Bishop John Tong has formally succeeded Cardinal Joseph Zen on April 15th as the seventh Bishop in the Diocese of Hong Kong.<br/><br/>
The Catholic Hierarchy in China was elevated and became official on April 11th, 1946,.<br/><br/>
Bishop Henry Valtorta was assigned as the first Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong on October 31st,1948.<br/><br/>
Bishop Francis Hsu was the first Chinese bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong, he succeeded Bishop Lawrence Bianchi and became the third Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong.<br/><br/>
On October 20th, 1996, Cardinal Joseph Zen (recently retired) and Bishop John Tong had been appointed as the Assistant Bishop of the diocese (having the right to become a successor) and the auxiliary Bishop respectively.<br/><br/>
Cardinal John Chen-Chung Hu passed away on September 23rd, 2002, at the same year, Bishop Joseph Zen became the sixth District Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong.<br/><br/>
The Bishops are the successors of the Apostles.<br/><br/>
According to the Lumen Gentium Chapter 3 section 20, it states: “That divine mission, entrusted by Christ to the apostles, might continue after their death, they passed on to their immediate cooperators, as it were, in the form of a testament, the duty of confirming and finishing the work begun by themselves (5*) recommending to them that they attend to the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit placed them to shepherd the Church of God (148) They therefore appointed such men, and gave them the order that, when they should have died, other approved men would take up their ministry.” <br/><br/>
“And just as the office granted individually to Peter, the first among the apostles, is permanent and is to be transmitted to his successors, so also the apostles' office of nurturing the Church is permanent.” <br/><br/>
“Bishops by divine institution have succeeded to the place of the apostles, as shepherds of the Church, and he who hears them, hears Christ, and he who rejects them, rejects Christ and Him who sent Christ.”<br/><br/>
Each individual bishop has his own unique approach in managing daily affairs. In any case, we trusted that the Holy Spirit is working through them. <br/><br/>
Let us all pray for Bishop John Tong. and may our heavenly Father bestow him daily with immense health and great merit.