Zhang Hanmin

Damasus Zhang Hanmin (born January 15, 1922 in Xiabajiazi near Nong'an , Jilin , Republic of China , † July 19, 2009 ) was the Catholic bishop of Jilin (Diocese of Kirin).

Life

Zhang Hanmin grew up in a Catholic family, attended St. Joseph Minor Seminary and entered St. Vincent Seminary in Beijing. In 1953 he had to leave the seminary as a result of the communist revolution of 1949 and the establishment of the communist state by Mao Zedong . He continued to be celibate and taught Latin (he spoke fluent Latin), English , Russian , Japanese and French for many years .

In 1983 he returned to his native Jilin diocese and was ordained a priest on July 24, 1983 - forty years after attending the seminary . In 1995 he became the administrator of the Jilin Diocese and was appointed bishop on November 17, 1997. He tried in vain to obtain official confirmation from Pope John Paul II . On 9 May 1999 he donated Pius Jin Peixian , Archbishop of Shenyang (Liaoning Archdiocese), St. Theresa at the Cathedral in Changchun , the episcopal ordination .

He became a member of the Chinese Bishops 'Council of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association , which, however, is not recognized by the Roman Curia as the Chinese Bishops' Conference . He was also a member of the Political Consultative Conference of the Chinese People in Jilin.

Despite the restrictions for the Roman Catholic Church , he was committed to good Chinese relations with the Catholic world church, he often invited personalities from the church abroad. This enabled a large number of his priests to have contacts abroad.

Zhang Hanmin was buried on July 24, 2009. The requiem was given by Paul Pei Junmin , Bishop of Liaoning.

Web links

• Jilin bishop dies at age 88 ( Memento from July 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), UCANews, July 21, 2009 (English)
• Damase Zhang Hanmin ( Memento from July 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "China: Bishop of Jilin Buried" , Vatican Radio , July 26, 2009

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Zhang is the family name here, Hanmin is the first name.