The Second Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong, Monsignor Lorenzo Bianchi PIME., was born in Corteno, Brescia, Italy. Entering the Diocesan Seminary of Brescia, he later joined the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions in the course of his theological studies. His studies were interrupted by conscription into the Italian Army during World War I. Nevertheless he was ordained to the priesthood on September 23, 1922, at the early age of 23. A year later, on September 13, 1923, he arrived in Hong Kong and was assigned to the Hoi Fung District, Kwangtung Province, where he was to labour for 26 years.
Those were turbulent times in Hoi Fung. On one occasion, Father Bianchi and the other priests and religious of the district were locked up in a hotel and were waiting for death, and were saved only at the last moment. He was arrested and released by the Communist regime twice.
Director of the Hoi Fung District, he taught philosophy at the Seminary of Mooiyen. Named regional superior of the Chinese Missions in 1947, Pope Pius XII appointed him Coadjatur Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong 'cum futura successione'. Bianchi received his episcopal consecration with the Titular See of Choma on October 9, 1949 from Bishop Enrico Valtorta PIME., at the Cathedral of Hong Kong.
Following his consecration he returned to China in order to pursue his missionary work at Hoi Fung but was arrested. He was still in prison when he became Bishop of Hong Kong following the death of his predecessor, Monsignor Valtorta on September 3, 1951.
Released from prison and expelled from China in October 1952, he settled in Hong Kong where he began his episcopal ministry. Bishop Bianchi made his first entrance to the Hong Kong territory of his diocese seated on the pillion of Father Ambrogio Poletti's motorcycle. At Taipo they took the train.
Word had spread. When the bishop arrived, still in coolie clothes, at the Kowloon station, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Riberi, most of the clergy and religious of the diocese and a crowd of about a thousand Catholics were waiting excitedly to hail him, only two hours after his arrival at Lowu. His progress to the cathedral was a prolonged triumph. A 'Te Deum' in the cathedral ended that unforgettable day.
In 1954, after 33 years in the missions, he returned for the first time to his native Italy. He visited the United States in 1955 and Germany in 1959, 1962, and 1968, in order to raise awareness of the serious social situation in Hong Kong and ask for help, especially for refugees.
Resigning from the pastoral government of his see at 69 years of age, in the hope that it would be taken over by a Chinese, Bianchi was succeeded by Monsignor Francis Xavier Chen-Ping Hsu.
Named Bishop of the Titular See of Sorres, he left the diocese on August 14, 1969, returning back at the invitation of his successor Bishop Hsu, for a short time during the historic pastoral visit of of Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1970. From 1969 he lived in Italy at the PIME Community in Lecco.
Monsignor Lorenzo Bianchi passed away of pulmonary emphysema in Brescia on February 13, 1983, aged 83. Funeral celebrations were held at the Brescia Cathedral, the parish church of Corteno Golgi and the chapel of the PIME community residence of Lecco. These celebrations saw the participation of Monsignor John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung, Bishop of Hong Kong.
In accordance to his wishes, Bianchi was buried at the Cemetery of Villa Grugana di Calco of the PIME Missionaries. After Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong had a crypt constructed inside the cathedral of his diocese intended to house the remains of all its previous Ordinaries, his remains were transferred to Hong Kong in 2014 along with those of Bishop Luigi Piazzoli PIME.
Those were turbulent times in Hoi Fung. On one occasion, Father Bianchi and the other priests and religious of the district were locked up in a hotel and were waiting for death, and were saved only at the last moment. He was arrested and released by the Communist regime twice.
Director of the Hoi Fung District, he taught philosophy at the Seminary of Mooiyen. Named regional superior of the Chinese Missions in 1947, Pope Pius XII appointed him Coadjatur Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong 'cum futura successione'. Bianchi received his episcopal consecration with the Titular See of Choma on October 9, 1949 from Bishop Enrico Valtorta PIME., at the Cathedral of Hong Kong.
Following his consecration he returned to China in order to pursue his missionary work at Hoi Fung but was arrested. He was still in prison when he became Bishop of Hong Kong following the death of his predecessor, Monsignor Valtorta on September 3, 1951.
Released from prison and expelled from China in October 1952, he settled in Hong Kong where he began his episcopal ministry. Bishop Bianchi made his first entrance to the Hong Kong territory of his diocese seated on the pillion of Father Ambrogio Poletti's motorcycle. At Taipo they took the train.
