Announced on July 8, 2025, this change is part of the provisional agreement between the Holy See and China, signed in 2018 and since renewed, and aims to "promote pastoral unity" and reconcile historical divisions.
InfoCatolica, which published an excellent article on this occasion: "Translation: Rome Gives In to Beijing." The site does not hesitate to clarify it: "The agreement between Rome and Beijing consists of submitting to the dictatorship."
The reconfiguration, which follows Chinese administrative boundaries, has drawn praise for its organizational efficiency among those who support the agreement between the Holy See and the Chinese regime, but also criticism for what can be interpreted as ecclesiastical validation of the structures designed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
A Brief Historical Review
The Catholic presence in China dates back to the 7th century (Nestorians detached from Rome), but mainly to the 16th century with the Jesuits, i.e., Matteo Ricci. After 1949, the communist regime expelled the missionaries and nationalized church property. In 1957, it created the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA), controlled by the CCP, to establish an "autonomous, self-sufficient, and self-propagating" Church, detached from Rome.
This was the beginning of a schism: on one side, the "official" Church, controlled by the CPCA and separated from Rome; on the other, the "underground" Church, loyal to the Holy See and forced into semi-clandestinity. Episcopal ordinations without Rome's consent resulted in excommunications. The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) saw savage repression: churches were razed, clergy imprisoned, and worship stifled. After 1978, a limited revival was permitted, under close surveillance.
Many "underground" priests and bishops are still arrested or "disappeared" to this day. The provisional agreement of 2018, renewed every two years—and for four years in 2024—aimed to unify the Church through Chinese participation in episcopal appointments, with the Pope's final right of veto, if the information is accurate; the agreement remains secret.
Its critics, including Cardinal Joseph Zen, argue that it legitimizes political control and leaves underground worshippers unprotected. Under Leo XIV, the agreement facilitated about ten appointments, or a third of the sees, and served as the framework for a reorganization that aligned ecclesiastical boundaries with the administrative divisions of the People's Republic, under the continued supervision of the state.
Details of the Reorganization in Hebei
The new diocese of Zhangjiakou, a suffragan of Beijing, covers 36,357 km² and has a population of 4,032,600, including approximately 85,000 Catholics served by 89 priests. The diocese coincides with the capital of the same name and merges two historic sees that were missionary centers in the north and a gateway to Mongolia.
On September 10, 2025, Giuseppe Wang Zhengui was ordained Bishop of Zhangjiakou, upon nomination by the Holy Father and "approved" as part of the provisional agreement. Born on November 19, 1962, and ordained in 1990 for Xianxian, he was linked to the official Church under the control of the CCP. The consecration was conferred by Archbishop Li Shan, Archbishop of Beijing and President of the CPCA.
On September 12, 2025, the ministry of Bishop Emeritus Agostino Cui Tai and Bishop Giuseppe Ma Yan'en, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Zhangjiakou on September 4, was recognized civilly. During the ceremony, presided over by Bishop Wang Zhengui, a letter of approval from the Chinese Catholic Bishops' Council (which does not report to Rome but to the CPCA) was read.
According to available information, Bishop Ma Yan'en swore to respect the Chinese Constitution, safeguard national unity, love the homeland and the Church, support ecclesiastical independence and self-government, adhere to the sinicization of Catholicism, and contribute to "socialist construction" and "national rebirth."
The Vatican, through its press office director, Matteo Bruni, welcomed these recognitions as the fruit of dialogue and "an important step towards communion" in the new diocese.
The current reorganization effectively legitimizes the Diocese of Zhangjiakou, unilaterally created by the regime in 1980 and unrecognized by the Holy See for decades. For many faithful, this amounts to subordinating ecclesiastical mapping to a state project and eclipsing the legacy of Pius XII, thus demoralizing the underground community that resisted persecution.
The new map strengthens the official Church and relegates to oblivion the witness of those who maintained communion in adversity. The recent death of underground Bishop Placidus Pei Ronggui (September 6, 2025), ordained in 1981 and imprisoned several times for rejecting the CPCA, highlights the heart of the problem. Coadjutor of Luoyang, he retired to his village in 2011.
In 2016, he stated: "There cannot be an independent Church in China, because that contradicts Catholic principles. It is the Chinese government that must change." And he recalled: "In China, maintaining a pure faith inevitably leads to persecution. But if we suffer to bear witness to God, it is still a blessing."
While Beijing presents the recent appointments as a political victory, a division is emerging between Catholics loyal to the state and the agreement with Rome and those who remain faithful to the Church, who have suffered and continue to suffer persecution. The underground faithful accuse some prelates of lacking courage. Defenders of the agreement see it as reducing illicit ordinations and opening the way to legitimate ministry for many prelates and priests.
Unity: But at What Price?
Before 2018, the Holy See rejected the structures imposed by the CCP and maintained the 1946 dioceses. In 2025, Leo XIV’s decisions—to abolish these sees and integrate the underground bishops into state-approved frameworks—favored "unity" and pastoral access, but adapted to the "sinicization" demanded by the CCP, which demanded adherence to socialist values.
Defenders of this measure claim that it stabilizes the ecclesial life of 85,000 Catholics in Zhangjiakou; detractors object that it undermines the witness of the underground Church, validates state supervision, and exposes the community to sustained ideological infiltration.
A fundamental question, already posed by Cardinal Joseph Zen, remains pressing: unity, but at what price? All recent events are linked by the desire to pacify structures, but at the cost of increasing dependence on the CPCA and the CCP. However, everyone knows that "a man needs a long spoon who must eat with the devil" (Shakespeare, Comedy of Errors).