Bulletins, Newsletters, and Flocknotes

Suppression of the diocese of Fenyang and erection of the diocese of Lüliang, China, and Consecration of the first bishop of Lüliang, China

Resignation and appointment of metropolitan archbishop of Galveston-Houston, U.S.A.

 

Suppression of the diocese of Fenyang and erection of the diocese of Lüliang, China

In the desire to promote the pastoral care of the Lord’s flock and to attend more effectively to its spiritual wellbeing, on 28 October 2024 the Supreme Pontiff Francis decided to suppress the diocese of Fenyang in continental China, which was erected on 11 April 1946 by Pope Pius XII, and at the same time to erect the new diocese of Lüliang, suffragan of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, with its episcopal see in the Cathedral Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, located in Fenyang, city of Lüliang. The ecclesiastical borders of the new diocese will include the following areas: the quarter of Lishi, the counties of Wenshui, Jiaocheng, Xingxian, Linxian, Liulin, Shilou, Lanxian, Fangshan, Zhongyang, Jiaokou and the city-counties of Xiaoyi and Fenyang. Instead, the counties of Kelan and Jingle are incorporated into the archdiocese of Taiyuan, whereas the counties of Pingyao and Jiexiu are incorporated into the diocese of Yuci. In this way, the territory of the diocese of Lüliang conforms to that of the prefecture-level city of Lüliang, with a total area of 21,000 km2 and a total population of 3,346,500 inhabitants, of whom approximately 20,000 are Catholics, served by 51 priests and 26 religious sisters.

Consecration of the first bishop of Lüliang, China

Today, Monday 20 January 2025, the Reverend Anthony Ji Weizhong was ordained a bishop. The Holy Father appointed the Reverend Anthony Ji Weizhong as bishop of Lüliang (Shanxi Province, China) on 28 October 2024, having approved the candidature in the context of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.

Curriculum vitae

The Reverend Anthony Ji Weizhong is originally from Wenshui, Shanxi, where he was born on 3 August 1973. He carried out his studies in theology at the National Seminary of Beijing and was ordained a priest on 14 October 2001 for the diocese of Fenyang. He then carried out his linguistic studies at the University of Xi’an and obtained a licentiate in theology from the University of Sankt Augustin, Germany. He served in Fenyang as deputy parish priest, head of the diocesan Pastoral Centre, and as vicar general.

 

Resignation and appointment of metropolitan archbishop of Galveston-Houston, U.S.A.

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the metropolitan archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, United States of America, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo.

The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Joe Steve Vásquez as metropolitan archbishop of Galveston-Houston, United States of America, transferring him from the diocese of Austin, United States of America.

Curriculum vitae

Archbishop-elect Joe Steve Vásquez was born on 19 July 1957 in Stamford, Texas, in the diocese of San Angelo. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Saint Mary’s Seminary in Houston, and a licentiate in theology form the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

He was ordained a priest on 30 June 1984 for the diocese of San Angelo.

He has held the following offices: parish vicar of Saint Joseph in Odessa (1985-1987), parish priest of Saint Vincent in Fort Stockton (1987-1997) and of Saint Joseph in San Angelo (1997-2002).

He was appointed titular bishop of Cova and auxiliary of Galveston-Houston on 30 November 2001, and received episcopal ordination on 23 January 2002. On 26 January 2010 he was appointed bishop of Austin and, since 11 November 2023, he has also served as apostolic administrator sede vacante of the diocese of Tyler.

The following is the Message sent by the Holy Father Francis to the 47 th President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, on the occasion of his inauguration at the White House:

 

Message

The Honorable Donald J. Trump

President of the United States of America

The White House

Washington

On the occasion of your inauguration as the forty-seventh President of the United States of America, I offer cordial greetings and the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom, strength and protection in the exercise of your high duties. Inspired by your nation’s ideals of being a land of opportunity and welcome for all, it is my hope that under your leadership the American people will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination or exclusion. At the same time, as our human family faces numerous challenges, not to mention the scourge of war, I also ask God to guide your efforts in promoting peace and reconciliation among peoples. With these sentiments, I invoke upon you, your family, and the beloved American people an abundance of divine blessings.

FRANCIS

This morning, the Holy Father Francis received in audience:

- Bishop Carlos José Tissera of Quilmes, Argentina;

- Bishop Athanasius Schneider, O.R.C., titular of Celerina, auxiliary of Maria Santissima in Astana, Kazakhstan;

- An ecumenical delegation from Finland;

- The Community of the Almo Collegio Capranica of Rome.

This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience the community of the Almo Collegio Capranica of Rome.

The following is the address delivered by the Pope to those present during the audience:

 

Address of the Holy Father

Dear seminarians, deacons, priests, and alumni of the Almo Collegio Capranica,

Dear formators,

I know that tomorrow, 21 January, it will be your feast day in memorial of your Patroness, the virgin and martyr Saint Agnes. I am pleased to meet you on this vigil, in the first days of the Jubilee year and also during the Week of Prayer for Christian unity. I welcome you all.

Six years ago, on 14 January 2019, I approved the new Statutes of the Almo Collegio Capranica . I confirm their validity and I urge you to follow the guidelines they offer and which permit you to mature the faithful and responsible freedom required of those to whom a ministry in the Church is entrusted.

You are a community of young people and adults, motivated by faith in Jesus Christ and the desire to respond to His call. Your bishops have sent you to Rome to prepare you for ordained ministry or to perfect your formation in its early years. I have learned that you come from thirty-nine different dioceses: twenty-six Italian, fourteen not Italian, including an eparchy of the Syro-Malabar Church. In this variety of provenances and affiliations, something of the one and manifold face of the holy faithful People of God is reflected. And do not forget this: the holy faithful People of God, which is us, the Church. And do not forget what theology says: the holy faithful People of God is “infallible in credendo ”. Do not forget this.

