Peter Joseph Fan Xueyan

Bishop Peter Joseph Fan Xueyan (December 29, 1907 – April 13, 1992)[1] was a Chinese Roman Catholic priest and bishop who lived in China during the 20th century. He was bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Baoding.

Most Reverend

Peter Joseph Fan Xueyan
Bishop Emeritus of Baoding
ArchdioceseBeijing
DioceseBaoding
Appointed12 April 1951
PredecessorBishop John Zhang Bide
SuccessorIncumbent
Orders
Ordination22 December 1934
Consecration24 June 1951
by Archbishop Giuseppe Ferruccio Maurizio Rosà, O.F.M.
Personal details
Born(1907-12-29)29 December 1907
Siao Wang Ting, Beijing, China
DiedApril 13, 1992(1992-04-13) (aged 84)
NationalityChinese
DenominationRoman Catholic

Early life

He was born in Siao Wang Ting (south of Beijing), China on December 29, 1907.

Priesthood

He was ordained a priest on December 22, 1934, in Rome and he shortly thereafter returned to China to work in the diocese of Baoding. He worked in parishes, schools, seminaries, and in the Catholic Relief Agency during 1937–1951. His work took him to several provinces in China.

Episcopate

He was appointed bishop of Baoding diocese on April 12, 1951, and ordained on June 24 of that year. He was consecrated by the archbishop of Hankou, Giuseppe Ferrucio Maurizio Rosà.

Persecution

The Chinese government sought to control religious activities in the country and in 1957 it instituted the Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA), which is a government mandated organization to oversee the Roman Catholic Church in China. The organization required the church to disavow the authority of the pope and conform to the dictates of the government. Bishop Fan, as well as many other Catholics loyal to the successor of Peter, would not renounce the Pope's authority and he voiced criticism of the CPA. In 1958, Bishop Fan was arrested and sent to a penal farm (a type of forced labour camp) until he was released in 1969. He was kept under continual surveillance until he was arrested again in 1978 for illegal religious activities. He was released in 1979, however, he was arrested again in 1982 for "colluding with foreign forces to jeopardize the sovereignty and security of the motherland"[2] (it was alleged he had had contacts with the Vatican and was secretly ordaining priests in his diocese). He was released in 1987, but placed under house arrest and continually moved around. In November 1990 he went missing and was assumed to have been dead.

Death

Bishop Fan died of pneumonia on April 13, 1992, according to the director of the liaison department of the Catholic Patriotic Association.[3] According to anonymous sources, his body was left at the door of his family home in a plastic body bag.[4] His body was found to have had broken bones and other injuries that may have resulted from torture.[5][6][7] He may have been the longest serving prisoner of conscience in the world.[8] It has been reported that underground Christians have called for his canonization.[9]

References
  1. "Nekrolog 1992". apostolische-nachfolge.de. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  2. "Peter Joseph Fan, 84, a Bishop Imprisoned by China for Beliefs". The New York Times. Associated Press. 1992-04-25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  3. "Peter Joseph Fan, 84, a Bishop Imprisoned by China for Beliefs". The New York Times. 25 April 1992.
  4. AsiaNews.it. "Bishop Fan's ghost in Bishop Jia's arrest". www.asianews.it. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  5. AsiaNews.it. "Bishop Fan's ghost in Bishop Jia's arrest". www.asianews.it. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  6. Cervellera, Bernardo. "Persecution in China as Vatican meeting on China opens - Asia & Pacific - International - News". Catholic Online. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  7. http://cardinalkungfoundation.org/pr/pdf/pr1998-02-20.pdf Cardinal Kung foundation: The Unrelenting Religious Persecution Continues in China
  8. "Peter Joseph Fan, 84, a Bishop Imprisoned by China for Beliefs". The New York Times. 25 April 1992.
  9. AsiaNews.it. "Bishop Fan's ghost in Bishop Jia's arrest". www.asianews.it. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
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