Joseph Chang Yanfeng was ordained bishop of Chifeng in China’s northern Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Wednesday, highlighting the uneasy diplomatic engagement between Beijing and the Vatican on the sensitive issue of Catholic appointments.
According to Vatican News, Pope Leo XIV approved Chang’s appointment on June 15, under the terms of the 2018 provisional agreement between the Holy See and Beijing.
The ordination fills a vacancy for the Catholic diocese of Chifeng that had lasted nearly two decades since the 2006 death of Andreas Zhu Wenyu, who had been ordained without papal mandate, according to AsiaNews, a Catholic missionary news agency based in Italy.
The ordination of the 42-year-old priest, who since 2021 had served as Chifeng’s diocesan administrator, was presided over by Bishop Paul Meng Qinglu of Hohhot, deputy chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, according to the association’s official website.
About 400 people attended the ordination, including priests, nuns and lay representatives from across Inner Mongolia.