by Gianni Valente
Jinzhou – “There is much to be done. China is a vast field where we must sow the Gospel of Jesus,” said Julius Jia Zhiguo in February 2016, when he was already 81 years old. And his youthful heart beat as always to the rhythm of his missionary zeal.
“My life,” he said in an interview published by the church and religious information portal of the Italian daily newspaper “La Stampa,” “consists of speaking about Jesus. I have nothing else to say or do. My whole life, every single day, is dedicated to telling others about Jesus. Everyone.”
He confessed his faith even to state officials who, from time to time, would arrest him to take him to indoctrination sessions or periods of house arrest.
Julius Jia Zhiguo, the Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Zhengding, whose position was not officially recognized by the Chinese authorities, died on Wednesday, October 29, at the age of 90.
He spent the last decades near what he called his cathedral, in the village of Wuqiu, his birthplace, now in the county-city of Jinzhou, in Hebei Province. He was buried there in the family crypt on October 31.
Those who loved him now mourn his passing, but they also give thanks for the gift of having known a witness who professed his faith in Christ in good times and in times of trial and suffering. They saw in him how those who truly persevere “amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God,” as Saint Augustine used to say.
Preserved in tribulation
For Jia Zhiguo, the difficulties began when he was a seminarian. From 1963 to 1978, he endured imprisonment and periods of “re-education through labor” in remote, cold, and inhospitable locations.
After the end of the “difficult times” of the Cultural Revolution, he was finally ordained a priest on June 7, 1980, by Joseph Fan Xueyan, the Bishop of Baoding, who also consecrated him a bishop a few months later. He spoke without resentment, without claiming heroism for having endured times of tribulation. “It was enough for us to have God in our hearts,” he recalled in the aforementioned interview. “That accompanied me and protected me throughout that time. It was His work, not my own merit. There were many difficulties, but God was by my side, and that was enough. We were at peace because we entrusted everything to the Lord.”
After receiving episcopal ordination, Julius also went to the Office of Religious Affairs to inform the officials of his appointment as bishop. They didn’t take him seriously because they repeatedly told him that in China, no one could hold the office of bishop without government recognition.
In the following decades, Jia Zhiguo was taken away countless times and placed under house arrest. He recounted all this with peace in his heart, without a trace of complaint or reproach in his voice.
Even under these circumstances, he prayed, read, celebrated Mass, and spoke with his “hosts.” They reprimanded him, perhaps because he had ordained some new priests. And he replied disarmingly: “This is my life, my work. Priests are ordained by the bishop, and I am the bishop; I cannot change that. If I don’t ordain them, no one will.”
And when officials emphasized the need to proclaim “independence” and “autonomy” from the Church in Rome, he replied that separation was impossible “because I full communion with the Bishop of Rome is part of the Catholic faith.” “But,” he added in a 2016 interview: “They don’t understand the nature of the Church; when I explain this to them simply, they are bewildered and don’t know how to respond.”
Reconciliation in Communion with the Bishop of Rome
In 2016, the agreement between the Holy See and the government in Beijing on the appointment of new Chinese bishops, which was to be signed in September 2018, was yet to be reached. Bishop Jia, asked about the ongoing talks between the People’s Republic of China and the Holy See, recalled the attempts to lead the Church in China down the path of total separation from the Pope, adding that “as long as things remain unresolved, reasons for division will persist.” He also recalled the many bishops ordained without the Pope’s consent and had subsequently requested recognition as bishops of the Catholic Church. He acknowledged that these bishops were “in full communion with the Pope, yet there are priests who do not accept this. They sow distrust towards these bishops and their priests, they condemn others by questioning the authenticity of their faith,” creating “divisions upon divisions” and presenting themselves “as the only true believers.” He also recalled that Pope Benedict XVI, in his 2007 Letter to Chinese Catholics, “called us to unity,” adding, “We have followed the Pope’s words precisely: reconciliation with all who are in communion with the Bishop of Rome.”
Regarding the procedures for appointing new Chinese bishops, which were the focus of negotiations at the time, he acknowledged that “a way can be found to meet the government’s expectations. But there must be no confusion. The bishop’s appointment must come from the Pope. The appointment must come from the Pope. We trust the Pope. He is the successor of Peter and, in communion with the whole Church, preserves the faith of the Apostles with the help of the Holy Spirit. It is not a question of human abilities: We trust the Pope because we have faith in the Lord, who sustains and guides his Church, and we trust in him.”
The Blessing of living with orphans
Faith in Jesus also gave Julius Jia Zhiguo a realistic view of the urgent new tasks facing the Church’s mission in contemporary China. In the aforementioned interview, the bishop acknowledged that “many people are becoming increasingly indifferent due to growing materialism and consumerism. Many no longer come to church to pray, partly because they are always busy and never find the time.” Vocations to the priesthood and religious life have also declined, he said. “Many no longer want to dedicate their lives to God and place themselves at the service of their brothers and sisters.”
And if the faith that was preserved in times of need now appears in some situations “like a flame which no longer has fuel” , there is no point in lamenting these times of crisis. Rather, Bishop Jia reiterated, “we must bear witness to the fact that it is a beautiful thing to give oneself to God, that one attains a greater richness than the illusory riches that materialism and consumerism offer us.”
In the last decades of his life, the bishop lived in a house where about seventy orphans, including children with disabilities, were cared for by nuns. A “beautiful and good” work, which was also supported by donations from Buddhist donors. “For me,” the bishop explained, “this work is the most important thing, the thing closest to my heart. It is the reality we cannot do without. Through it, everyone sees Jesus’ unconditional love for each of us.”
Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo’s body has been granted permission to be buried in his home village. There he will rest forever. The people of God will find ways to celebrate his dedication and find comfort in remembering him and his exemplary life. Thus, the miracle of the Church in China will go down in history.
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