Franciscan Father Francis Cui Qingqi was ordained bishop of Wuhan (Hankow/Hankou) on Sept. 8, 2021, the feast day of the Nativity of Mary, with the approval of both the state and the Church.
The installation of Bishop Cui has made him the sixth bishop ordained under under the Vatican-China provisional agreement signed in 2018 and the fourth consecrated since the deal was renewed in October 2020.
Archbishop Cui filled the post left vacant since Franciscan Archbishop Bernardine who died of lung cancer on May 12, 2007 at the age of 90.
Born in Xiangyuan of Shanxi province in 1964, Bishop Cui was ordained a priest in 1991. He has been the administrator of Wuhan Diocese and parish priest of the cathedral since December 2012.
He was appointed deputy secretary of the BCCCC in 2016 and became the president provincial of the Catholic Patriotic Association of Hubei in January 2018.
Previous Ordinaries:
Archbishop Victor Liu Hede, O.F.M. (1984 Ordained - Dec. 10, 2001 Died)
Bishop Bernardine Guangqing Dong (April 13, 1958 Ordained without papal mandate - May 12, 2007 Died; Received recognition from the Holy See in 1984)
Archbishop Giuseppe Ferruccio Maurizio Ros†, O.F.M. (July 26, 1946 Appointed - Aug.8, 1961 Died)