of Pope Pius XII (1939–1958). Pius' reign coincided with World War II (1939–1945), followed by the commencement of the Cold War and the accelerating European decolonisation. During his papacy, the Catholic Church faced persecution under Fascist and Communist governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Tianjin</span> Roman Catholic diocese in China

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tianjin/Tíentsín is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Beijing in PR China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China–Holy See relations</span> China–Holy See bilateral relations

There are no official bilateral relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Holy See. The Holy See instead recognizes the Republic of China (Taiwan) as the representative of China ever since the establishment of relations with the ROC government in 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Paul Brennan</span>

Peter Paul Brennan was an American bishop. He was archbishop of the Old Catholic Confederation and primate of the Ecumenical Catholic Diocese of the Americas—presently named the Good Shepherd Companions. He was also a bishop of the African Orthodox Church, primate of the Order of Corporate Reunion, and president of Married Priests Now!—founded by excommunicated Roman Catholic archbishop Emmanuel Milingo.

Bishop Peter Joseph Fan Xueyan was a Chinese Roman Catholic priest and bishop who lived in China during the 20th century. He was bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Baoding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Fan Zhongliang</span> Chinese Roman Catholic bishop

Joseph Fan Zhongliang S.J., also known as Josephus Vei Zong Leong, was a Chinese Roman Catholic bishop in the Diocese of Shanghai in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thaddeus Ma Daqin</span> Chinese Catholic prelate

Thaddeus Ma Daqin is a Chinese Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Shanghai from 2014 until 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Shen Bin</span> Chinese prelate

Joseph Shen Bin is a Chinese Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Shanghai since 2023 and as president of Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association since 2022. He was Bishop of Haimen from 2010 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Lei Shiyin</span>

Paul Lei Shiyin is the current Sichuanese Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Jiading (Leshan).

John Peng Weizhao is a Chinese Roman Catholic Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yujiang.

Peter Liu Gen-zhu is a Chinese Roman Catholic prelate currently serving as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hongdong, China. He is the second bishop ordained with the approval of the Holy See and the Chinese government under the provisional agreement.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bishop of Tianjin Diocese Melchior Hongzhen Shi | UCA News". www.ucanews.com. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  2. "Diocese of Tianjin 天津, China 🇨🇳". GCatholic. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  3. 1 2 Gong, Wang (2019-07-10). "Tianjin Diocese Bishop Forced to Join Patriotic Church" . Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  4. CNA. "The diplomatic principles behind the Vatican's agreement with China". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  5. "Pope Francis extends a hand to China". RVA. 2022-09-21. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  6. "Looking for Good Catholic Bishops? Try a Chinese Prison | International Catholic Jurists Forum" . Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  7. 1 2 "Holy See Press Office Communiqué". Holy See Press Office (Press release). 27 August 2024. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  8. AsiaNews.it. "Renewing the Sino-Vatican Agreement and the case of Tianjin". www.asianews.it. Retrieved 2024-04-18.