Chifeng – One month after his episcopal consecration, celebrated in full communion with Pope Leo XIV, Joseph Chang Yanfeng, Bishop of the Diocese of Chifeng, in the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia, has already begun his episcopal ministry with enthusiasm, visiting parishes, celebrating the sacraments and devoting himself to the ordinary administration of the diocese.
On 27 August, the Bishop ordained a new diocesan priest. On 23 August, he had conferred diaconal ordination on a seminarian. The two ordinations, attended by the 38 diocesan priests, religious sisters and many lay faithful, offered an image of a vibrant diocesan community, united in apostolic work around its Bishop.
Joseph Chang was consecrated Bishop on 22 July. On 15 June, Pope Leo XIV appointed him Bishop of Chifeng, “having approved his candidacy within the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China”, as stated in the communiqué released by the Holy See Press Office.
The new Bishop’s vocational and academic formation, together with his long pastoral experience, has made him particularly attentive and sensitive to the urgent need for vocational formation.
In his homily, Bishop Chang urged the newly ordained deacons and priests to recognize that the heart of ecclesial ministry consists in imitating Christ, loving others with humility and serving them wholeheartedly. He expressed the hope that the new priests and deacons, by God’s grace, may remain “always faithful” to their vocation, exercising their ministry diligently and with generous and selfless dedication.
Vocations are also flourishing in other Chinese dioceses. On 24 August, the liturgical feast of the Apostle St Bartholomew, Joseph Han Yingjin, Bishop of the Diocese of Sanyuan, ordained two diocesan priests. Joseph Li Shan, Bishop of the Diocese of Beijing, ordained three deacons from the Beijing Seminary, encouraging them with these words: “Believe what you proclaim, teach what you believe, and put into practice what you teach.”
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