John Wu
| His Eminence John Wu | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal, Bishop of Hong Kong | |
| Diocese | Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong |
| Installed | 25 July 1975 |
| Term ended | 23 September 2002 |
| Predecessor | Peter Lei |
| Successor | Joseph Zen |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1952 |
| Consecration | 1975 |
| Created Cardinal |
29 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
26 May 1925 Wuhua, Guangdong, China |
| Died |
23 September 2002 (aged 77) Hong Kong, China |
| Buried | St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery, Hong Kong |
| Coat of arms |
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| Styles of John Wu | |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Hong Kong |
| John Wu | |||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 胡振中 | ||||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 胡振中 | ||||||||||||||
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John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung (Chinese: 胡振中; pinyin: Hú Zhènzhōng; 26 March 1925 – 23 September 2002) was the fifth Bishop of Hong Kong's Catholic church and a Cardinal. He was a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
Biography
A Hakka, Wu was born in the village of Ho Hau, Wu-hua (Province of Guangdong, Diocese of Kai-ying). Baptized in the village's parish church, he received his primary education there. He Joined the diocesan minor seminary of Ka-ying for his secondary education in 1940.
He was appointed the fifth Bishop of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese by Pope Paul VI as successor to Bishop Peter Lei Wang-kei who had died on 23 July 1974. He arrived in Hong Kong and on 25 July was consecrated and installed as Bishop of the Hong Kong in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
After due preparation, he initiated a Diocesan Renewal Movement for priests, laity and religious. On 25 March 1985, he led a five-member delegation on a seven-day visit to Beijing and Shanghai, at the invitation of the National Bureau of Religious Affairs under the State Council of China. He was the first bishop of Hong Kong to visit the mainland China. Later on 21 January 1986, he led a seven-member delegation on a ten-day visit to Guangzhou and the eastern part of his home Province, Guangdong, at the invitation of the Bureau of Religious Affairs of that Province. This visit marked the first reunion with his 85-year-old mother, after a separation of 40 years.
He was named a member of the Sacred College of Cardinals by Pope John Paul II on 29 May 1988.
After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, on 11 July 1989, he wrote a letter to all the bishops in the world, requesting them to appeal for justice, order and democracy in China.
On 1 September 1991, Wu issued a pastoral letter that exhorting the faithful to give full support to the direct elections to the Legislative Council – the first time in the history of Hong Kong – on 15 September. In 1999, he convoked the "Diocesan Synod" to meet the pastoral needs of the Third Millennium.
He died of cardiac arrest on 23 September 2002 in Hong Kong at the Queen Mary Hospital, aged 77.
See also
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Wu. |
- His Biography at the Wayback Machine (archived 18 August 2007)
- GCatholic.org on the Bishops of Hong Kong
- Notice of death of Cardinal Wu
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Peter Lei |
Bishop of Hong Kong 1975–2002 |
Succeeded by Joseph Zen |