Chinese priests teary-eyed as classmate ordained; elderly bishop dies

Published: 2007-12-21

HONG KONG (CNS) -- Priests of the Ningxia Diocese in northwestern China were moved to tears when Father Joseph Li Jing was ordained their coadjutor bishop. On Dec. 21, about 2,000 Catholics packed the cathedral in Yinchuan city, the capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, to witness the episcopal ordination of 40-year-old Father Li. Father Paul Zhang Shaoqing of Ningxia said many priests standing around the altar, especially seminary classmates of the new bishop, were moved to tears. "We shared the same feeling that even if our crosses are heavy we can shoulder them with God's help," he told the Asian church news agency UCA News Dec. 21. "We have to devote our entire lives to Jesus." Bishop Li's ordination -- with the approval of the Holy See and the Chinese government -- was expected to be the last ordination of a new Chinese bishop in 2007. Chinese Catholics say they need dozens of new bishops to replace aging bishops, at least 11 of whom have died this year.

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