Leo XIV Accepts Chinese Bishop Who Just Closed a Church
The liturgy was held at the church of Weihui and celebrated by Bishop Li Shan of Beijing. He heads the state-controlled Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.
Li Jianlin is the second bishop elected during the papal interregnum following the death of Pope Francis.
The appointment was formally approved by Pope Leo XIV on August 11. It comes with the acceptance of the “resignation” of the underground bishop Giuseppe Zhang Weizhu of Xinxiang.
Loyal Catholic Bishop Erased from Memory
The official Chinese report made no mention of papal approval and omitted any reference to Bishop Zhang Weizhu. Appointed in 1991, he was never recognized by Beijing. For decades he faced arrests, restrictions, and suppression because he refused to join the Patriotic Association.
One notable episode occurred in 2021, when police dismantled a clandestine seminary he operated. Police stormed the seminary and shut it down. Several priests and seminarians were arrested, some held for weeks or months. Bishop Zhang himself was detained and placed under various forms of restriction.
New Bishop Closed Church
By contrast, Li Jianlin has long been deeply involved in state religious governance, serving as vice-director and secretary general of Henan’s Committee for Catholic Affairs. He has been regarded as a reliable figure by state authorities.
In 2018, Li co-signed a controversial provincial directive banning all minors under 18 from entering churches—one of the clearest restrictions on religious freedom in China.
AsiaNews.it reports that just days before Li’s ordination, a church in Xuchang was forcibly closed and sealed with a heavy padlock after authorities found that children had entered the church and played musical instruments.
An official notice ordered the suspension of all activities for “rectification.”
The closure order was signed not by the police but directly by the Patriotic Association and the Committee for Ecclesial Affairs—run by Li himself
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