Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Ning Bo (Agenzia Fides) – More than 2,300 of the faithful took part in the solemn celebration of priestly ordination for Fr Tang Hai Zhou, celebrated on the Solemnity of St Joseph, 19 March, at the parish of Ding Hai in the Diocese of Ning Bo, Zhe Jiang province. According to information received by Fides, the rite was presided at by diocesan Bishop Hu Xian De and concelebrated by 22 priests. It was the first priestly ordination in the history of this parish, formed in 1841 and dedicated to St Michael. It is also the first ordination of a local priest since 1947. The new priest will carry out his ministry at the parish of Xin Pu in the district of Ci Xi, with more than 10,000 faithful.
The parish of Ding Hai dedicated to St Michael was founded by the French missionary, Bishop Francois Xavier Danicourt, CM, in 1841 with a religious convent, orphanage and other charitable works attached. Bishop Danicourt was the second Apostolic Vicar of the Vicariate of Chekiang, today Zhe Jiang (1850-1855). When it was forced to cease its pastoral care activities in 1958, the parish gave birth to five mission stations with more than a thousand faithful. Since reopening in 1986, until 2000, the parish has reinstated the five mission stations, with two additional meeting places for prayer and a home for the elderly. In 2001, the church building became unsafe, and after reconstruction, the new church was consecrated in 2004. Today the parish has more than 2,000 faithful. The Diocese of Ning Bo has a lengthy history of evangelisation. In 1548 there was already a large church dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and seven small churches. It was the mission of the French Vincentians. In 1924, the Apostolic Vicariate of Chekiang East (today Zhe Jiang) was created, then elevated to a diocese in 1926, the year the Chinese hierarchy was established. Today the diocese has more than 23,000 faithful and 14 priests. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 22/03/2011)
