Melchior Sun Dezhen, C.M. or Melchior Sun Souen (Chinese: 孫德禎) (1869–1951) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Vicar Apostolic of Anguo (1929–1936), Titular Bishop of Esbus (1926–1951), and Prefect of Lihsien (1924–1926).
Biography
Melchior Sun Dezhen was born in Beijing, China on 19 November 1869 and ordained a priest in the Congregation of the Mission on 24 January 1897.[1][2] Sun was a diocesan priest in Beijing.[3]: 73 He taught Latin for 12 years in the Beijing seminary and then worked as a missionary in rural China.[3]: 73 Beginning in 1923, he was the apostolic prefect of Lixian.[3]: 73
On 24 June 1926, he was appointed during the papacy of Pope Pius XI as Titular Bishop of Esbus and on 28 October 1926, he was consecrated bishop by Pope Pius XI, with Carlo Cremonesi, Titular Archbishop of Nicomedia, and Celso Benigno Luigi Costantini, Titular Archbishop of Theodosiopolis in Arcadia, serving as co-consecrators.[1] Sun and five other Chinese priests (Philippus Zhao Huaiyi, Simon Zhu Kaimin, Odoric Cheng Hede, Joseph Hu Ruoshan, and Aloysius Chen Guodi) were consecrated in Rome and became the first Chinese Catholic Bishops in modern times.[3]: 54 The Holy See framed these consecrations as an important moment for indigenizing the Catholic Church.[3]: 71–73 After leaving Rome, the new bishops toured Italy, France, Belgium, and Holland where crowds of local European Catholics greeted them.[3]: 73
Sun helped Frédéric-Vincent Lebbe return to China, inviting Lebbe to serve in the apostolic prefecture of Lixian.[3]: 107–108
On 15 July 1929, he was elevated during the papacy of Pope Pius XI as Vicar Apostolic of Anguo after the Prefecture was promoted to an Apostolic Vicariate.[1] He resigned as bishop in 1936.[4]: 511 He died in 1951.[4]: 511
Episcopal succession
While bishop, he was the principal consecrator of:[1]
- John Baptist Wang Zeng-yi (John Baptist Wang Tseng-yi) (Uamzemi), Titular Bishop of Lamia and Vicar Apostolic of Anguo (1938);
and the principal co-consecrator of:[1]
- Peter Cheng You-you (Pierre Tcheng), Titular Bishop of Sozusa in Palaestina and Vicar Apostolic of Süanhwafu (1928);
- John Zhang Bi-de (John Chang Pi-te), Titular Bishop of Antipyrgos and Vicar Apostolic of Chaohsien (1932); and
- Peter Wang Mu-duo (Peter Wang Mu-To), Bishop of Xuanhua (1948).
External links and additional sources
- Cheney, David M. "Diocese of Anguo [Ankwo]". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. (for Chronology of Bishops) [self-published]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byNone | Prefect Apostolic of Lihsien 1924–1926 | Succeeded byPrefecture elevated |
| Preceded byLorenzo Petris de Dolammare | Titular Bishop of Esbus 1926–1951 | Succeeded byGeorges-Arthur Melançon |
| Preceded byNone | Vicar Apostolic of Anguo 1929–1936 | Succeeded byJohn Baptist Wang Tseng-yi |
References
- 1.[1.2][1.3][1.4][1.5]Cheney, David M. "Bishop Melchior Sun Dezhen (Souen), C.M." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. [self-published]
- 2.Chow, Gabriel. "Diocese of Anguo 安國 (China)". GCatholic.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. [self-published]
- 3.[3.2][3.3][3.4][3.5][3.6][3.7]Wong, Stephanie M. (2025). Making Catholicism Chinese: the Catholic Church in a Modernizing China. New York, NY, United States of America: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-762369-5.
- 4.[4.2]Mariani, Paul P. (2014). "The First Six Chinese Bishops of Modern Times: A Study in Church Indigenization". The Catholic Historical Review. 100 (3): 486–513. doi:10.1353/cat.2014.0143. ISSN 1534-0708.