Centuries ago, one of my predecessors attributed to the Collegio Capranica the title of “Almo”. This may be translated as “which nourishes”, or “which gives life and keeps live”. In this regard, a verse from Dante Alighieri’s Commedia comes to mind. It is the one in which the soul of Saint Thomas Aquinas refers to the Order of Preachers as an environment “ u’ ben s’impingua se non si vaneggia ”, “Where well one fattens if he strayeth not” ( Paradiso , Canto 10, 96) – literally “one fattens” if one does not flounder. This applies not only to a religious order. It is useful to remind many communities, and therefore also that of the Almo Collegio , of this verse.

In a context such as yours, one can be “well nourished” if one does not lose one’s way, “straying”: be aware of this. When does one end up straying, or floundering? When fundamental relationships are neglected, the forms of “closeness” I have recalled several times when speaking to seminarians and ordained ministers, the three forms of closeness: closeness to God, closeness to the bishop, and closeness to the people: the three forms of closeness of a priest. There is a fourth: closeness among yourselves. Do not forget these three types of closeness.

Take care of the mission to which Jesus calls the Church today, in complex times but always reached by divine mercy. Live this mission in the style that we appropriately define as “synodal”. I imagine you know the Final Document of the 16 th Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, where it says that “synodality is a path of spiritual renewal and structural reform that enables the Church to be more participatory and missionary so that it can walk with every man and woman, radiating the light of Christ” (no. 28). I warmly invite you to feel you are part of this journey, and to promote it from now on: in the Collegio , in the Pontifical Universities where you study, in the parishes of Rome, in Rebibbia Prison, in Bambino Gesù Hospital, places where you are present for the pastoral experience envisaged for your formative journey. The courage of Saint Paul VI placed synodality as the aim of the Council, opening the synodal path.

For more than a century, the liturgical service in some celebrations in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major has also been entrusted to the Collegio Capranica . From time to time, you are also involved in the liturgies we celebrate at Saint Peter’s. I thank you for this and, at the same time, I urge you to take the same care with regard to the “closeness” I referred to earlier as you do with the liturgy. There is no Christian liturgy if the gestures we perform do not correspond to a life of faith, hope and charity.

Charity is expressed in a concrete way, not with words, in your Collegio , also through a small but precious service of assistance to people in need, who know they can find in you the support to bear the burden of life with less hardship. May this service also help you not to “flounder”, as happens when you lose contact with those in situations of marginality and hardship. When I confess, I ask, when there is an opportunity: “But, do you give alms?” “Yes, I give”. “And when you give alms, do you look at the person’s eyes and touch their hand, or do you just throw the coin and go on without looking?” It is not so much the alms that counts, but that relationship with the poor person, with poor Jesus there. Look at the eyes, touch the hands.

Thank you for coming! I bless you all, alumni, those who support the Collegio in many ways, your families, your bishops and your local Churches.

And please, pray for me too, when you turn trustfully to the intercession of Mary Salus Populi Romani and the young virgin martyr Agnes. Thank you very much.

This morning, the Holy Father Francis received in audience an Ecumenical Delegation from Finland, on the occasion of the Feast of Saint Henrik.

The following is the Pope’s greeting to those present:

 

Greeting of the Holy Father

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

I offer a cordial greeting to each of you, who once again this year have come to Rome as an ecumenical delegation on the feast of Saint Henrik. In a particular way, I greet the new head of the Finnish Orthodox Church, Archbishop Elia of Helsinki and All Finland, to Bishop Raimo Goyarrola of Helsinki and to you, Bishop Matti Salomäki.

Esteemed brother in Christ, I am grateful for the reflections and sentiments that you expressed on behalf of the Lutheran, Catholic and Orthodox participants, and for your thoughtfully chosen gift. In this Holy Year of 2025, we are journeying together as “pilgrims of hope”. On this journey of faith, we are confirmed by the words of the Letter to the Hebrews: “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful” ( Heb  10:23). Journeying in hope!

Saint Henrik is, so to speak, an enduring icon of this hope, which has its sure and enduring foundation in God. As a messenger of peace, he exhorts us to persevere in praying for the precious yet fragile gift of peace. Indeed, we must pray for peace.  At the same time, the Patron Saint of Finland is a symbol of God-given unity, as his feast day continues to bring together Christians from different Churches and ecclesial Communities in offering praise to God.

The fact that your pilgrimage to Rome is accompanied by choirs that honour the Triune God with their music is an eloquent sign of “doxological ecumenism”. Thank you to the choir, thank you! Whoever sings, prays twice! I thank you, the singers of the  Cappella Sanctae Mariae , for this precious service!

On this musical note, we could say that the Nicene Creed, which we all share, is an extraordinary “score” of faith. And this “symphony of truth” is Jesus Christ himself, the very centre of the symphony. He is truth incarnate, true God and true man, our Lord and Saviour. Whoever listens to this “symphony of truth” – not only with the ears, but with the heart – will be touched by the mystery of God, who reaches out to us, full of love, in his Son. And that faithful love is the basis of the hope that does not disappoint! Never forget this: hope does not disappoint. For “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” ( Rom  8:38-39).

To testify to this incarnate love is our ecumenical vocation, in the communion of all the baptized. For this reason, I would now invite you to express with filial confidence this, our common vocation, by joining together in the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, each in his or her own language. And thank you for your visit.

[Our Father…]

May God bless us all! Amen.