China ordains 18th bishop under Vatican agreement

Archbishop Andrew Ding Yang’s episcopal ordination is the eighth held during Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, though not all eight bishops were appointed by him.

Father Andrew Ding Yang was ordained Tuesday, Sept. 8, as archbishop of Chongqing in southwestern China, a see that had been vacant since March 26, 2001.

It was the fourth episcopal ordination celebrated since June 15 and the eighth during the pontificate of Leo XIV under the procedures established by the agreement between Beijing and the Holy See governing the appointment of bishops.

The most recently announced appointment had been that of Bishop Paul Liu Honggang as bishop of Datong in China’s Shanxi province on Aug. 10.

However, the Holy See announced Tuesday that Leo XIV had appointed Ding on July 28, more than 10 days before Liu’s appointment.

The Vatican generally does not announce episcopal appointments in China when they are made but instead waits until the day of the bishop’s ordination. In this case, the chronological order of the appointments differed from the order in which they were announced.

The eight episcopal ordinations held during Leo XIV’s pontificate do not mean that all eight bishops were appointed by him.

Among these cases are two prelates who had already been ordained bishops and belonged to the so-called underground Church — the Catholic community not officially recognized by Chinese authorities. Both were subsequently recognized by the communist government, regularizing their ecclesiastical and civil status.

Educated at a pontifical university in Rome

Ding was born Sept. 16, 1981, in Hechuan District, part of the Chongqing municipality. He entered the Beijing seminary in 2000 and completed his priestly formation there in 2006.

He was ordained a priest on May 24, 2007, after a year of pastoral service at St. Joseph Parish in Yuzhong, Chongqing, where he later served as parochial vicar.

From 2009 to 2011, he pursued further theological studies at the University of St. Joseph in Macao. From 2012 to 2014, he served as a formator at the National Seminary of the Catholic Church in China in Beijing.

In March 2014, he moved to Rome to continue his studies at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, returning to China the following year.

After his return, he held several pastoral assignments as a parish priest in Tongliang, Tongnan, Tongguanyi, and Jiulongpo in the Archdiocese of Chongqing. Pope Leo XIV appointed him archbishop of Chongqing in July.

Appointments under Leo XIV

The process that led to Ding’s appointment and episcopal ordination took place entirely during Leo XIV’s pontificate, signaling the pope’s intention to continue dialogue between Rome and Beijing.

Drawing on the missionary outlook he developed during years of pastoral ministry, Leo has approved several episcopal appointments in China and entrusted new responsibilities to some prelates who had already been ordained bishops.

On June 11, 2025, the Vatican announced the civil recognition and installation of Bishop Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou in Fujian province.

Lin was not ordained a bishop during Leo’s pontificate, having received episcopal ordination in 2017. Pope Leo XIV appointed him auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou on June 5, 2025, after which Chinese authorities granted him civil recognition.

The prelate welcomed the decision and expressed his willingness to assist in the diocese’s pastoral mission.

On July 8, 2025, Leo suppressed the Dioceses of Xuanhua and Xiwanzi, which Pope Pius XII had established in 1946, and created the new Diocese of Zhangjiakou as a suffragan see of Beijing.

Two months later, on Sept. 10, Father Joseph Wang Zhengui, whom the pontiff had appointed to lead the new diocese, received episcopal ordination.

China recognizes 2 underground bishops

On Sept. 12, 2025, the Chinese government recognized two underground bishops — prelates loyal to Rome who had been appointed by the pope.

Bishop Joseph Ma Yanen, 65, formerly the underground bishop of Xiwanzi, became an auxiliary bishop of the new Diocese of Zhangjiakou in Hebei province.

Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, 75, had served as the underground bishop of Xuanhua, the other diocese suppressed by Pope Leo XIV when he created the Diocese of Zhangjiakou. Because Cui is over the age of 70, the Vatican considers him bishop emeritus.

Appointments in 2026

In 2026, Father Francis Xavier Duan Yongkun was ordained coadjutor bishop of Bameng in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after Pope Leo XIV appointed him on June 15 under the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.

His was the second episcopal ordination connected with appointments approved by the pontiff on June 15. According to the Vatican, Leo also appointed Father Joseph Chang Yanfeng that day. Chang was subsequently ordained the new bishop of Chifeng, another diocese in Inner Mongolia.

On Aug. 10, Father Paul Liu Honggang was ordained bishop of Datong in Shanxi province. Ding has now joined that list.

Tensions during the papal interregnum

During the period when the Holy See was vacant following the death of Pope Francis, Chinese authorities unilaterally selected two bishops, including one for a diocese already led by a prelate recognized by the Holy See.

On Oct. 15, 2025, Father Ignatius Wu Jianlin was ordained auxiliary bishop of Shanghai after Leo officially appointed him on Aug. 11 of that year. His ordination at St. Ignatius Cathedral marked another chapter in the complex relationship between Beijing and the Vatican.

Chinese authorities had previously announced that an assembly of priests and laypeople had elected Wu on April 28, during the interregnum following Francis’ death.

The Holy See later revealed that the pope had approved the nomination on Aug. 11. Although the appointment was not immediately made public, the Vatican announcement indicated that it ultimately proceeded under the mechanisms established by the agreement between China and the Holy See.

On Dec. 5, 2025, Francis Li Jianlin was ordained bishop of the Apostolic Prefecture of Xinxiang in Henan province after Pope Leo XIV appointed him on Aug. 11, 2025.

Li was the second bishop promoted by Chinese authorities during the interregnum between the death of Pope Francis and the election of Leo XIV.

18 Chinese bishops ordained under agreement

With Ding’s appointment, 18 Chinese Catholic bishops have now been ordained under the Provisional Agreement signed by the Holy See and China during Francis’ pontificate.

The bilateral agreement, first signed in 2018, governs the selection and recognition of Catholic bishops in China.

The two states have not maintained diplomatic relations since 1951, following the communist government’s rise to power under Mao Zedong. Chinese Catholics subsequently became divided between the state-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the underground Church loyal to Rome.

The agreement’s full contents have never been made public. It was renewed every two years until 2024, when the two sides extended it through 2028.

Under the publicly known terms of the agreement, the pope retains the final say over episcopal appointments in China, including the right to reject candidates proposed by Beijing. The Holy See, meanwhile, agreed not to make episcopal appointments without the Chinese government’s prior approval.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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