Ignatius C. Wang

Chinese-born American Catholic bishop

His Excellency, The Most Reverend Ignatius Chung Wang 汪中璋
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of San Francisco Titular Bishop of Sitipa
Bishop Ignatius Wang in February 2008
Archdiocese	San Francisco
Appointed	December 13, 2002
Installed	January 30, 2003
Retired	May 16, 2009
Other post(s)	Titular Bishop of Sitipa
Orders
Ordination	July 4, 1959
Consecration	January 30, 2003 by William Levada, Patrick Joseph McGrath, and John Charles Wester
Personal details
Born	(1934-02-27) February 27, 1934 (age 90) Peking, Republic of China
Motto	Quid retribuam Domino (What shall I repay the Lord?)

Styles of Ignatius Chung Wang

Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop

Ignatius Chung Wang (born February 27, 1934) is a Chinese-born American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco in California from 2002 to 2009. Wang is the first Asian-American and Chinese-American to be appointed as a Catholic bishop.

Biography

Early life

Ignatius Wang was born in Beijing in what was then the Republic of China on February 27, 1934. He attended Catholic schools in the former British Colony of Hong Kong, then started his studies for the priesthood at the Regional Seminary for South China in Hong Kong.^[1]

Priesthood

On July 4, 1959, Wang was ordained into the priesthood for the Prefecture of Kienow in China at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Hong Kong.^[2] However, the People's Republic of China refused to allow Wang to serve as a priest in Kienow.

In 1962, Wang began studies in Rome, receiving a Doctor of Canon Law degree. His first assignment was as a parish priest and vicar general of the Diocese of Saint George's in Grenada.^[2]

In 1974, the Vatican allowed Wang to transfer to San Francisco, the home of his sister and her children. When she died of cancer, Wang became the children's guardian. Wang's first assignment in the Archdiocese of San Francisco was as parochial vicar for some of the parishes.^[2]

In 1981, Wang was appointed as director of the Office of Chinese Catholic Ministry. He initiated a ritual blessing of ancestors at the Chinese New Year's Mass. In 1982, he was posted as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in San Francisco, becoming the first Chinese-American Catholic pastor in San Francisco.^[2] He also became a member of the archdiocesan Tribunal and coordinator of the Chinese Apostolate.

In 1989, Pope John Paul II named Wang as a prelate of honor with the title of monsignor.^[2]

Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco

On December 13, 2002, John Paul II appointed Wang as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and titular bishop of Sitipa. He was consecrated by Cardinal Levada on January 30, 2003.^[1]^[3]^[4]^[5]

On May 16, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI received Wang's letter of resignation as auxiliary bishop of San Francisco, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 for bishops.^[1]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ignatius C. Wang.

^ ^a ^b ^c "Bishop Ignatius Chung Wang". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "BISHOP IGNATIUS C. WANG". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
^ Donovan, Gill (2003). "National Catholic Reporter article". National Catholic Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
^ "Chinese-american Becomes 1st Asian Catholic Bishop In U.s." Orlando Sentinel. 15 December 2002. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
^ Michael O. Garvey (21 September 2003). "First Asian-American Catholic bishop to speak Sept. 29". Notre Dame News. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved 28 March 2012.