China ordains 18th bishop under Vatican agreement

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…