1992 - Joseph Fan Xueyan

April 13, 1992

Chengde, Hebei

Joseph Fan Xueyan.

Born on February 11, 1907, in Qingyuan County of Hebei Province, Peter Joseph Fan Xueyan became one of the most highly-respected Catholic bishops of the 20th century. He was born at Xiaowangding village, the scene of a massacre of Catholics during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.

After graduating from seminary in Beijing, Fan entered the Propaganda University in Rome in 1927, aged just 20. He was consecrated a priest in 1934 and returned to China the following year. Back in his homeland, Fan soon proved to be a bold and gifted leader, rising to prominence in Catholic ranks. On June 24, 1951, Pope Pius XII appointed Fan the Bishop of Baoding. He was one of the last Chinese bishops to be appointed from Rome before China broke off all ties with the Vatican in 1958.

In 1958 Fan was arrested for the first time and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for “stubbornly refusing to accept” the government-sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association. Nothing they did to him could make him change his belief that the government-sanctioned Catholic Church in China was an evil impostor.

Throughout his life Joseph Fan Xueyan was known as a man of principle and influence. There were many who loved him, and others who saw him as an enemy of the Church. This was because Fan was such a strong opponent of the CPA from the time it was established until the day he died. In September 1988 he penned a document entitled The Thirteen Points which was widely circulated among Catholics in China. One critic of Fan’s letter wrote that the substance of the message declared

“Catholic faithful commit a grave sin in attending mass in patriotic churches. Laden with the authority of a universally respected confessor of the faith, this document had a devastating effect. The churches emptied. Shepherds of good will, unjustly labelled ‘patriotic,’ saw their flocks scatter. Patriotic directors and officials were exasperated by this act of sabotage of their religious freedom policy.”[1]

Despite having been sentenced to 15 years, Bishop Fan ended up serving 21 years in prison, released in 1979. In the early 1980s Fan secretly ordained three underground bishops and a few priests, after managing to communicate with Pope John Paul II. When the government discovered this. they were infuriated and rearrested Fan in 1982, sentencing him to ten years imprisonment at Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei. The official charge against Fan was “colluding with foreign forces to jeopardize the sovereignty and security of the motherland.”[2] During this second stint in prison Fan was compelled to do heavy manual labour. In 1987 he was released early due to widespread diplomatic protest at his treatment, but he remained under house arrest.

The police kept a close eye on all his visitors in an attempt to arrest other underground Catholic leaders. In November 1990 Fan Xueyan was unanimously elected president of the entire body of bishops belonging to the Chinese underground Catholic Church. One source says, “Confined to a church compound in Baoding, he was barred from meeting his followers on feast days and instead was taken on ‘tours’ by police on these occasions. Toward the end of November 1990, Bishop Fan once again disappeared from Baoding.”[3]

Fan was removed from Baoding by the police in 1990 to prevent him from having any further contact with Christians over the Christmas season. A year later he was returned to the city, where he was forbidden to lead any meetings or leave the confines of his village.[4] Matthias Lu explained,

“They arrested him, imprisoned him, kept him under custody, and have been moving him recently from place to place around several provinces. Their plan of moving him around was to remove his influence in one area and through his presence uncover hidden Catholics in another.”[5]

After a total of 34 years in prison or under house arrest, the 85-year-old Joseph Fan Xueyan died while still in custody at Chengde on April 13, 1992. The government claimed the bishop had died from pneumonia, but a later report noted,

“Ever since Bishop Fan was secretly taken away by public security officers on November 3, 1990, no one knew of his whereabouts until finally, his corpse, wrapped in a plastic bag, was shipped back to his home…. The cause of his death remained unknown, and the public security officers refused to reveal what had happened. According to the testimony of those who were personal eye-witnesses, his face bore obvious signs of wounds and scars. His body was so emaciated that one could literally count every one of his ribs. And his legs were quite obviously fractured. All this can testify to the fact that while Bishop Fan was alive, he had obviously been subjected to brutal mistreatment.”[6]

A letter smuggled out of China told how “Bishop Fan’s funeral was heavily guarded by police and people’s participation in the rites was restricted. Thousands of Catholics from various counties flocked to the funeral…. Fearless of oppression, they broke through a police cordon to join the Baoding funeral.”[7] An0ther more graphic account says,

“About 30,000 Catholics attended the funeral services in the ancient city of Baoding and at the tiny village of Xiaowangding. During the wake, a novena of prayers preceded the burial. Twenty orchestras accompanied the services with Chinese and Western music. Each mourner was wearing a white cap as a symbol of grief, sympathy, and filial piety. Filling the heaven and the earth, the torrent of great voice crying, praying and singing from the immense crowd was impressive and extraordinary. It was a respectful farewell to the hero departing and a jubilant welcome to a saint ascending to Paradise.”[8]

Local believers printed a leaflet for the funeral, which paid Fan the following poetic tribute:

“Bishop Joseph Fan, the Great, is….

A Shepherd of China,

Protector of his flock,

He shed his boiling blood,

wrestled in battle with evil devils,

and singing triumphant songs of victory,

he went to the Heavenly Home in glory.

He sacrificed his life for God, the Lord.

He is a great man of this century.

He is a great Bishop of Baoding.

He is the President of the Bishops’ Conference of China.”[9]

Almost a decade after this martyr was placed in the grave, his legacy was still upsetting the government. In 2001 a Catholic news service reported:

“Despite official restrictions, many Catholics from Hebei province and other parts of China attempt to visit his grave…and pay respects…. After the grave was opened in April 2000, the corpse was placed in a new coffin and reburied. A bigger tomb was built and more people came to pay respect to the late bishop, angering the local government. One year after that reburial, last May the government flattened the tomb and cleared all signs of the graveyard. This move was evidently an attempt to deter Catholics from visiting their revered bishop’s grave. However, despite the closure of roads leading to the graveyard, Catholics travel there through other devious routes.”[10]

Bishop Joseph Fan Xueyan had been a thorn in the side of the Communist authorities his whole life, and now even in death they had their hands full trying to prevent the massive public outpouring of grief that thousands of Catholics felt for their beloved bishop. His life of courage and uncompromising faith has strengthened a whole generation of Catholics.

1. Tang & Wiest, The Catholic Church in Modern China, 59.
2. China News and Church Report (May 1, 1992).
3. UCAN (May 1, 1992).
4. South China Morning Post (April 25, 1992).
5. Father Matthias Lu, “Bishop Peter Joseph Fan, a Clean Martyr: An Answer to the Catholic Problem in China,” article cited at www.everyonesaquinas.org
6. September 8th Editorial Board, Blessings of the Divine Bounty, 66.
7. UCAN (May 22, 1992).
8. Lu, “Bishop Peter Joseph Fan,” at www.everyonesaquinas.org
9. Lu, “Bishop Peter Joseph Fan,” at www.everyonesaquinas.org
10. UCAN (August 13, 2001).