Christian World | In a video message to a Rome conference on 100 years of Chinese bishops, Pope Leo XIV said Church unity is not uniformity but communion in diversity

ACW | November 5, 2026 — Pope Leo XIV said on Thursday that the Church in China shows the Church's unity "is not uniformity but communion in diversity," in a video message to a conference in Rome, Vatican News reported.

The conference, "The Face of the Universal Church in China: 100 Years Since the Consecration of the First Chinese Bishops," was organised by the Dicastery for Evangelization's Section for First Evangelization with the Pontifical Urbaniana University, according to Vatican News, the Holy See's official news service.

The pope recalled the six Chinese bishops who travelled from Shanghai to Rome and were ordained by Pope Pius XI in St. Peter's Basilica on October 28, 1926. "Their consecration was an event of great significance, not only for the journey of the Catholic Church in China," he said.

Leo called that bond "a beautiful, gratuitous, and comforting sign; a liberating bond; a closeness that instills confidence." He prayed that "today, in a world torn apart by conflicts and overwhelmed by wars," the Lord may preserve the treasure of ecclesial communion.

Background: Earlier, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle led a Mass marking 450 years of the Diocese of Macau; read ACW's report.

Why it matters: The pope said he hoped ecclesial communion would be "a fruitful source of goodness and peace for all," and called the 1926 consecration of six Chinese bishops an event of great significance for the Catholic Church in China, Vatican News reported.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Source: Vatican News — Pope Leo: Church in China shows unity is communion in diversity

Photo: Vatican News