Joseph Meng Ziwen
Joseph Meng Ziwen ( Chinese 孟子文 * 19th March 1903 in Hengling ; † 7. January 2007 in Nanning ) was a Roman Catholic bishop of the Archdiocese of Nanning in south China's autonomous region of Guangxi the Zhuang .
Life
Meng, son of non-Christian parents, was baptized as a youth. In 1921 he entered the seminary and studied philosophy and theology in Penang, then Britain . In 1935 he was ordained a priest in Nanning .
When the communists took power in China after the civil war in 1949, they accused Meng of collaborating with the Kuomintang . In the early 1950s, Meng was finally sentenced to a labor camp , but was released in 1957. He served as a priest in Nanning for a year, then was arrested and sentenced again. He was only released from prison in 1970. With a license to practice medicine from Pope John Paul II , Joseph Meng Ziwen was ordained Bishop of Nanning in 1984 .
Communist China did not recognize the bishop, however, since Meng was not a member of the officially recognized Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association , but rather belonged to the unofficial Roman Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China, which recognizes the primacy of the Roman pontiff over the Catholics of China and as a Underground Church exists.
Meng died of cancer at the age of 103.
See also
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Meng Ziwen, Joseph |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Chinese clergyman, Archbishop of Nanning |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 19, 1903 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hengling |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 7, 2007 |
| Place of death | Nanning |