(Zhengzhou, Henan Province – February 20, 2024) A priest in Zhengzhou, Henan, has received the approval of Pope Francis to be consecrated as a bishop. The 57-year-old Taddeo Wang Yuesheng, also known as Thaddeus Wang Yuesheng, is the president of the Patriotic Association of the province and has been appointed as the bishop.
Since the expulsion of the Italian-born Xaverian missionary Bishop Faustino Tissot by the Communist Party in 1953, the episcopal position in the diocese has remained vacant. Thaddeus Wang Yuesheng has assumed the role of the diocesan administrator for this diocese.
On January 25, the consecration ceremony of Bishop Wang took place at the Catholic Church on Qinghuayuan Road, Huiji District, Zhengzhou City. A total of 300 people, including representatives from the state-sanctioned Catholic organizations “One Association, One Conference,” (consisting of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the Bishops’ Conference of Catholic Church in China) and over 40 local priests, nuns, and lay representatives from Henan attended the consecration ceremony. Bishop Joseph Shen Bin from the Shanghai Diocese presided over the ceremony, with Bishop Joseph Zhang Yinlin from the Anyang Diocese and Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang from the Zhoucun Diocese assisting.
Father Taddeo Wang Yuesheng, born on February 27, 1966, in Zhumadian City, Henan Province, was ordained in Hankou in 1993. He is the president of the Patriotic Association in Henan Province, China, and has long served as the diocesan administrator in the local church. He has also held positions as a priest in the Zhengzhou Diocese and the Huji District Diocese. On the 25th, he was consecrated as the Bishop of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province in central China.
The Holy See Press Office stated that the basis for this episcopal consecration is “in the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.” It was also mentioned that on December 16, 2023, the Pope appointed Father Wang as the new bishop of Zhengzhou in Henan Province.
The official Communist Party-controlled website “China Catholic” reported on the consecration ceremony, but the report did not make any mention of the Holy See, despite the appointment ultimately receiving approval from the Pope. The report mentioned that Taddeo Wang Yuesheng was “elected as the candidate for the bishop of the Zhengzhou Diocese on March 22, 2022.”
The Holy See’s approval of Father Wang’s bishop appointment came later than the date announced by the Chinese authorities for his election candidacy, with a gap of approximately one and a half years. It appears that the Holy See had received the candidate list later than Beijing. The process of appointment likely involves collaboration between the Chinese government and the Chinese Catholic Church in proposing candidates. The candidate list is then submitted to the Holy See, which makes the final decision to approve disapprove, or select a bishop from among the candidates. Subsequently, the selected candidate list is handed over to the Chinese Church to carry out and preside over the bishop ordination ceremony.
The Holy See Press Office released a statement on the 25th, stating that this is not the only appointment, and two other bishop appointments are also in progress, with one involving a bishop who received approval before the signing of the “Agreement.”
The appointment of the new Bishop of Zhengzhou seems to be the first coordinated result between Beijing and the Holy See since the renewal of the “Holy See-China Provisional Agreement” in October 2022 for the second time. This appointment is seen as the first coordinated outcome between the two parties, with the initiative lying with the Chinese side. Generally, Beijing is unlikely to submit candidates to the Holy See that it does not approve of, and the Holy See is left to make a passive selection from the candidates.
Prior to this, there were unilateral “transfers” decided by Beijing. Bishop John Peng Weizhao moved to the Jiangxi Diocese in November 2022, and Bishop Joseph Shen Bin was transferred to Shanghai in April 2023. After the latter’s transfer, Pope Francis expressed agreement and a “correction” three months later, which was more of an awkward retroactive recognition. The last appointment under the agreement occurred over two years ago when Franciscan Francis Cui Qingqi was appointed as the Bishop of Wuhan on September 8, 2021.
The Zhengzhou Diocese was established as an Apostolic prefecture by the Holy See in 1906, and the Italian-born Xaverian missionary Faustino Tissot was entrusted with its administration. Bishop Taddeo Wang Yuesheng from Zhumadian City in Henan Province has now become the successor to the original Zhengzhou Diocese, succeeding Bishop Faustino Tissot. Bishop Tissot, a Xaverian missionary, was appointed by Pope Pius XII in 1946. In 1953, he, along with his confreres, were expelled by the Communist regime. After returning to Italy, Bishop Tissot continued to cherish the Henan Diocese in his heart and the diocese did not have a bishop appointed after his expulsion and was led by the successors of the apostolic administrator he had appointed, until the retirement of the last one in 2012.
