Leo XIV gives his 1st address to Church in China
Pope Leo XIV called for the Catholic Church in China to be rooted in Chinese culture while remaining in communion with Rome. In a video message to a Rome conference, he said the faith should embrace cultural differences and avoid treating missionary work as colonization or the export of foreign models. The conference marked 100 years since Pope Pius XI ordained the first six Chinese bishops of the modern era in 1926. Leo XIV described that ordination as significant for both the Church in China and the universal Church.
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Pope Leo XIV’s first address devoted specifically to the Catholic Church in China called for the Church to be deeply rooted in Chinese culture while remaining in communion with Rome. He delivered the message by video to a Rome conference marking 100 years since the ordination of the first six Chinese bishops of the modern era.
The conference took place on November 5, 2026, under the auspices of the Dicastery for Evangelization and was opened by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin. It commemorated October 28, 1926, when Pope Pius XI ordained six Chinese bishops at St. Peter’s Basilica after they had traveled from Shanghai to Rome.
About 100 people attended, including Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong and Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik. Two bishops from China were present: Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing, president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, and Bishop Ignatius Ding Zuyao of Haimen, who had recently been appointed.
Leo described the 1926 ordinations as significant both for the Church in China and for the universal Church. Citing Benedict XV’s 1919 letter Maximum illud, he said missionary work should not be confused with colonization or the export of cultural models, and that Christian faith can embrace differences and incorporate the characteristics of peoples.
The Pope also stressed communion among bishops and with the Bishop of Rome, describing that unity as a freely given and liberating bond. He cited Benedict XVI’s statement that the Church in China had retained legitimate pastors and apostolic succession, and recalled Pope Francis’s emphasis on Chinese Catholics’ communion with Rome.
Concluding, Leo recalled that the six bishops’ journey had inspired joy and pride among their compatriots. Against a backdrop of conflict and war, he urged prayers for the protection of ecclesial communion.
The article reports that, since China and the Holy See signed their 2018 agreement on episcopal appointments, 21 appointments have been made under its framework, including seven during Leo XIV’s pontificate.
Cultural inculturation can coexist with universal ecclesial communion
Yes. In Catholic teaching, inculturation and universal communion are not opposites: the Gospel may take distinct cultural forms in local Churches, while those Churches remain united in the apostolic faith and in communion with the universal Church. Cultural rootedness is not a reason to break communion; properly received, it can enrich the Church’s common life.
The International Theological Commission notes that local Churches may express the faith through culturally shaped forms—including language, liturgical symbols, and models of holiness. But those differences must not obscure mutual recognition in the apostolic faith or solidarity in love. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith makes the complementary point: the Church’s universality includes both “a most solid unity” and a plurality of traditions in liturgy and culture. Diversity can give unity the character of communion rather than undermine it.
Inculturation, then, is more than adapting outward appearances or preserving customs unchanged. The Gospel takes root in a culture while also judging, purifying, and transforming it. Pope John Paul II says authentic inculturation must respect the fullness of the received faith and be carried out in communion with all the Churches, especially the See of Peter.
That distinction is relevant to the reported call for the Church in China to be rooted in Chinese culture while remaining in communion with Rome: cultural expression and ecclesial communion need not compete. The available news summary gives only the broad outline, so it does not establish what specific forms of inculturation or questions of Church life were discussed. But the general Catholic principle is clear: local particularity is legitimate and fruitful when it remains recognizably within the one apostolic faith and the communion of the universal Church.