Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
by Gianni Valente and Marta Zhao
Fuzhou (Agenzia Fides) – The episcopal see of Fuzhou has a new bishop: Joseph Cai Bingrui, currently Bishop of the diocese of Xiamen.
Pope Francis - reports the Daily Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office - having approved his candidature in the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China, appointed on 15 January 2025,
Bishop Joseph Cai Bingrui of Fuzhou, "transferring him from the diocese of Xiamen".
Both dioceses are located in the coastal province of Fujian.
The canonical taking of possession of the new Bishop took place today, Thursday 23 January, in Fuzhou, during an official ceremony attended by about 500 people, including 116 priests and about 50 nuns. During the ceremony, presided over by Vincent Zhan Silu, Bishop of Mindong, it was stated that the transfer takes place with the consent of the Bishop of Rome, and the letter of acceptance of the transfer prepared by the "college of Chinese Bishops" was read. Other bishops took part in the ceremony. Among them, the Bishop of Shaowu (Minbei) Peter Wu Yishun and the Bishop of Hangzhou Joseph Yang Yongqiang.
In his speech, Bishop Cai referred to his love for his homeland, committing himself to doing everything necessary to promote reconciliation in the diocese and unity among priests, also following the criteria of inculturation and "sinicization". Bishop Cai recalled that the Church lives to spread the Gospel, adapting its mission to the local social and political context.
The journey of the new Bishop
Joseph Cai Bingrui was born on September 15, 1966 into a family with a long Catholic tradition. After completing his philosophical and theological studies from 1985 to 1992 at the Sheshan Seminary (Shanghai), he was ordained a priest on August 15, 1992. In 1993, he was elected Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Xiamen, which remained vacant following the death of Bishop Joseph Huang Ziyu on April 8, 1991. Since the very beginning, Joseph Cai showed himself capable of leading the diocese with pastoral wisdom. On November 19, 2007, he was appointed Bishop of the same circumscription. His episcopal ordination as Bishop of Xiamen took place two and a half years later, on May 8, 2010, in the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, with the approval of the Chinese political authorities.
The liturgical celebration of the ordination of the new Bishop - who was then 44 years old - was presided over by John Fang Xingyao, Bishop of Linyi. The liturgy was concelebrated by five other Bishops, including Joseph Cheng Tsai-fa, then Archbishop Emeritus of Taipei, who came especially from Taiwan together with a group of lay people and priests.
As Bishop of Xiamen, Joseph Cai promoted initiatives aimed at accompanying all the baptized in their journey and witness, recalling the faith of the Apostles as the source of all missionary zeal.
On May 1, 2023, in the diocese of Xiamen, Bishop Cai inaugurated the Special Year dedicated to the Catechism. That day, as reported by Fides (see Fides, 5/5/2023), all the participants in the inaugural Mass celebrated in the Cathedral received as a gift a Chinese edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the great and rich official exposition of all catechesis and Catholic doctrine, compiled under the supervision of then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and approved by John Paul II in the 1990s. During the year, all the parishes, priests, nuns and lay people participated intensely in the activities of the program prepared by the diocesan Commission for Pastoral Care and Evangelization. Among other things, about sixty catechists from different parishes and nuns from different congregations participated in the first formation course at the Catholic Provincial Formation Center located in the Maria Rosa Mystica Sanctuary of Changle.
The participants in the Course, held in July 2023, deepened their study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sharing their experiences and suggestions on the paths to follow to help all the baptized to also communicate the beauty of the contents of Christian doctrine, taking into account the signs of the times, the current social context and traditional Chinese culture.
The Diocese of Fuzhou
The journey of the diocese of Fuzhou has been marked in recent decades by suffering and pressure that have also fueled divisions. The Episcopal See of Fuzhou had been vacant since April 14, 2023, the day Bishop Peter Lin Jiashan passed away at the age of 88 (see Fides, 14/4/2023).
Arrested and taken to labor camps at the time of the Cultural Revolution, Lin had only managed to become a priest in 1981, at the age of 46. In 1984, Peter Lin was again deprived of his freedom for 10 years. In 1997, he received episcopal ordination by John Yang Shudao, bishop of Fuzhou, who was not recognized by the government.
In 1991, a bishop had also been ordained in Fuzhou according to the procedures imposed by the government's religious policy: Joseph Zheng Changcheng, born in 1912 into a family of carpenters. After Zheng's death in 2006, no new "official" bishop, recognized by the government, was appointed in Fuzhou. On June 9, 2020, the Chinese political authorities officially recognized the episcopal ministry of Peter Lin Jiashan. Prior to the official installation act, Archbishop Lin had sent a letter to priests and consecrated women in which, among other things, he reported that he had accepted the recognition of the bodies accountable to the government because his intent was to "seek unity" in the diocese, and after the China-Holy See agreement of 2018 and the "pastoral guidelines" published by the Vatican Dicasteries in 2019, the "conditions" for moving forward on the path of reconciliation were fully realized. Bishop Lin assured that the act of publicly formalizing his episcopal ministry was fully in accordance with the faith confessed by the "one, holy, Catholic and apostolic" Church. Bishop Lin also asked all the baptized to "live in a spirit of unity and communion, following the path of reconciliation through mutual acceptance and forbearance, avoiding attacks and judgments that fuel discord, in order to be one in Jesus Christ". (Agenzia Fides, 23/1/2025)
