Papal Appointment of H.E. Bishop Stephen LEE Bun-sang as new Bishop of Macau

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Our Diocese has received the following announcement from the Holy See:

 

The Bishop of Macau, H.E. Bishop José Lai Hung-seng, for health reasons and for medical treatments, has decided to present his resignation from office of Bishop of Macau to the Holy Father.

 

Acceding to this legitimate request of Bishop Lai, Pope Francis has today (16 January 2016) accepted his resignation and at the same time has appointed H.E. Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang, who is at present Auxiliary Bishop of Hong Kong, as the new Bishop of Macau.

 

Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang will take possession of the Diocese of Macau on Saturday, 23 January 2016, at 3 p.m. with the Eucharistic celebration that will take place at the Cathedral to mark the 440th Anniversary of establishment of the Diocese of Macau.

 

The solemn event of 23 January will also be also a happy occasion to welcome Bishop Stephen Lee and to thank sincerely Bishop José Lai for his generous episcopal ministry which he started on 23 January 2001 as Coadjutor Bishop and which he continued from 30 June 2003 as Diocesan Bishop of the same Diocese. Bishop Lai will remain in contact with the Diocese of Macau as Bishop Emeritus, after spending a period of time in prayer and taking a rest.

 

The above provisions are an expression of the pastoral solicitude and the love of Pope Francis and of the Holy See for the Church in China and, in a special way, for the Diocese of Macau which has for more than four centuries been a bridge for cultural exchange between the Orient and the West, and for the spreading of the Catholic faith.

 

While our Diocese will miss Bishop Lee, we are very happy that the Diocese of Macau will have him as the new Bishop. In the future, the two Dioceses will have more contacts and exchanges. We would like to take this opportunity to express our support for Bishop Lee’s new pastoral task, and we offer him our prayers and blessings. We are confident that the Diocese of Macau under his leadership, will bear abundant fruits in the years to come.

 

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