The Vatican recently announced that China has officially recognised Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen as the Bishop of Tianjin, for civil purposes.
“This measure is a positive outcome of the dialogue established over the years between the Holy See and the Chinese Government,” says a statement released by the Holy See Press Office.
The statement points out that the Diocese of Tianjin has around 56,000 faithful distributed across 21 parishes, served by 62 priests.
Bishop Shi Hongzhen was born in 1929 and ordained a priest in 1954. He was consecrated coadjutor of Tianjin in 1982 and he succeeded Bishop Stefano Li Side in 2019, according to a report by Vatican News.
Photo: Leonard Cotte
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