The consecration ceremony of Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Wu Jianlin of the Shanghai Diocese was held on the 15th at St. Ignatius Cathedral in Xujiahui, Shanghai, presided over by Bishop Shen Bin, Chairman of the official Chinese Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Vice Chairman of the Catholic Patriotic Association of China.
According to a Sing Tao Daily report on the 16th, 55-year-old Wu Jianlin was born in Shanghai and has served as Deputy Director of the Shanghai Catholic Patriotic Association, Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and a Standing Committee Member of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, among other positions. In April this year, he was elected as the Coadjutor (Auxiliary) Bishop-designate of the Shanghai Diocese.
The report also previously noted that Bishop Wang Zhengui of Zhangjiakou Diocese was consecrated last month. Subsequently, Zhangjiakou Diocese also held the installation of Auxiliary Bishop Ma Yan’en and the retirement ceremony for Bishop Cui Tai.
According to the report, both Ma Yan’en and Cui Tai were previously “underground bishops” and have now been officially recognized by the Chinese authorities, while the Holy See has recognized the legitimacy of Zhangjiakou Diocese and Bishop Wang Zhengui, demonstrating that the ascension of the new Pope Leo XIV has not impacted China-Vatican relations.
China and the Vatican still have no diplomatic relations. For a long time, China had unilaterally appointed bishops, but years ago both parties reached an agreement on the appointment of bishops, which generally has a model of candidates being proposed by China and jointly approved by the Vatican.