Catholic Church in China

thumb|[[Matteo Ricci (left) and Xu Guangqi (right) in the Chinese edition of Euclid's Elements published in 1607]]

The Catholic Church (, after the Chinese term for the Christian God) first appeared in China upon the arrival of John of Montecorvino in China proper during the Yuan dynasty; he was the first Catholic missionary in the country, and would become the first bishop of Khanbaliq (1271–1368).

The Jesuit Matteo Ricci was successful in Catholic missionary work in China. His approach viewed certain Confucian and Chinese folk practices as non-religious in nature and therefore compatible with Catholic practice. Other missionaries objected to this approach and after the hundred year long Chinese Rites controversy, the Vatican ordered the Jesuits to abandon the culturally accommodating approach Ricci had developed.

After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) won the Chinese Civil War, Catholic and Protestant missionaries were expelled from the country. In 1957, the CCP established the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) in Beijing, which rejects the authority of the Holy See and appoints its own preferential bishops. Catholics in the People's Republic of China are divided between the official CCPA and an underground church that which sees itself as loyal to the Holy See and refuses to recognize government-appointed bishops. In September 2018, China and the Holy See reached a provisional agreement giving the Pope the power to veto any bishop which the Chinese government recommends. The parties have extended the provisional agreement twice, most recently in October 2024.

Chinese terms

Terms used to refer to God in Chinese differ even among Christians.

Arriving in China during the Tang dynasty, the earliest Christian missionaries from the Church of the East referred to their religion as Jǐngjiào (景教, literally, "bright teaching"). Originally, some Catholic missionaries and scholars advanced the use of Shàngdì (上帝, literally, "The Emperor from Above"), as being more native to the Chinese language. Other Catholic missionaries coined the neologism Tiānzhǔ (天主, literally, "Lord of Heaven") which became the dominant usage. Within the Catholic Church, the term (公教, literally "universal teaching") is not uncommon, this being also the original meaning of the word "catholic". When Protestants arrived in China in the 19th century, they favored Shangdi over Tianzhu. Many Protestants use Shén (神), which generically means "god" or "spirit" although it had few native Chinese followers until the 16th century in the Ming dynasty.

Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)

A series of reports about the Far East reached the Catholic West in the mid thirteenth century.

The Nestorian Christian and Turkic Chinese monk Rabban Bar Sauma (<abbr>c.</abbr> 1220–1294) travelled from China to Europe to meet Pope Nicholas IV.
The long-present Church of the East had been the most geographically dispersed Christian church, but was by then in decline, and it may have suffered competition from the new Catholic missions and Islam: "controversies with the emissaries of .... Rome, and the progress of Mohammedanism, sapped the foundations of their ancient churches." The Catholics and Orthodox considered Nestorianism as heretical, though the so-called Nestorians mainly did not hold the particular beliefs attributed to Nestorius that had been anathematized. The expulsion of Christians by the Ming Dynasty seems to have ended the Church of the East in China.
In 1245, Pope Innocent IV sent a series of four missions to the Mongols. The first was led by the Dominican André de Longjumeau. Three other missions were sent between March and April 1245, led respectively by the Dominican Ascelin of Cremone (accompanied by Simon de Saint-Quentin, the Franciscan Lawrence of Portugal, and another Franciscan, John of Plano Carpini.
Towards the end of the century Hayton of Corycus wrote about China and the Mongols.
At the turn of the century, the Italian book The Travels of Marco Polo started being circulated in manuscript.

Missionary priests of the Latin Catholic Church in Europe are recorded to have entered China in the late 13th century, with the earliest being Franciscans. The Italian Franciscan priest John of Montecorvino arrived in the new capital Khanbaliq (modern-day Beijing) in 1294. In 1299 he built a church and in 1305 a second opposite the imperial palace. Having made a study of the local language, he began to translate the New Testament and the Psalms. Estimates of converts range from 6,000 to 30,000 by the year 1300.

