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This week in Christian history: Chick Tracts founder dies, pope ordains 6 Chinese bishops

By Michael Gryboski, Editor Twitter

Pope ordains six Chinese bishops – Oct. 28, 1926

Pope Pius XI, (1857-1939).
Pope Pius XI, (1857-1939). | Public Domain

This week marks the anniversary of Pope Pius XI ordaining six Chinese to serve as bishops in the East Asian nation, the first time any Chinese bishop had been ordained since 1685.

At a ceremony held at Vatican City in Rome, Pius XI appointed the six bishops as heads of the apostolic vicariates of Anguo, Fenyang, Haimen, Puqi, Taizhou and Xuanhua. By the 1950s, all of these regional bodies had developed into dioceses.

In the 21st century, the ordinations were viewed as significant in that they helped Chinese Catholics develop and grow their own churches independent of foreign leadership.

Bishop Peter Zhao Zhendong of Xuanhua told UCA News in a 2006 interview that “the Holy Spirit led our bishops during” the upheavals that struck China in the early to mid-20th century.

“If there had been no native Chinese bishops in 1926, the Chinese Church might not have survived until today,” he said.  

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