Report written by Bob McGinty, Conference Rapporteur
I didn’t know what to expect when I first met Bishop Paul Junmin Pei, of the Diocese of Liaoning Province China. Everyone calls him Bishop Pei (“pay”). All I knew is that he had been born in China to Catholic parents and studied both in China and at a seminary near Philadelphia. He also held the title “Archbishop of Shenyang,” a city of 9 million in Liaoning, in Northeast China. Nine million may seem like a lot of people to those in the U.S., but having studied China a bit I knew it was typical for major cities.
At any rate, I’d never met a Chinese Catholic bishop or archbishop before, so I was expecting an older man, maybe wearing colorful robes or even a miter.
As soon as Bishop Pei entered the cafeteria on the second floor of the US-China Catholic Association seminar at Chicago’s DePaul University, I somehow knew who he was. He was wearing the simple black clothes and collar of a priest. He appeared young, maybe in his late thirties or early forties. But the main thing that struck me is that he seemed to be glowing with confidence, charm, and equanimity. People seemed to swirl around him.
I’ve seen this phenomenon a couple times in my life: the old Mayor Daley in the loop in Chicago, walking down the street, surrounded by supporters. The actress Patricia O’Neil at a restaurant in Evanston. And an important Chicago businessman named Tom Ayers, holding court in a Chicago office building.
This gift is not something you learn or train for. It just is.
I went up to Bishop Pei and shook his hand. Over the next couple days, he struck me as someone who could not be perturbed. He radiates warmth, but also courage. He struck me as someone you can’t fool, because he already has everything he wants in life.
I heard him use the phrase “seeing God in all things” a couple times over the next couple days.
There are at least 6 million Catholics in China, which may seem like a lot. But in a country of 1.4 billion, it’s really not. There are 3,400 priests in the whole county, and just nine seminaries. I heard Bishop Pei talk, and it didn’t take much to figure out he has a big job.
Bishop Pei spoke of a need for more priests in China. The numbers have not been going up since 2000. He asked for cooperation from the U.S. Catholic Church. He worried about the rise of materialism and urbanization in China, which he believes has caused a decline in faith. A similar decline is happening in America.
Bishop Pei said that in China, priests must do many things, including going to people’s homes for services when a church is not available. I tried to imagine the challenges someone like him must face every day.
He also mentioned how Chinese traditional culture can be incorporated with the Catholic Church. I wasn’t surprised to learn that there is some overlap between Catholicism and Confucianism.
As Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago presided at the Conference Mass at St. Vincent de Paul Church on the De Paul University campus Bishop Pei con-celebrated alongside his fellow priests. While it was a hot and humid Chicago day outside, there was lightness inside this historic and stately Chicago church. The front of the church was crowded with many people, including local Chinese American Catholics.
The bishop wore grass-green vestments, standing in front, and standing out. His personality was still glowing.
Pope Francis has said that “we require constant attention to signs of the Holy Spirit” in an attempt to reach human and spiritual maturity. To do this requires courage. I think Bishop Pei has that quality.
Bob McGinty is a writer who lives in Chicago.
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