Haus Jakob

On September 11, 2024, we were informed that a patriotic “priest” in the Archdiocese of Beijing is to be consecrated a “bishop.” Weeks later on September 26, we acquired a very short footage of “Fr.” Zhen Xuebin (甄雪斌) wearing a mitre while playing with a crozier. We now have reasons to believe that Zhen Xuebin is the “priest” to be consecrated a “bishop.” Although we currently cannot confirm which (Arch)diocese Zhen will be the “bishop” of, he is extremely likely to be consecrated the “Bishop” of Beijing, succeeding the current patriotic “Bishop” Joseph Li Shan (李山).

What we know about “Fr.” Zhen Xuebin

Zhen Xuebin was born in May 1970 and was “ordained a priest” on 20 June 1998. In the early 1990s, members of the Patriotic Church of China had inferior knowledge about the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and the reforms thereafter, due to a decades-long isolation since the 1950s. Zhen was among the patriotic “Catholics” who were sent overseas at that time to learn about Vatican II and post-conciliar reforms. He studied Liturgical Studies at St. John’s University in the US, from 1993 to ’97. Presumably, Zhen had first begun to adopt the position of Vatican-II-onlyism during his time stateside, based on the unlikelihood of exposure to Vatican II elsewhere for a Chinese man living in the early 1990s. The Vatican-II-onlyist position of Zhen has recently been evidenced by his supportive attitude towards the total removal of the high altar from the Church of the Saviour in Beijing. While questioned about the removal, Zhen reportedly said that the high altar has been removed, because the Traditional Latin Mass is no longer to be celebrated after Vatican II.

Why Beijing needs a new patriotic “Bishop”

Since mid-2024, the current patriotic “Bishop” Joseph Li Shan (born March 1965) of Beijing has been rumoured to suffer from deteriorating health. From time to time, Li has been receiving traditional Tibetan medicine treatment from a Mohammedan physician whom we know personally. Although the physician himself has previously denied the rumour about Li’s deteriorating health, the fact that Li requires repeated medical treatment evidences his somewhat poor health, which could be among the reasons why the Patriotic Church in Beijing requires a new “Bishop.”

Compared with Li who had celebrated Traditional Latin Masses prior to his consecration in 2007, Zhen could be the first “Bishop” of Beijing who had never celebrated Traditional Liturgy as a “priest.” The consecration of Zhen is destined to bring the embracement of post-Vatican II theology in the Archdiocese of Beijing to a higher level.

Update on October 26, 2024

It is confirmed that Vatican-II-onlyist Zhen Xuebin has been consecrated the “Auxiliary Bishop” of Beijing on October 25, 2024, in the Church of the Saviour in Beijing at 9 o’clock, by “Bishop” Joseph Li Shan.