Pope Leo XIV appoints Ignatius Ding Zuyao Bishop of Haimen

Ignatius Ding Zuyao was ordained bishop of Haimen on October 15, 2026, at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. Pope Leo XIV appointed Zuyao to the diocese on August 24, 2026, following the approval of his candidacy under the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China.

Joseph Shen Bin, Bishop of Shanghai and Bishop Emeritus of Haimen, served as the principal consecrator. He was joined by concelebrants John Wang Renlei, Bishop of Xuzhou; Joseph Xu Honggen, Bishop of Suzhou; Francis Lu Xinping, Bishop of Nanjing; and Ignatius Wu Jianlin, an auxiliary bishop in Shanghai. Approximately 400 priests, religious sisters, and lay faithful attended the liturgy.

Zuyao was born in 1986 and was ordained a priest on October 27, 2011. His appointment marks the 19th time a bishop has been selected through the framework of the provisional agreement. The Haimen diocese had been without a bishop for more than three years prior to this ordination.