The Vatican press office has issued a partial explanation of the announcement earlier this week that Pope Leo XIV has created a new diocese in Zhangjiakou in northern China.
The Catholic Herald reported that on 11 September the Holy See confirmed that the Diocese of Zhangjiakou has been formally established in a territory where the Chinese Patriotic Association had unilaterally created a diocese in 1980 without papal approval.
By recognising the territory, the Vatican has enabled the installation of Bishop Joseph Wang Zhengui as diocesan bishop, whose authority is now accepted both by the Chinese government and the Holy See. Bishop Joseph Ma Yan’en has also taken office as auxiliary bishop, with his ministry recognised by both sides.
In what appears to be a reciprocal gesture, the Chinese authorities have extended civil recognition to Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, the retired bishop of Xuanhua, who for years endured harassment because of his loyalty to the underground Church in communion with Rome.
Bishop Cui Tai, who is 75, has stepped down from office, while the Diocese of Xuanhua has now been absorbed into the newly erected Diocese of Zhangjiakou.
The Vatican press office released a declaration on 12 September to mark the occasion of Bishop Ma’s installation: “We are pleased to learn that today, on the occasion of His Excellency Joseph Ma Yan'en taking office as auxiliary bishop of Zhangjiakou, his episcopal ministry has also been recognised for civil purposes.
"Similarly, the episcopal dignity of Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, emeritus of Xuanhua, has also been recognised by the civil authorities. These events, the result of dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities, constitute a significant step forward in the journey of communion of the new diocese.”
The statement comes after the earlier Vatican communiqué which stressed that the restructuring of diocesan boundaries in Hebei Province had taken place “within the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China”.
That provisional accord, signed in 2018 and renewed twice since, sets out terms for the appointment of bishops in mainland China, though its text has never been made public.
The agreement has led to the regularisation of some bishops previously ordained without papal mandate, as well as to the joint recognition of others who had long been regarded as legitimate by the Holy See but not by the Chinese authorities.
In 1951, newly communist China severed ties with the Holy See, forcing Catholics to choose between membership in the state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association or non-state-sanctioned churches loyal to the Pope.
But under Pope Francis, China and the Vatican signed a 2018 agreement allowing both Beijing and the Holy See a say in appointing bishops in an attempt to mitigate the situation for China's estimated 12-million-strong Catholic community.
The creation of the new Diocese of Zhangjiakou marks the first formal establishment of a diocese by the Vatican in China since the latest agreement was signed.
RELATED: Vatican suppresses two Chinese dioceses and erects new see in Zhangjiakou
Photo: A woman prays outside a Catholic church in Baoding, China's northern Hebei province, 22 April 2025. (Photo by ADEK BERRY/AFP via Getty Images.)
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