Luo Wenzao: the First Chinese Bishop in Catholic History

2022-12-22

The year 1633 was the sixth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty in China, and the year of Guiyou in terms of trunk and branch. This year is not very impressive in human history, but it can be said that the development of modern science suffered setbacks. In June of that year, Galileo, an Italian scientist over 70 years old, signed a letter of repentance on the flagstone floor of the Monastery of Santa Maria in Rome and was sentenced to life imprisonment. In the East, Xu Guangqi, who was committed to saving the country through science, died in October. 1633 was also a crucial year for Chinese Catholicism. Three years ago, in 1630, Li Zhizao died; One year ago, in 1632, Yang Tingyun died. With the passing away of Xu Guangqi this year, the three pillars of Chinese Catholicism fell one after another, and the first generation of Chinese Catholics faded out of the historical stage. At this time, a larger external crisis is fermenting. In February 1633, the Holy See allowed all European orders to enter the Far East by any route. As early as 1495, the Holy See put the Far East under the Portuguese sphere of influence, and gave Portugal missionary duties and privileges in the Far East. With this power, Portugal requires non Portuguese missionaries to go to the East through Lisbon and Goa, monopolizing missionaries in the East. However, with the rise of other European countries, Portugal's monopoly power in the Far East began to face challenges. In 1565, the Spanish entered the Far East from Mexico to the west, occupied the Philippines, and expanded their influence in the Far East. In 1633, when the Holy See allowed other religious orders to enter the Far East by any route without obeying the Portuguese rules, the Catholicism in the Far East fell into the chaos of the Western Empire's hegemony struggle and the conflict between the orders. In July 1633, Li Yufan, a member of the Dominican Association, and Li An, a member of the Franciscan Association, appeared to preach in Fu'an, Fujian Province. The reason why they appeared there was that they did not follow the usual route and rules of the Jesuits, but smuggled from Taiwan into the coastal areas of Fujian. In September of that year, a few days before Xu Guangqi's death, Luo Wenzao, a poor 16-year-old young man in Fu'an, was baptized by Li Andong and converted to Catholicism. The identity of this young man born in poverty differs greatly from that of the first generation of Chinese Catholics. The first generation of Catholics were usually scholar bureaucrats or their families. The Franciscans and Dominicans, these ancient mendicants, are more inclined to deal with the bottom of the society because of their poverty. The two different types of Catholics seem to complement each other, but unfortunately there has been a fierce conflict between the two sides, and Luo Wenzao has become one of the central figures in this conflict vortex. Luo Wenzao, as an assistant of Li An, followed him north to Nanjing and Beijing, east to Taiwan, and south to Macao and the Philippines. In 1645, Luo Wenzao studied Latin, Spanish and philosophy at Thomas College in Manila, Philippines; In 1650, Luo Wenzao officially joined the Dominican Association, and later entered the Dominican Association to study theology in the Philippine Academy; In 1654, Luo Wenzao became the first Chinese priest in history when he became a priest in the Bishop's Cathedral of Manila; In 1655, Luo Wenzao returned to his hometown. At this time, China was at the turn of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and war was raging everywhere. Luo Wenzao rushes about regardless of safety

Edit:luoyu    Responsible editor:jiajia

Source:mzb.com

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