The Vatican announced that Pope Francis has erected a new diocese in China and appointed Father Anthony Ji Weizhong as its first bishop. The pope decided last October to suppress the Diocese of Fenyang in mainland China, which was originally erected in 1946 by Pope Pius XII, and at the same time erect the new Diocese of Lüliang.
Diocesan borders have been an area of dispute between the Vatican and China in the decades since the Chinese Communist Party came to power and started to redraw diocesan lines, seeking to bring them more in line with Chinese administrative boundaries.
Indeed, the territory of the newly-created Diocese of Lüliang conforms to the territory of the city of Lüliang, located about 400 miles southwest of Beijing in western Shanxi province. It will serve a total population of 3.3 million people, of whom approximately 20,000 are Catholics. A total of 51 priests and 26 religious sisters serve in the diocese.
Pope Francis appointed Weizhong as bishop of Lüliang on Oct. 28, 2024, having approved Weizhong in the context of the “Provisional Agreement,” better known as the Vatican-China deal, which appears to give the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) some ability to choose episcopal candidates.