ASIA/CHINA - On the 10th anniversary of his death: Diocese of Shanghai commemorates Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian

Shanghai (Agenzia Fides) - More than a thousand people filled the cathedral of the diocese of Shanghai yesterday to commemorate Jesuit bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian, who died ten years ago, on April 27, 2013.
During the solemn memorial Mass, presided over by Bishop Joseph Shen Bin and concelebrated by about sixty priests of the diocese, the emotion was palpable among those present (including more than seventy nuns) who came to bear witness to their grateful memory towards Bishop Jin and his contribution to the journey of the Church in Shanghai. In his homily, Bishop Shen Bin dwelled on Bishop Jin's tireless work to revive the life of the diocese. "I invite all priests and lay faithful in the diocese", Bishop Joseph Shen said "to learn from him the devotion of the faith, love of the country and of the Church, the spirit of unity and cohesion. We must assume our responsibility, take charge of the mission to which we are called and work together to open new paths for the proclamation of the Gospel and pastoral work in the diocese of Shanghai", following in the footsteps of Aloysius Jin.
Bishop Jin, 97, died of pancreatic cancer ten years ago. His long life on earth had covered all the most intimate events of the unparalleled adventure experienced by the Church in China in recent decades. The late missionary and sinologist Giancarlo Politi wrote about him: "Jin is an exceptional personality, intelligent and clever, full of initiative and endowed with an endearing sympathy, a fine connoisseur of the regime and the mechanisms that support it. A disenchanted man, but... a man of the Church".
The future Jesuit bishop was born in June 1916 in a Christian village in Pudong, where the skyscrapers of the "new" Shanghai stand today. He had been baptized in an old pagoda that the missionaries had transformed into a church. He saw his vocation flourish in the shadow of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and his confrere from Macerata, the great Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci.
Ordained a priest in 1946, he had studied in Europe in post-war Europe, first in France, then two years in Rome, between 1948 and 1950, to prepare his thesis on the Trinity at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
After Mao Zedong came to power, Jin returned to his country. In 1951, he became vice-rector of the seminary of Shanghai.
On September 8, 1955 he was arrested together with Bishop Ignazio Gong Pinmei and his close collaborators.
In 1960, Jin was sentenced to 18 years in prison, plus nine years of re-education. He went from one re-education center to another, and also experienced the labor camps in Henan.
In 1985, in the wake of the "opening" inaugurated by Deng Xiaoping, Jin agreed to become bishop of Shanghai with the recognition of the government, but without that of the Pope. From there, he worked to promote the renewal of ecclesial life and the possibility of administering the sacraments necessary for the life of the faithful, in the light of the sun. "My duty as a priest, explains the Jesuit bishop in the book dedicated to him by the French journalist Dorian Malovic, was to convince the Chinese political authorities of my good faith, of my deep identity as a patriot and of the inoffensive character of my Catholic faith. In the following years, Shanghai was the first Chinese diocese to reintroduce prayers for the Pope in the liturgy. From the 1980s, the seminary and the entire diocesan structure were reorganized. In 2005, Jin received from the Holy See the full canonical legitimization of his episcopal consecration. He said of himself: "I could have been an anti-communist hero abroad, but not in China... God only knows where I always placed my loyalty, and his judgment is dearer to me than the justice of men". (NZ/GV) (Agenzia Fides, 28/4/2023)

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