Vatican accepts Bp. Wang resignation
At a Mass May 16 at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco, Archbishop George H. Niederauer announced that Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation letter of Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius C. Wang, which was submitted to the Vatican by Bishop Wang on his 75th birthday in February.
The news was made public at a Mass of thanksgiving for Bishop Wang's 50 years as a priest and his retirement as auxiliary bishop, which was organized by the Catholic Chinese-American community. At the Mass, Archbishop Niederauer presided, Bishop Wang was the primary celebrant and Auxiliary Bishop William J. Justice concelebrated.
Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, announced the papal decision May 16 in Washington, D.C. At age 75 bishops are required by canon law to submit their resignation to the pope. Earlier, the nuncio had asked the archdiocese for an appropriate date to make the announcement, and Archbishop Niederauer suggested the day of the special Mass for Bishop Wang.
Bishop Wang, who has served in the Archdiocese of San Francisco for 35 years, was appointed auxiliary bishop in December 2002 by Pope John Paul II. At that time, he became the first priest of Chinese heritage to be named a U.S. bishop.
San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer said, "On behalf of the entire archdiocese, I thank Bishop Wang for his decades of service to the local Church as a priest and bishop. His dedication and service have been a blessing to the priests and people of the archdiocese and our many ethnic communities, particularly the Chinese Catholic community. Truly, Bishop Wang has been a hardworking and generous servant of the Church."
Bishop Wang expressed his gratitude saying, "I thank God and all the people I have met who have helped to shape and form me. Wherever I went, I met good people and I saw good examples."
With the acceptance of his letter of resignation, Bishop Wang says he now feels "more settled" and "pretty good about it." He notes that he will continue to be active, but he will not miss the meetings and paperwork. In retirement, he plans to travel and continue living in San Francisco.
Born Feb. 27, 1934, in Beijing, Bishop Wang (pronounced Wong) was the fifth of eight children in a Catholic Chinese family that was descended from a Manchurian emperor, the rulers of the last Chinese dynasty.
In September 2008 he returned to Beijing's Divine Savior Church, also known as North Church, where he had been baptized, received first Communion and was confirmed. He said his concelebration of a Mass there drew a standing-room-only crowd, because "the fact that a bishop recognized by Rome was going to be celebrating Mass is a big deal."
After studies for the priesthood in Hong Kong, he was ordained for the Prefecture of Kienow, China, July 4, 1959. He earned a doctorate in canon law from what was then known as the Propaganda Fide College in Rome in 1962.
Unable to return to China when he completed his studies, then Father-Wang went to the Diocese of St. George's in Grenada, where he served as a parish priest, head of Catholic schools and vicar general for 12 years.
In 1974 he went to San Francisco, a city where nearly one-fourth of the residents are of Chinese ancestry, to visit his widowed sister, who had cancer. When he realized she was dying he decided to stay in San Francisco. After her death in 1978, he took charge of her three children, then ages 9, 16 and 18.
He served on the archdiocesan tribunal, as parochial vicar in several parishes and as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church for 10 years.
Before his appointment as a bishop in late 2002, Bishop Wang had been coordinator of the Chinese Apostolate in the San Francisco Archdiocese since 1981, archdiocesan director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith since 1994 and chancellor since 1998. He was ordained a bishop Jan. 30, 2003.
As bishop, he served as episcopal vicar for religious and vicar for the promotion of spiritual and apostolic life and ethnic ministries.
At the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, he had served on the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Islanders and the board of bishops for the American College in Louvain, Belgium.
At the conclusion of the May 16 Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral, Archbishop Niederauer presented Bishop Wang with the Assumpta Award, which is named for the Cathedral's Patron, St. Mary of the Assumption. The Assumpta Award is given by the Cathedral's Board of Regents to those who have shown exemplary service to the Church.
Following the May 16 Mass of thanksgiving, a dinner honoring Bishop Wang, in the conference facilities below the cathedral, drew more than 500 people. The evening's festivities were organized by the Catholic Chinese community under the direction of Canossian Sister Maria Hsu, director of the San Francisco Archdiocese's Chinese Ministry.
From May 22, 2009 issue of Catholic San Francisco.
