Nicholas Shi and Joseph Wang, “two witnesses of the faith” who illuminate like “burning lamps”

The Communication and Publications Commission of the Province of St. Nicholas of Tolentine, of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, in close collaboration with the Commission appointed for the celebration of the 1st Centenary of the mission in Shangqiu, has published numerous materials on the mission, enriching the collection with valuable articles and other materials on the website www.agustinosrecoletos.org and the institutional social networks of the Province above.

On the other hand, the publication of a new book in the collection “Lámparas ardientes” (Burning Lamps), published by Augustinus, on the biography of the venerable Chinese bishops Nicolás Shi and José Wang, is a well-deserved tribute to these two figures of the Recollect missionary history in China, which must be added to the books published in the same collection in which the biographies of emblematic figures of this mission are collected, such as Venancio Martínez, venerable Mariano Gazpio, Javier Ochoa, Ángeles García, venerable Esperanza Ayerbe and Mariano Alegría. The holy bishops and their testimony of pastoral and martyrial holiness are the fruit that adorns the tree of the Augustinian-Recollect tradition in China, planted by the Spanish missionaries.

Like other saints throughout history, we believe these two distinguished and holy Augustinian Recollect bishops deserve to be remembered together, united by the same providential destiny. Born on the same day, their religious lives ran parallel, and they were the ones in charge of being the two living witnesses of the faith and of the Augustinian Recollect life in our mission in China: pastors of the dioceses of Shangqiu and Heze, who shone with the light of faith and charity, who lived under the prism of the Augustinian Recollect charism. Father Mariano Alegría, on the day they made their religious profession, prophesied about them, saying that they would be like the robust trunk of a tree that the Order is planting in this nation, fundamental for the future of the mission.

We could say of them that they will be like the trunk of the leafy tree that the Order is planting in this nation. That is why the act we are discussing is of utmost importance. (…) Source, root, and foundation of what is promised for the future. Thus, when the provisions of the Holy See, or the winds of exalted nationalisms —a plague of all the countries of the world— or persecution, or lack of means force the Recollects who today support this Vicariate to leave the field are working today, this piece of our soul that is these young Chinese brothers will remain floating, victorious over adversity, to rekindle the ashes of destruction and continue with the task that their older brothers had to abandon. And thus good will come out of evil,  light out of darkness, and reconstruction out of destruction.

Father Alegría’s words reflect with crystalline prophetic clarity the historical importance of Bishop Nicholas Shi and Bishop Joseph Wang for the mission in China. From their ordination to their post-Mao rehabilitation, they faced inhuman interrogations, torture, and imprisonment. When they were not imprisoned or doing forced labor in re-education centers, they secretly served the faithful spiritually despite constant police surveillance and hardship. Joseph Wang would spend a decade in prison, while Nicholas Shi was sentenced to forced labor from 1958 until 1964. After Mao’s death, both were rehabilitated in 1979. Despite hardships, they dedicated themselves to evangelization and the apostolate. Joseph Wang in Heze, and Nicholas Shi in the city of Shangqiu. However, their refusal to join the patriotic Church and break their communion with the Pope led to further difficulties. Wang was imprisoned again, while Shi was sent to teach English at a secondary school.

Clandestinely consecrated bishops with papal approval —Archbishop Shi in 1991 and Archbishop Wang in 1996—faced government skepticism until their official recognition around 2000. They devoted their later years to shepherding their communities and restoring religious and priestly life. Archbishop Wang died in 2004 and Archbishop Shi in 2009, leaving behind a legacy of courage, unwavering faith, and a strengthened ecclesial community. The book offers an intimate look at the spiritual greatness of these two distinguished religious and the Christian community’s journey from the missionaries’ expulsion in 1952 until the new century. The reader will also find the figures of their Chinese religious companions who died in communist concentration camps for their fidelity to the faith and who were always an example and support for the two bishops. Therefore, this book is a tribute to our Chinese brothers who, with their sacrifice, have written a glorious and martyrial page in the history of Augustinian Recollect evangelization in China.

It is a must-read and a due tribute to this centenary celebration.