Death of Mgr. Andrea Wang Chongyi, one of the oldest Bishops in mainland China

His Exc. Mgr. Andrea Aniceto, Wang Chongyi, Archbishop Emeritus of Guiyang, Guizhou Province, died. He was 97 years old and was one of the oldest Bishops in Mainland China. The Bishop was born on 26 October 1919 in the village of Huangguoshu, Zhenning District in Guizhou, and came from a family of Catholic tradition.

 

At 13 years of age he entered the Minor Seminary of Guiyang. He then went to “San Paolo” Intermediate Seminary and then to the “San Pietro” Major Seminary. He was ordained on October 24, 1949, and was appointed parish priest of Meitan and Zunyi.

 

During the cultural revolution he was arrested and obliged into forced labor in the village of Zhenning for nine years. In 1979 he returned to the parish of Zunyi and in 1981 was appointed parish priest of the church in the north of Guiyang.

 

On 4 December 1988 he was ordained Bishop of Guiyang. With apostolic zeal he led the people of God entrusted to him. A generous Pastor, he carefully prepared his pastoral commitments. He is also remembered for his kindness and great human courtesy. On September 8, 2014, he resigned from the bishopric office, which was accepted by Pope Francis on March 4, 2015.

 

He left the guidance of the Archdiocese to his Coadjutor, His Exc. Mgr. Paolo Xiao Zejiang, consecrated by him on September 8, 2007.The Archdiocese of Guiyang currently has 23 priests and over 40 religious women; there are about 100,000 faithful, including the many belonging to ethnic minorities. The funeral was celebrated on April 22 in the cathedral in Guiyang.