In 1307 Pope Clement V sent seven Franciscan bishops to consecrate John of Montecorvino as Archbishop of Peking. The three who survived the journey did so in 1308 and succeeded each other as bishops at Zaiton, where John had established. In 1312 three more Franciscan bishops arrived from Rome to aid John until his death in 1328. He converted Armenians in China and Alans in Beijing to Catholicism. Armenians in Quanzhou were also Franciscan Catholics. The Franciscan Odoric of Pordenone visited China during this era. Caterina Vilioni's Catholic tombstone was found in Yangzhou.

The mission had some success during the rule of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty, but various factors led to an ultimate shrinking of the mission. Six centuries later, however, John of Montecorvino's attempt at the translation of the Bible became the inspiration for another Franciscan, the Blessed Gabriele Allegra, to go to China and in 1968 complete the first translation of the Catholic Bible into the Chinese language, after a 40-year personal effort.

In 1338, representatives of the Great Khan (Toghon Temür) arrived in Europe inviting the Pope to send priests for the local Christians. Friar John of Marignolli and between fifty and one hundred fellow Franciscans were dispatched, arriving in Khanbaliq (Beijing) in 1342. This mission stayed with government encouragment until the Mongols were overthrown in around 1368 and the antagonistic Ming dynasty was installed. The last reported Franciscan being stoned by Buddhist monks in 1400.

Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

Beginning in the 1450s, Catholic missions were administered through patronage rights (jus patronatus). Following the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, Pope Julius II granted Asia to Portugal's patronage (padroado). They were subject to accusations of espionage and witchcraft.

Within 60 years after Ricci's death, the number of Catholics in China had grown to 300,000.

While up to this point there had been debate among Western clergy as to whether to ordain Chinese men as priests, the debate was settled in 1654 when Luo Wenzao (also known as Gregory Lopez) was ordained a priest for the Dominican Order.

After the Rites controversy of the late 17th century and early 18th century ended in the expulsion of missionaries from most of China, access to the people of China was difficult for the Catholic Church. The controversy revolved around the reluctance of the Church to recognize local Confucian customs of honouring deceased family members. To the Chinese, this was an ancient ritual; to the Vatican it was a religious exercise which conflicted with Catholic dogma. Some missionaries objected to the legacy of what they viewed as Matteo Ricci's concessions to superstitious practices. Manchu Christians would also be removed from their Banner registers after being given as slaves to the Baigs.

Some hoped that the Chinese government would discriminate between Protestantism and Catholicism, since the law was directed at Catholicism, but after Protestant missionaries in 1835–6 gave Christian books to Chinese, the Daoguang Emperor demanded to know who were the "traitorous natives in Canton who had supplied them with books." The foreign missionaries were strangled or expelled by the Chinese.

Following the British Empire's defeat of China in the First Opium War (1839–1841), China was required to permit foreign missionaries. The membership of religious societies was primarily foreign.

thumb|right|Chinese seminarians in a Jesuit mission in 1900.

The ability to intervene in court cases pursuant to treaty rights made the Catholic Church a new source of power in local Chinese society.

In 1907, the publication of Canon Léon Joly's Le Christianisme et l'Extrême-Orient resulted in major reactions from Catholic missionaries in China.

One of the major contrary voices in the Catholic missionary community was Louis-Marie Kervyn, whose 1911 text on missionary methods contended that Chinese were inherently immoral, inferior to Europeans by nature, and potentially possessing an extra degree of original sin.

In 1926, the first Chinese Catholic Bishops in modern times were consecrated in Rome: Odoric Chenge Hede, Philippus Zhao Huaiyi, Simon Zhu Kaimin, Joseph Hu Ruoshan, Melchior Sun De-zhen, and Aloysius Chen Guodi) were consecrated in Rome.

The internuncio Antonio Riberi arrived in China in 1942. Pope Pius established a local ecclesiastical hierarchy and elevated the Archbishop of Peking, Thomas Tien Ken-sin, SVD, to the Sacred College of Cardinals. After World War II, about four million Chinese were members of the Catholic Church. This was less than one percent of the population but numbers increased dramatically. In 1949, there existed:

20 archdioceses
85 dioceses
39 apostolic prefectures
3,080 missionaries
2,557 Chinese priests.

