Pope Leo Marks 100 Years of Chinese Bishops
Pope Leo XIV sent a video message to a Rome conference on the Catholic Church in China, marking a century since the first Chinese bishops were consecrated.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Catholicism
Pope Leo XIV sent a video message to an international conference in Rome titled 'The Face of the Universal Church in China: 100 Years Since the Consecration of the First Chinese Bishops.' The Pope stated that the Catholic Church in China has never been deprived of the ministry of legitimate shepherds who preserved the apostolic succession intact.
Why it matters
The conference revisits the 1926 ordination of the first Chinese bishops, a milestone tied to efforts to place native-born clergy at the head of local Chinese communities. The message affirms continuity of apostolic succession within the Church in China.
Six Chinese Catholic bishops received episcopal ordination from Pope Pius XI in St. Peter's Basilica on October 28, 1926, after traveling from Shanghai to Rome. The Council of Shanghai, the first General Council of the Church in China, was held in 1924 following Pope Benedict XV's 1919 apostolic letter Maximum illud.
The players
Pope Leo XIV
The current pope of the Catholic Church, who sent the video message to the conference on the Church in China.
Pope Pius XI
The pope who conferred episcopal ordination on the six Chinese bishops in St. Peter's Basilica in 1926.
Pope Benedict XV
The pope who issued the apostolic letter Maximum illud in 1919, which called for native clergy in mission territories.
The details
The conference was organized by the Dicastery for Evangelization's Section for First Evangelization with the Pontifical Urbaniana University. The Pope's video message was sent Thursday to the gathering in Rome.
Timeline
1919: Pope Benedict XV issues the apostolic letter Maximum illud.
1924: The Council of Shanghai, the first General Council of the Church in China, is held.
October 28, 1926: Six Chinese bishops are ordained in St. Peter's Basilica.
November 5, 2026: Pope Leo XIV sends his video message to the Rome conference.
Culture Shift
The centenary of the 1926 ordinations reflects a long-running Catholic effort, traced to Maximum illud and the 1924 Council of Shanghai, to build a Chinese-led clergy rather than rely on foreign leadership. The Pope's message places contemporary Church life in China within that century-long trajectory of apostolic continuity.
Readers following Catholic affairs can see how the Church's leadership in China has developed over a century. The message reaffirms apostolic succession, which bears directly on how parishes and clergy are understood worldwide.
The takeaway
The centenary shows how a decision made in 1919 shaped a century of Church leadership in China. Readers interested in the history of religious institutions can trace how mission policy evolved into native-led clergy.
Further reading
For more on the Church's history and teaching, explore our Catholicism section.
