Pope Francis appointed Father Matteo Zhen Xuebin as the coadjutor bishop of Beijing, the Vatican press office announced on October 25, 2024. The announcement comes three days after the renewal of the pastoral agreement between the Holy See and China on the appointment of bishops. This is the 11th episcopal appointment resulting from this agreement.
Coadjutor bishops are those who are appointed to succeed the current bishop, when the current prelate leaves office for whatever reason.
"I am aware that I do not have the qualities required for the task entrusted to me, but I accept it in faith and entrust myself to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Matthew the Apostle, trusting with all my heart and promising to dedicate myself entirely to the fulfillment of my pastoral duties, because ‘I do all things for the sake of Gospel,’” the bishop said, as reported by Fides.
Archbishop Zhen Xuebin takes up his duties immediately, having been ordained coadjutor bishop of the Chinese capital on Friday.
This means that the 54-year-old prelate will take charge of this archdiocese when Archbishop Joseph Li Shan, 59, retires, dies, or is transferred to another diocese. In the meantime, he will act as his auxiliary bishop.
The appointment of Bishop Zhen Xuebin by the Pontiff, by virtue of the pastoral agreement with China, took place on August 28, 2024, the Holy See reported in the press release.
The 2018 agreement, which the Holy See renewed for four years on October 22 (compared with only two years at the time of the previous renewals in 2020 and 2022) allows the pope to have the final say in the selection of bishops on Chinese territory. The exact details of the agreement have never been released.
This is the 10th ordination decided through this agreement; it also enabled the transfer of a bishop last June.
Bishop Zhen Xuebin, a native of Changzhi, a city of over a million inhabitants located six hours by car southwest of Beijing, received his seminary training in the capital from 1988 to 1993, before studying liturgy for four years in New York at St. John's University.
A member of the Patriotic Association, the body with which the Communist Party oversees the Church in China, he was ordained in 1998 for the Beijing diocese, has been vice-rector of the local seminary, pastor of various parishes in the capital, and diocesan chancellor since 2007.
