Bishop of Xinxiang
Xinxiang (Agenzia Fides) – Today, Friday, December 5, Francis Li Jianlin was consecrated Bishop of the Apostolic Prefecture of Xinxiang, at the church in the Nanmenli, in the city of Xinxiang, Henan Province. The solemn episcopal consecration was presided over by Bishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing. Concelebrating were Thaddeus Wang Yuesheng, Bishop of Zhengzhou; Joseph Zhang Yinlin, Bishop of Anyang; and Peter Jin Lugang, Bishop of Nanyang. Father Joseph Yang Yu, Secretary General of the so-called "Chinese Catholic Bishops' Conference," read the Conference's letter of approval before more than 20 priests from Henan Province and over 200 people who attended the consecration Mass, including religious sisters, lay people, and representatives of the civil authorities. Li Jianlin was born on 9 July 1974 in the city of Huixian, Henan Province, to a family of Catholic tradition. From September 1990 to June 1999 he carried out his journey of formation and discernment with in preparation for the priesthood, first at the seminary of Zhengding and then the seminary of Yixian, Hebei, as announced today in a press release from the Holy See Press Office. On 23 July 1999 he received priestly ordination from Bishop Nicola Shi Jingxian of Shangqiu, for the Apostolic Prefecture of Xinxiang. From July 1999 to 2000 he was parish priest of Qinyang. In 2000 he was appointed for the formation of seminarians and religious sisters in the district. Since 2011, he has served as parish priest in Jiaozuo. Pope Leo XIV—according to the bulletin of the Holy See Press Office—appointed him Bishop of the Apostolic Prefecture of Xinxiang on August 11, 2025, “having approved his candidature in accordance with the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China, and having accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the same Apostolic Prefecture presented by Bishop Joseph Zhang Weizhu.”