Pope appoints Andrew Ding Yang Archbishop of Chongqing

In brief

Pope Francis appointed Andrew Ding Yang as Archbishop of Chongqing, and he received episcopal ordination on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. The Holy See approved his candidacy on July 28, 2026, under the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.

Born in the Hechuan District of Chongqing on September 16, 1981, Ding Yang studied at the Beijing Seminary from 2000 to 2006. He was ordained a priest on May 24, 2007, after completing pastoral training at St. Joseph’s Parish in Yuzhong, where he also served as an assistant priest.

Ding Yang studied theology at St. Joseph University in Macau from 2009 to 2011 and worked as a formator at the National Theological Seminary in Beijing between 2012 and 2014. After studying at the University of the Holy Cross in Rome, he returned to China and served as a parish priest in Tongliang, Tongnan, Tongguanyi, and Jiulongpo within the Archdiocese of Chongqing.