Andrea Ding Yang has been ordained archbishop of Chongqing after being elected as a candidate by the official Chinese structures and subsequently appointed by Leo XIV. The communiqué from Beijing includes the approval of the official Episcopal Conference, but makes no reference to the Pope or the Sino-Vatican agreement.
Andrea Ding Yang was ordained this Tuesday, September 8, as the new archbishop of Chongqing, after Pope Leo XIV approved his candidacy and appointed him to the see on July 28 within the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China on the appointment of bishops.
The episcopal consecration took place in a Catholic church in the Yuzhong district of Chongqing. Information released by the diocese itself through official Chinese Catholic bodies indicates that Ding Yang had been elected as a candidate for bishop on April 15.
Beijing omits Leo XIV’s appointment
The contrast lies in the way Rome and Beijing have communicated the same consecration. The Holy See specified on Tuesday that Leo XIV had appointed Ding Yang archbishop of Chongqing on July 28, 2026, “having approved his candidacy within the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.”
The communiqué issued by the diocese of Chongqing, however, states that Ding Yang was elected on April 15 as bishop-elect of Chongqing and details that during the ceremony, Father Yang Yu, secretary general of the Episcopal Conference recognized by the Chinese authorities, read the approval document issued by that body.
The official Chinese information does not mention Leo XIV, the pontifical appointment of July 28, or the Provisional Agreement between Beijing and the Holy See.
The omission is not unprecedented. In July, following the ordination of Giuseppe Chang Yanfeng as bishop of Chifeng, the Holy See likewise reported that Leo XIV had approved his candidacy within the agreement with Beijing, while the communication from official Chinese Catholic bodies omitted any reference to the pontifical approval.
A consecration presided over by the president of the Patriotic Association
The principal consecrator of Ding Yang was Joseph Li Shan, bishop of Beijing, president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and vice-president of the Episcopal Conference recognized by the authorities in Beijing.
He was joined by He Zeqing, bishop of Wanzhou; Luo Xuegang, bishop of Yibin; Cui Qingqi, bishop of Wuhan; Xiao Zejiang, bishop of Guizhou; and Zhen Xuebin, auxiliary bishop of Beijing.
According to the diocese of Chongqing, around 350 people, including priests, religious sisters, seminarians, and representatives of the faithful, took part in the ceremony.
Ding Yang also holds positions within the Catholic structures recognized by the Chinese regime: he is deputy secretary general of the official Episcopal Conference and vice-president of the official Catholic bodies of Chongqing, as well as secretary general of its Commission for Ecclesiastical Affairs.
The agreement between Rome and Beijing
The Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China was initially signed in September 2018, during the pontificate of Francis, with the aim of addressing the question of the appointment of Catholic bishops in China. Its terms remain unpublished.
After successive renewals, in October 2024 the Holy See and the Chinese government agreed to extend it for another four years, until 2028.
The procedure followed with Ding Yang shows the two phases of the mechanism as publicly communicated by both parties: the priest was elected as a candidate in China on April 15 and Leo XIV subsequently approved his candidacy and appointed him archbishop on July 28.
During the pontificate of Leo XIV, episcopal appointments in China have continued within this framework. Among them are those of Giuseppe Chang Yanfeng as bishop of Chifeng and Francisco Javier Duan Yongkun as coadjutor bishop of Bameng.
Formation in Beijing, Macao, and Rome
Andrea Ding Yang was born on September 16, 1981, in the Hechuan district, part of Chongqing, and has the Christian name Andrew. Between 2000 and 2006, he studied Philosophy and Theology at the seminary in Beijing.
After a year of pastoral practice at the parish of St. Joseph in Yuzhong, he was ordained a priest on May 24, 2007, and subsequently served as parochial vicar in the same community.
Between 2009 and 2011, he pursued further studies in Theology at the University of St. Joseph in Macao, and between 2012 and 2014, he was a formator at the National Seminary in Beijing.
In March 2014, he moved to Rome, where he studied at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, before returning to China the following year.
He later carried out his pastoral ministry as parish priest in Tongliang, Tongnan, Tongguanyi, and Jiulongpo, within the archdiocese of Chongqing, until his election as a candidate for the episcopate on April 15.