The new bishop was consecrated in China on 31 January as part of the provisional agreement signed by the Holy See and the Asian government in 2018.
“Today, Wednesday, January 31, 2024, the episcopal ordination of Rev. Pietro Wu Yishun, whom the Holy Father, within the framework of the provisional agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China, has appointed, took place on 16 December 2023, Bishop of the Apostolic Prefecture of Shaowu (Minbei), in the Chinese province of Fujian,” the statement said.
The agreement was renewed in 2020 and 2022, but its content has not been made public.
Bishop Pietro Wu Yishun was born on 7 December 1964. Between 1985 and 1992 he studied Philosophy and Theology at the Sheshan Seminary in Shanghai.
He was ordained a priest on 15 August 1992 for the Diocese of Xiamen. He was sent to Minbei, where he served as parish priest of Nanping and was responsible for the apostolic prefectures of Shaowu and Jian’ou.
According to the government website for the Catholic Church in China, chinacatholic.cn , Wednesday’s consecration was presided over by the Archbishop of Beijing and president of the government-controlled Chinese Patriotic Association, Bishop Giuseppe Li Shan. The other consecrators were Bishop Zhan Silu, Bishop of Mindong and deputy secretary general of the Chinese Catholic Bishops’ Conference; Bishop Cai Bingrui, Bishop of Xiamen and deputy secretary general of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association; and Bishop Jin Yangke, Bishop of Ningbo.