Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mukden (Agenzia Fides) – This past November 4, the Archbishop Emeritus of Mukden (Shenyang), province of Liaoning (mainland China) passed away. He was nearly 84 years of age and for some time his health had been frail due to a kidney tumor. The Prelate was born March 16, 1924 in Dandong, a small town near the border with North Korea, into a long-standing Catholic family.
In 1935, he entered the minor seminary in Fushun and later, the major seminary in Shenyang (1942-43), Jilin (1944-45), and Beijing (1948-1949). He finished his theological studies in Hong Kong at the South China Regional Seminary (1949-1951). He was ordained a priest in Shanghai by Bishop Walsh, MM, on January 29, 1951, two years after the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Following his ordination he was sent to teach Latin in the minor seminary in Beijing and from 1952-1955, he worked as an accountant in a chemical factory. Once he was able to return to pastoral activity, he served as assistant pastor in the parish of Fushun.
In 1958, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for being an “anti-revolutionary.” He came out of prison in 1968 and was sent to perform forced labor for “reeducation through labor.” Only in 1980, following an increased religious tolerance, was he able to once again perform pastoral activity in public and return to the parish in Fushun, later becoming Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Shenyang. On May 21, 1989 he was ordained a Bishop.
One of the areas that most concerned Archbishop Jin, and where he poured out much of his time and effort, was that of the formation of priests, religious, and laity. He greatly valued belonging to the universal Church and thus, was one of the first Bishops to send priests and religious to other countries to complete their studies.
During a visit to religious in Taiwan, he expressed his desire to be able to soon pay a visit to the Holy Father. In 2007, as his illness worsened, he resigned from his episcopal office, effective June 29, 2008, on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, when he left charge of the Archdiocese to his Coadjutor Bishop Paul Pei Junmin.
The Archdiocese of Mukden (Shenyang) is located nearly 630 kilometers northeast of Beijing and has over 110,000 Catholics, 80 priests (most of whom are young), 47 parishes and 70 places of worship, and over 180 religious, who are extremely active in caring for the sick and the elderly, and in visiting families. The Archdiocese has a hundred major seminarians and eight major seminarians, and runs three clinics and a residence for the elderly.
The funeral service for the beloved Prelate was celebrated on November 8, presided by his successor, Archbishop Paolo Pei Junmin, and attended by the Bishops of Jilin, Yongping (Tangshan) and Ichang (Yichang), along with 120 priests, 200 religious, the seminarians of the Archdiocese, and over 3,000 faithful and local civil authorities.
As was written in the reports of his funeral, Arhcbishop Jin was “a man open to dialogue, but firm in the principles of the faith; with trust in God and with love for the Church he sought to meet the spiritual needs of his people throughout his entire life.” (Agenzia Fides 11/11/2008)