People's Republic of China

During the Chinese Civil War, Pope Pius XII forbade Chinese Catholics from joining the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or participating in its activities.

In summer of 1949, CCP forces captured the Nationalist capital, Nanjing. In response, initiatives including Fr. Wang Liangzuo's "Guangyuan Declaration of Catholic Self-Reformation" gained support from Chinese Catholics. The Holy See reacted with several encyclicals and apostolic letters, including Cupimus Imprimis, Ad Apostolorum principis, and Ad Sinarum gentem.

In 1955, the Chinese government arrested dozens of Catholic clerics and laity in Shanghai (most notably Bishop Ignatius Kung Pinmei) and prosecuted them as the "Kung Pinmei counterrevolutionary clique" for activities the government deemed counterrevolutionary. All legal worship was to be conducted through state-approved churches belonging to the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), which did not accept the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. In addition to overseeing the practice of the Catholic faith, the CCPA espoused politically oriented objectives as well. Liu Bainian, chairman of the CCPA and the Bishops Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC), stated in a 2011 interview that the church needed individuals who "love the country and love religion: politically, they should respect the Constitution, respect the law, and fervently love the socialist motherland."

Some Catholics who recognized the authority of the Holy See chose to worship clandestinely due to the risk of harassment from authorities. Several underground Catholic bishops were reported as disappeared or imprisoned, and harassment of unregistered bishops and priests was common. There were reports of Catholic bishops and priests being forced by authorities to attend the ordination ceremonies for bishops who had not gained Vatican approval. It circulated as a booklet written in both Latin and Chinese, titled the Faculties and Privileges Granted to Clergy and Catholics Living in Mainland China in These Grave Circumstances (the Chinese text did not include the phrase, "in these grave circumstances").

In 1982, the patriotic church opened its first seminary of the reform era at Sheshan, with Aloysius Jin Luxian as its rector. In October 2018, Chinese government officials destroyed two Marian shrines, one in Shanxi and one in Guizhou. In the 2020s, Catholics in the PRC are under increased pressure to join the CCPA and have been subject to growing surveillance, enforced disappearance, torture, and travel restrictions, according to Human Rights Watch. The Chinese government responded that Human Rights Watch is "consistently biased against China."

As of 2026, Catholic religious practice in China generally occurs in its traditional geographic areas (such as Hebei, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Fujian), where Catholic practice dates to the Qing dynasty or earlier. In late 2004, John Paul II received a "quasi-official" Chinese delegation in the Vatican.

In a further sign of rapprochement between the Vatican and Beijing, Pope Benedict XVI invited four Chinese bishops, including two government recognized bishops, one underground bishop, and one underground bishop recently emerged into the official church, to the October 2005 Synod on the Eucharist.

By 2007, the Vatican had indicated on multiple occasions that it desired to establish full diplomatic relations with China, and would be willing to move its embassy from Taiwan to mainland China if necessary.

In May 2007, Pope Benedict XVI wrote an open letter to all Chinese Catholics, stating that there is one Catholic Church in China and that despite the two communities (i.e. the "Patriotic" Church and the "Underground" Church) there is no schism between them. In September 2007, a coadjutor bishop for the Guiyang Diocese was jointly appointed by the Vatican and the Chinese official Catholic church.

2018 agreement and subsequent renewals

On 22 September 2018, the Holy See and China signed a two-year "Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China on the appointment of Bishops", which was initially set to expire on 22 October 2020. According to the communiqué released by the Holy See Press Office, the Provisional Agreement aimed to create "conditions for great collaboration at the bilateral level." This was the first time that an agreement of cooperation has been jointly signed by the Holy See and China. The exact terms of the Provisional Agreement have not been publicly released but people who are familiar with the agreement stated that it allowed for the Holy See to review bishop candidates recommended by the government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) prior to appointment and consecration. The Provisional Agreement granted veto power to the Holy See when reviewing the bishop nominees that the CCPA has put forward. Anthony Yao Shun, bishop of Jining, was the first bishop appointed under the framework of the Provisional Agreement. Pope Francis readmitted seven bishops appointed by the government without Pontifical mandate to full ecclesial communion in addition to the new appointments.

