Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Beijing (Fides Service) - Chinese Catholic Bishop Joseph Sun Yuanmo of the diocese of Linfen in the Shanxi province of mainland China, died on 23 February after a long illness.
Joseph Sun Yuanmo was born on 7 November 1920 in Zhuangyuan, Hongdong district, 585 km south west of Beijing. At the age of 15 he entered the diocesan minor seminary, then studied philosophy and theology at the major seminary and was ordained a priest in 1948. After a few years of teaching at Fu Jen Catholic University in Beijing, he was sent to minister in the southern province of Guanxi.
During the difficult period of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) he returned to the town where he was born. There he was eventually arrested and condemned to 13 years of forced labour for ‘re-education’. Years later after his release he resumed his ministry and served in various posts as parish priests, rector of the minor seminary and spiritual director for nuns at the local convent. He was appointed first auxiliary bishop and then in 1991 Bishop of Hongdong.
The Bishop had been seriously ill for several years. In recent months his mind was lucid but he had difficulty eating. The priest who looked after Bishop Joseph to the end recalls his gentleness: “His gentleness and profound spirituality influenced my vocation. He always encouraged us to pray, particularly in front of the Blessed Sacrament”.
The Bishop will be remembered as a “tireless worker, very kind, strict with himself but lenient with others” an example of devotion and virtue who laid a solid basis for the future of his church. The Diocese of Linfen (Hongdong) has 30,000 Catholics assisted by 36 priests and 60 women religious. Many people attended evening mass for six days after the death of the Bishop. Bishop Joseph’s funeral was held on 28 February. Some 2,000 people, all 36 local priests and three bishops from neighbouring dioceses braved icy winds and below zero temperatures to pay their last respects to this valiant servant of Christ. (Agenzia Fides 7/03/2006 Righe: 28 Parole: 289)
