Priests, nuns and Catholics gather on Nov. 17 to express their condolences and mourn the death of Bishop Li Jingfeng. (Photo supplied)
Bishop Luke Li Jingfeng of Fengxiang Diocese in China’s central Shaanxi Province died on November 17 aged 96.
He was to be buried at St. Joseph's Cathedral in the diocese.
After the bishop’s death, Coadjutor Bishop Peter Li Huiyuan succeeded him as bishop.
However, a church source told ucanews.com that Bishop Peter Li — who was secretly ordained — had still not been recognized by the government-approved Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.
The late Bishop Luke Li never joined the government controlled association.
During his long service to the church, Bishop Luke Li Jingfeng consecrated more than 70 priests and helped organize the building of more than 50 churches.
He entered a seminary in 1934 and was ordained in 1947.
In 1959 Luke Li was arrested and imprisoned during a period of political repression of religion in China.
In 1980, he was ordained as coadjutor bishop and made bishop in 1983.
He was born into a devout Catholic family of which all but one of eight children became priests or nuns.