Bishop of Lüliang
Anthony Ji Weizhong was born on August 3, 1973 in Wenshui County, China, which is now part of the newly established Diocese of Lüliang. The third of three children, he said in a short letter on his priestly vocation that he was raised in the Catholic faith, especially through the daily witness of his mother. The new Bishop studied theology at the National Seminary in Beijing from 1995 to 2001 and was ordained a priest on October 14, 2001 and incardinated in the diocese of Fenyang. He then carried out linguistic studies at Xi'an University. In February 2005, Father Anthony Ji moved to Germany and began his studies at the Sankt Augustin University of Philosophy and Theology, of the missionaries of the Society of the Divine Word (Verbites), under the spiritual guidance of the Verbites missionary Anton Weber. In March 2010, he completed his studies with a thesis on the model of the local Church in China. On June 30, 2010, he gave a lecture on this topic at the same university during a conference on the topic "The Church of China on the way to financial independence?", an event organized by China Zentrum that also saw the participation of Dr. Wolf Kantelhardt, Head of the charitable organization Misereor for projects supported in China. Upon returning to the diocese of Fenyang, Father Ji served as assistant parish priest, Head of the diocesan pastoral center and Vicar General. In the aforementioned writing, Anthony Ji recalled the work done to open new wells in the villages of Shanxi province and the pastoral work aimed at promoting reconciliation processes in the local ecclesial community.