Bishop Andrew Hao Jinli (郝進禮) of Xiwanzi (西湾子), northern Hebei province, died at Gonghui village church at the age of 95, on March 9, 2011, UCAN (Union of Catholic Asian News) reported one day later. Bishop Hao was faithful to the Pope, Vatican Radio noted in its obituary, which means that he was an “underground” bishop, not recognized by the CCP, which established the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (中国天主教爱国会) in 1957, under the Religious Affairs Bureau’s supervision.
The UCAN article’s last four paragraphs give a short account of Bishop Hao’s life.
Hao was born on November 30, 1916. Radio Veritas‘ Taiwan edition wrote last Tuesday that he didn’t live in Xiwanzi, but used to celebrate mass with some 2,000 faithful in Zhangbei County‘s Gonghui town (公会镇, referred to as “village” by the UCAN article quoted above) parish church. Gonghui was reportedly the place where he was sent for “reform through labor”, and where he worked as a parish priest after his release in 1981.
His funeral was held on March 17, Radio Veritas reported. The radio station also cited some statistics, according to which there are currently 35,500 Roman Catholics in the diocese of Xiwanzi / Chongli County (崇礼县), with 20 priests, and 28 nuns.
Little appears to be known about Bishop Hao’s death and funeral, except that there was a priest at his bedside when he died. According to unnamed sources qoted by Radio Veritas, Hao had been refused hospital treatment, and access to Gonghui Town had been barred for people who wanted to pay a visit.
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