Father Peter Wu Junwei was ordained the third bishop of Xinjiang (Yuncheng) diocese with both papal approval and government recognition today. In his speech, Bishop Wu thanked Pope Benedict XVI for his appointment and trust, ucanews.com reports.
“I am determined to be loyal to the Pope forever,” he said.
He also urged his flock to follow the example of Saint Matthew the Apostle, whose feast is celebrated today, to give up everything to follow Jesus and spread the Gospel.
He told ucanews.com he will give priority to diocesan priests’ spiritual formation as they have not had a retreat together since 2006.
The former rector of the Shanxi Montecorvino Major Seminary is also concerned about laity formation. Though the local Church baptized many in recent decades, the number of Catholics remains small, he said.
The diocese now has 28 priests and about 40 nuns serving 15,000 Catholics, two-thirds of whom are farmers.
The 48-year-old bishop comes from a staunch Catholic family. His brother is a priest while his sister is a nun. Their great granduncle, Saint Peter Wu Anbang, was martyred during the Boxer Uprising of 1900. He was canonized among the 120 Chinese martyrs in 2000.
The ordination in northern Shanxi province was officiated by Bishop John Huo Cheng of Fenyang, assisted by Coadjutor Bishop Paul Meng Ningyou of Taiyuan who was just ordained five days ago, Bishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing and Coadjutor Bishop John Baptist Yang Xiaoting of Yan’an (Yulin).
All the bishops have papal approval and government recognition.
About 140 priests concelebrated the Mass at the cathedral in Xinjiang county for about 2,000 people.
Profile of Bishop Wu:
• Born in 1962, the eldest of six children
• Studied at the Xinjiang minor seminary and the Taiyuan major seminary
• Ordained a priest for Taiyuan diocese in 1990
• Served at a parish 1991-1996
• Served simultaneously as rector of Taiyuan’s minor seminary, diocesan treasurer and director of Church affairs from 1996-2001
• Rector of the Shanxi Montecorvino Major Seminary from 2001-2009
• Appointed by the Pope as third bishop of Xinjiang in May 2009
• Elected bishop candidate by the local Church in September 2009
SIC: CTH/ASIA