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When John Baptist Wu was the first Hong Kong bishop to visit China since 1949

His historic trip marked a significant step in dialogue, but he was barred from seeing jailed ‘counter-revolutionary’ Bishop Kong in Shanghai

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The Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong, the Most Rev John Baptist Wu (centre), heading a delegation to China, at a press conference in Kai Tak Airport in March 1985. Photo: P.Y. Tang

Published: 6:00pm, 14 Mar 2025

“The Roman Catholic bishop of Hongkong, the Most Rev John Baptist Wu, will head a five-member delegation to China soon at the invitation of the Chinese Government,” reported the South China Morning Post on March 14, 1985. “Bishop Wu will be the first Catholic Bishop from Hongkong to visit China officially since the communists took power in 1949. This visit is seen as a significant step by both sides to begin a dialogue despite Peking’s opposition to the Vatican’s diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

The South China Morning Post’s report in 1985 on the Most Rev John Baptist Wu heading a five-member delegation to China. Photo: SCMP Archives

“The official Catholic Church in China – known as the Patriotic Catholic Association – broke with Rome in the late 1950s to survive in the communist state.

“In Peking, [Wu] will visit the graves of Matteo Ricci – the 16th century Jesuit evangelist who opened China to the gospel and served as a bridge between East and West. In Shanghai, the group will tour the Our Lady’s Basilica.

“It will be Bishop Wu’s first visit to mainland China since leaving his native Guangdong province more than 30 years ago.”

Bishop John Baptist Wu (left), at Kai Tak Airport next to Father Michael Yeung, director of the Catholic Social Communications Office. Photo: P.Y. Tang

On March 31, the Post reported that “the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hongkong was prevented by Chinese authorities from visiting a colleague who is in jail in Shanghai. The bishop […] told a Kai Tak press conference last night on his return from China that his delegation had made repeated requests for permission to visit Bishop Ignatius Kong, former prelate of Shanghai. Their requests were refused. Bishop Kong has been held in Shanghai since 1956, when he was labelled a ‘counter-revolutionary’. The whereabouts of his prison have not been revealed.

“Bishop Wu, who spent six days in China, is still confident however that a visit will one day be allowed to Bishop Kong, so that he can be told of the sympathy and concern for his plight.”