While the agreement is viewed by the Holy See as an opportunity to increase their presence in China, many thought that it diminished the Holy See's authority over the local church because it shared decision-making powers with an authoritarian government. Cardinal Joseph Zen, former archbishop of Hong Kong, strongly opposed the deal, stating that the agreement is an incredible betrayal of the Catholics in China. As a response to the criticism, Pope Francis wrote a message to the Catholics of China and to the Universal Church on 26 September 2018 to provide context on how to view the Provisional Agreement. Pope Francis recognized that the Provisional Agreement is experimental in nature and will not resolve other conflicts between the Holy See and China, but it will allow for both parties to "act more positively for the orderly and harmonious growth of the Catholic community in China." China, on its part, also positively views the agreement, stating that it is willing to "further enhance understanding with the Vatican side and accumulate mutual trust, so that the momentum of active interaction between the two sides will continue to move forward." Despite strong opposition from the United States and conservative Catholics, the Holy See and China extended the Provisional Agreement.

In November 2020, a month after the Provisional Agreement was extended, China released the revised "Administrative Measures for Religious Clergy." The enforcement of the new rules took effect on 1 May 2021. The Administrative Measures prioritize the Sinicization of all religion. Religious professionals are obligated to carry out their duties within the scope provided by the laws, regulations and rules of the government. The new rules do not consider the collaborative process set in place by the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and China when appointing bishops. In Article XVI of the Administrative Measures, Catholic bishops are to be approved and consecrated by the government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference. The document does not state that collaboration and approval from the Holy See to appoint bishops is required, going against the terms of the Provisional Agreement. Just a month before the release of the new rules, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian had stated that China is willing to work together with the Vatican "to maintain close communication and consultation and advance the improvement of bilateral ties" through the Provisional Agreement.

In a communiqué released by the Holy See on 22 October 2020, the Holy See and China entered into a note verbale agreement to extend the Provisional Agreement for an additional two years, remaining in effect until 22 October 2022. In July 2022, Pope Francis stated that he hoped the Provisional Agreement would be renewed, describing the agreement as "moving well." As of July 2022, six new bishops had been appointed under the agreement.

In October 2024, the provisional agreement was renewed for another four years.

Pope Leo XIV made his first appointment pursuant to the agreement in June 2025, nominating Bishop Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou. The Vatican described the appointment as "a further fruit of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities and [it] is a significant step in the diocese’s communal journey.” This Chinese government estimate only included members of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA). It did not include un-baptized persons attending Christian groups, non-adult children of Christian believers or other persons under age 18, and unregistered Christian groups.

In 2017 Hebei Province had the largest Catholic Christian population in China, with 1 million Church members according to the local government. Generally, Catholic institutions were dominant in North and Central regions of China.

Hong Kong and Macau

thumb|right|[[Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Hong Kong)|Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Hong Kong]]

The Catholic Church is allowed to operate freely in Macau and Hong Kong. Notably, John Lee Ka-chiu, the current chief executive of Hong Kong, and two former chief executives, Donald Tsang and Carrie Lam, are Catholic. However, Pope John Paul II was denied a visit (which was deemed "inappropriate") to Hong Kong in 1999, by then chief executive Tung Chee Hwa, who was in office from 1997 to 2005, a decision many believe was made under pressure from the central PRC government. The two territories are organized into the Diocese of Hong Kong and the Diocese of Macau.

References

Citations

Sources

Please see individual articles for specific works.

; General

; Catholic missions and local Christianity before 1950

; Post 1949

in Uhalley, Wu, ed. (2001).