Peter Fan Wenxing (simplified Chinese: 范文兴; traditional Chinese: 范文興; pinyin: Fàn Wénxīng; 27 January 1921 – 28 February 2006) was a Chinese Catholic priest and Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jingxian from 1981 to 1999.[1]

Peter Fan Wenxing
Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jingxian
ChurchCathedral of Our Lady Help of Christians in Jingxian
DioceseRoman Catholic Diocese of Jingxian
Installed1981
Term ended1999
PredecessorLeopold Brellinger
SuccessorMathias Chen Xilu
Orders
Ordination1948
Personal details
Born(1921-01-27)January 27, 1921
DiedFebruary 28, 2006(2006-02-28) (aged 85)
China
NationalityChinese
DenominationRoman Catholic
Alma materFu Jen Catholic University

Biography

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Fan was born in the village of Zhujiahe, Jing County, Hebei, China on January 27, 1921. Fan began at junior seminary in 1935. He then studied at major seminars in Jing County and Beijing between 1941 and 1947. He was ordained a priest on May 30, 1948. He studied at Fu Jen Catholic University in Beijing. In 1950, he was appointed administrator of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hengshui when the foreign missionaries were expelled. He worked as a physician at a hospital and preached until the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution in 1966. He was then sent to reform by working with salt extraction. In 1979, he returned to Jing County and worked at a county hospital. After he became bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hengshui in 1981, he established a junior seminary and built new churches.[2] He wrote a short diocese story and dictated to his memory the constitution that had been lost to the sisters during the reigns of the Cultural Revolution. Fan retired in 1999 and was succeeded by Bishop Mathias Chen Xilu. Both Fan and Chen were approved by the Pope and recognized by the Communist government. He died on February 28, 2006.

References

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  1. ^ 中国八十年代初改革开放後首位持硕士学位的主教晋牧. radiovaticana.va (in Chinese). 1 December 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  2. ^ 河北省祝圣了两位新主教. Catholic in China (in Chinese). 4. Beijing. 1982.
Catholic Church titles
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Leopold Brellinger
Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jingxian
1981–1999
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Mathias Chen Xilu