Pope Leo's Ninth Chinese Bishop Ordained in Haimen
He fills a see vacant since 2023; about 400 worshippers attended the ordination at Nantong's cathedral.
Father Ignatius Ding Zuyao was ordained Bishop of Haimen in Jiangsu Province, China, on October 15, 2026, at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in Nantong. About 400 people attended the liturgy, among them priests, religious sisters, and lay faithful.
Pope Leo XIV appointed him on August 24, 2026, under the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China. The consecration was the ninth during Pope Leo XIV's pontificate and the nineteenth overall since the agreement was signed on September 22, 2018.
Bishop Joseph Shen Bin of Shanghai, Bishop Emeritus of Haimen, served as principal consecrator. The concelebrants were Bishop John Wang Renlei of Xuzhou, Bishop Joseph Xu Honggen of Suzhou, Bishop Francis Lu Xinping of Nanjing, and Bishop Ignatius Wu Jianlin, auxiliary bishop of Shanghai.
A Priest Formed in Jiangsu and Beijing
Ignatius Ding Zuyao was born in August 1986 in Qidong, Jiangsu. He studied at the Jiangsu section of Sheshan Seminary from 2001 to 2004 and at Beijing Theological Seminary from 2004 to 2011, where he received a bachelor's degree. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Haimen on October 27, 2011.
His pastoral assignments included Haimenzhen parish from 2012 to 2013, Linjiang from 2013 to 2017, and Caojiazhen from 2017 to 2023. From February 2023 he served at Qingnian Donglu Parish in Nantong.
A Vacant See Under the Provisional Agreement
The Diocese of Haimen was established in 1946 as a suffragan of Nanjing. It had been vacant since Bishop Shen Bin's transfer to Shanghai in 2023. The diocese numbers roughly 30,000 faithful, 20 priests, and 15 parishes, and includes the diocesan Sisters of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.
The Provisional Agreement, which governs the appointment of bishops in China, was renewed in 2020 and 2022 and was extended for four years in October 2024. The Holy See customarily announces Chinese episcopal consecrations on the day they take place.
Two bishops appointed by Pope Leo XIV had earlier been consecrated in the underground Church and were later recognized by the civil authorities. In a further sign of contact between Rome and the Chinese episcopate, Chinese bishops including Matthew Zhen Xuebin, coadjutor of Beijing, and Joseph Huang Bingzhang of Shantou recently took part in a meeting at the Vatican marking the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia.