The Beijing Catholic diocese ordained young and energetic Joseph Li Shan as its new bishop on September 21.

At a grand consecration ceremony held at the 400-year-old Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Beijing, Li took a traditional oath of service to the church before more than 1,000 attendees. He also pledged that he would lead the faithful of this most prominent Catholic diocese on the Chinese mainland in maintaining "national unity and social stability."

Li, 42, was elected bishop by priests and nuns of the Beijing diocese and representatives of Church followers on July 16, after his predecessor Michael Fu Tieshan died in April. He won 74 out of the 93 votes to overwhelm three other candidates in the election conducted in line with procedures devised by the China Catholic Bishops College.

Liu Bainian, Vice President of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association that is vested with the power to approve the appointment of bishops in China, has described Li as a "compassionate and loving" person who is a good choice for the Beijing bishopric.

Born and nurtured in a religious family, Li graduated from the Chinese Catholic Academy of Theology and Philosophy and was ordained by Bishop Fu as a priest in 1989. He is incumbent vice chairman of the Beijing Church Affairs Committee, and also a deputy to the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, the local parliament.

More than 170 bishops have been independently selected and ordained by the Chinese Catholics since 1958 when they cut economic and political relations with the Vatican. China insists that a precondition to an improvement of Sino-Vatican relations is the Holy See's termination of its so-called diplomatic links with Taiwan and refraining from interfering in China's internal affairs, including any intervention under the pretext of religious affairs.

China now has 5 million Catholic followers under 97 dioceses, with 50,000 in the Beijing diocese.