Xie Shiguang

Jacob Xie Shiguang (Chinese谢士光, Pinyin Xie Shiguang; * 1917 † 25 August 2005) was the Catholic Bishop of Mingdong in China. He spent 28 years in Chinese prisons for his faith.

Life

Xie Shiguang was ordained a priest in 1949. Monsignor Shiguang was as Bishop of Mingdong in Fujian Province, a representative of the so-called underground Catholic Church in China. In China, the Catholic Church is regulated state; the recognition of the Roman Catholic Church under papal authority is prohibited. 1951 relations were broken off to the Vatican on governmental order.

Bishop Jacob Xie Shiguang was first arrested in 1955 and sentenced to one year in prison. Reason was his refusal to join the state church and his obedience and loyalty to the Roman Pontiff. In the wild, he worked on as a priest and bishop, and was re-arrested in 1958 and imprisoned until 1980. The Chinese state harassment took place with further arrests from 1984 to 1987 and 1990 to 1992. Upon his release in 1992 until his death Bishop Xie Shiguang has been under constant police surveillance. 1999 13 churches were destroyed in order to show the spread of the Catholic Church and especially Bishop Xie Shiguang in their place in his diocese. The Diocese of Monsignor Xie 2005 is grown to approximately 75,000 members.

Bishop Jacob Xie Shiguang, has died age 88 from leukemia, just two weeks after the death of the archbishop also loyal to Rome of the Diocese of Yanzhou in east China's Zhao Fengwu Thomas (85). Tens of thousands of the faithful were present at his funeral on 27 August 2005 although the Chinese state security forces had tried to prevent public participation in the burial ceremony. In addition, a report had been put on the Internet is punishable.