Ignatius C. Wang

Ignatius Chung Wang (born February 27, 1934, Beijing, China) is a Chinese-born American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco 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 1934. He attended Catholic schools in Hong Kong and then started his studies for the priesthood at the Regional Seminary for South China in Hong Kong.

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.

Due to the policies of the Government of China, Wang was not allowed to serve as a priest there. In 1962, Wang began studies in Rome, receiving a Doctor of Canon Law degree. His first assignment was in Grenada, serving as a parish priest and as vicar general of the Diocese of St. George's.

In 1974, the church 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.

n 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. He was also 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

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