Secretly ordained Chinese Bishop Meng dies at age 103

Published: 2007-01-11

HONG KONG (CNS) -- Clandestinely ordained Bishop Joseph Meng Ziwen of Nanning, China's oldest prelate, died Jan. 7 at the age of 103. He had suffered from liver cancer. Bishop Meng was ordained a bishop in 1984, but the Chinese government recognized him only as a priest. He died at a church in Guigang, about 80 miles east of Nanning, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency. Coadjutor Bishop John Baptist Tan Yanchuan of Nanning succeeded Bishop Meng and was to preside at the funeral Mass, scheduled for Jan. 13. Bishop Meng's great-nephew, Father Joseph Meng Weicai, who had cared for the bishop since 2002, said his great-uncle had "unlimited God-given energy," as shown in his pastoral work at the nine churches in the Guigang area. The bishop used to celebrate three Masses on Sundays at three different churches. Even after turning 100, the bishop maintained this practice until his health began deteriorating in August 2005.

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