Vatican Press Office Director Matteo Bruni describes the civil recognition and official assumption of office of the prelate as auxiliary bishop as “The fruit of dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities.”
Vatican News
The structure of the new Diocese of Zhangjiakou, established by Pope Leo XIV on July 8 by merging the territories of the Dioceses of Xiwanzi and Xuanhua, is taking further shape. On September 12, the Holy See Press Office reported that, “within the framework of dialogue concerning the application of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China,” the “civil recognition and assumption of office” of Giuseppe Ma Yan’en as Auxiliary Bishop of Zhangjiakou took place.
The 65-year-old prelate, already Bishop of Xiwanzi and now assisting Bishop Joseph Wang Zhengu, consecrated two days ago as the first Bishop of Zhangjiakou, was born in 1960 in Baoding. He was ordained a priest in 1985 for the Apostolic Prefecture of Yixian, where he served as Vicar General. He received episcopal ordination in January 2010 and in 2013 became Bishop of Xiwanzi, a circumscription of which he took canonical possession on March 28 of that year.
“It is received with satisfaction,” said Matteo Bruni, Director of the Holy See Press Office, “that today, on the occasion of the assumption of office as Auxiliary Bishop of Zhangjiakou by Joseph Ma Yan’en, his episcopal ministry has also been recognised within the framework of civil law.” At the same time, the statement added, “the episcopal dignity of Monsignor Augustine Cui Tai, Bishop Emeritus of Xuanhua, has also been civilly recognised.”
“These events, the fruit of dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities,” Bruni concluded, “represent a significant step in the journey of communion of the new Diocese.”
