The Holy See announced “with satisfaction” China's legal recognition of Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen of Tianjin, in a statement issued on August 27, 2024. For the first time, Beijing has recognized a bishop that Rome had chosen prior to the historic pastoral agreement on the appointment of bishops in China, which both parties ratified in 2018.
This gesture is seen to mark a further step in the rapprochement between China and the Holy See. It comes three months after the 10th appointment by both parties of a Chinese bishop under the terms of the 2018 agreement.
The Vatican describes this recognition as “a positive fruit of the dialogue established over the years between the Holy See and the Chinese government."
A bishop unrecognized by Beijing for 42 years
Unlike the 10 previous episcopal appointments in China, this time Beijing is recognizing a bishop appointed by Rome before the 2018 agreement, a historic first.
Born in 1929, ordained clandestinely as a priest in 1954 — five years after the Communist victory — Shi Hongzhen was consecrated coadjutor bishop of Tianjin in 1982 on appointment by Rome.
He became bishop of his diocese in 2019 after the death of his predecessor. However, at the time, his appointment was not endorsed by the government because he was not a member of the Patriotic Association, the body controlled by the Chinese Communist Party to oversee the official Church. According to some sources, he was then placed under house arrest.
Finally, in the twilight of his long life (he is now 94), Bishop Shi Hongzhen is seeing his office recognized by his country's authorities. His diocese, located south-east of Beijing, has 56,000 faithful in 26 parishes, accompanied by 62 priests and “a good number of religious,” according to the Holy See.
This recognition confirms the positive dynamic of relations between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China, just a few weeks before the expiration of the provisional agreement of 2018, valid for two years, which was renewed in 2020 and 2022.
The Holy See has repeatedly expressed its desire to see this agreement deepened.
