Matthias Duan Yinming ( zh, s=段荫明, t=段蔭明; 22 February 1908 - 10 January 2001) was a Sichuanese Roman Catholic

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the Diocese of Wanxian, China.

Biography

Duan was born in Dachuan District,

Dazhou Dazhou () is a prefecture-level city in the northeast corner of Sichuan province, China, bordering Shaanxi to the north and Chongqing to the east and south. As of 2020 census, Dazhou was home to 5,385,422 inhabitants whom 1,850,869 lived in the ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, on February 22, 1908, to a Catholic family, during the late

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. He went to study at Pontifical Urban University in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1935. He was ordained a priest in 1938. In 1944, he was appointed president of the Shiguang Catholic Church. On June 9, 1949,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

appointed Duan as bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Wanxian The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wanxian (formerly spelled Wanhsien; la, Dioecesis Uanscienensis; zh, t=天主教萬縣教區), also known as Diocese of Wanzhou, is a Latin Catholic diocese located in Wanzhou District (formerly Wanxian), Chongqing ...

. He was ordained bishop on October 18 of that same year. After the establishment of the Communist State, he successively served as director of the Sichuan Catholic Partnership, member of the China Catholic Partnership, vice-chairman of Sichuan Catholic Partnership. In 1998,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

invited Duan to attend the special session of bishops in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. He could not travel without a

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

. He died on January 10, 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duan, Matthias, Yinming 1908 births 2001 deaths Sichuanese Roman Catholics Roman Catholic bishops in Sichuan Roman Catholic Diocese of Wanxian Pontifical Urban University alumni People from Dazhou 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in China