News Item: : Bishop Cosmas Shi Enxiang - Requiescat in Pace
(Category: Torch of The Faith News)
Posted by admin
Wednesday 04 February 2015 - 21:51:17

Please say a prayer for the repose of the soul of Bishop Cosmas Shi Enxiang, who has died in captivity at the age of 94. Bishop Enxiang was a leader of the persecuted and underground Catholic Church in China. He had been held by Chinese authorities at an unknown location since his arrest on Good Friday, 2001.

Bishop Enxiang's great-niece has told UCA NEWS that her family had been unsuccessfully trying to discover his whereabouts for many years. Officials from the Baoding city government informed them at the end of last week that the bishop had died.

Catholics across China have expressed their sadness on Weibo; China's equivalent to Twitter. Many described Bishop Enxiang as a ''martyr in the Church''.

Bishop Enxiang was born in 1921 and ordained to the priesthood in 1947. He was first arrested by Communist authorities in 1954 and suffered long periods of imprisonment and work at hard labour camps between 1957 and 1980.

He was briefly released, but arrested again in 1981 whilst practicing his ministry. In 1982, following another release, he was secretly ordained as Auxiliary Bishop of Yixian. When the former bishop retired in 1995, Bishop Enxiang took over as the Ordinary.  He had been re-arrested in 1989, but international pressure secured his release during 1993.

On Good Friday 2001, Bishop Enxiang was arrested again, held without charge, and then taken into hidden captivity until his reported death last week.

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him, and may he rest in peace. Amen.

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This news item is from Torch of The Faith
( http://www.torchofthefaith.com/news.php?extend.865 )