Word had spread. When the bishop arrived, still in coolie clothes, at the Kowloon station, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Riberi, most of the clergy and religious of the diocese and a crowd of about a thousand Catholics were waiting excitedly to hail him, only two hours after his arrival at Lowu. His progress to the cathedral was a prolonged triumph. A 'Te Deum' in the cathedral ended that unforgettable day.
In 1954, after 33 years in the missions, he returned for the first time to his native Italy. He visited the United States in 1955 and Germany in 1959, 1962, and 1968, in order to raise awareness of the serious social situation in Hong Kong and ask for help, especially for refugees.
Resigning from the pastoral government of his see at 69 years of age, in the hope that it would be taken over by a Chinese, Bianchi was succeeded by Monsignor Francis Xavier Chen-Ping Hsu.
Named Bishop of the Titular See of Sorres, he left the diocese on August 14, 1969, returning back at the invitation of his successor Bishop Hsu, for a short time during the historic pastoral visit of of Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1970. From 1969 he lived in Italy at the PIME Community in Lecco.
Monsignor Lorenzo Bianchi passed away of pulmonary emphysema in Brescia on February 13, 1983, aged 83. Funeral celebrations were held at the Brescia Cathedral, the parish church of Corteno Golgi and the chapel of the PIME community residence of Lecco. These celebrations saw the participation of Monsignor John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung, Bishop of Hong Kong.
In accordance to his wishes, Bianchi was buried at the Cemetery of Villa Grugana di Calco of the PIME Missionaries. After Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong had a crypt constructed inside the cathedral of his diocese intended to house the remains of all its previous Ordinaries, his remains were transferred to Hong Kong in 2014 along with those of Bishop Luigi Piazzoli PIME.
The Second Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong, Monsignor Lorenzo Bianchi PIME., was born in Corteno, Brescia, Italy. Entering the Diocesan Seminary of Brescia, he later joined the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions in the course of his theological studies. His studies were interrupted by conscription into the Italian Army during World War I. Nevertheless he was ordained to the priesthood on September 23, 1922, at the early age of 23. A year later, on September 13, 1923, he arrived in Hong Kong and was assigned to the Hoi Fung District, Kwangtung Province, where he was to labour for 26 years.
Those were turbulent times in Hoi Fung. On one occasion, Father Bianchi and the other priests and religious of the district were locked up in a hotel and were waiting for death, and were saved only at the last moment. He was arrested and released by the Communist regime twice.
Director of the Hoi Fung District, he taught philosophy at the Seminary of Mooiyen. Named regional superior of the Chinese Missions in 1947, Pope Pius XII appointed him Coadjatur Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong 'cum futura successione'. Bianchi received his episcopal consecration with the Titular See of Choma on October 9, 1949 from Bishop Enrico Valtorta PIME., at the Cathedral of Hong Kong.
Following his consecration he returned to China in order to pursue his missionary work at Hoi Fung but was arrested. He was still in prison when he became Bishop of Hong Kong following the death of his predecessor, Monsignor Valtorta on September 3, 1951.
Released from prison and expelled from China in October 1952, he settled in Hong Kong where he began his episcopal ministry. Bishop Bianchi made his first entrance to the Hong Kong territory of his diocese seated on the pillion of Father Ambrogio Poletti's motorcycle. At Taipo they took the train.
Word had spread. When the bishop arrived, still in coolie clothes, at the Kowloon station, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Riberi, most of the clergy and religious of the diocese and a crowd of about a thousand Catholics were waiting excitedly to hail him, only two hours after his arrival at Lowu. His progress to the cathedral was a prolonged triumph. A 'Te Deum' in the cathedral ended that unforgettable day.
In 1954, after 33 years in the missions, he returned for the first time to his native Italy. He visited the United States in 1955 and Germany in 1959, 1962, and 1968, in order to raise awareness of the serious social situation in Hong Kong and ask for help, especially for refugees.
Resigning from the pastoral government of his see at 69 years of age, in the hope that it would be taken over by a Chinese, Bianchi was succeeded by Monsignor Francis Xavier Chen-Ping Hsu.
Named Bishop of the Titular See of Sorres, he left the diocese on August 14, 1969, returning back at the invitation of his successor Bishop Hsu, for a short time during the historic pastoral visit of of Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1970. From 1969 he lived in Italy at the PIME Community in Lecco.
Monsignor Lorenzo Bianchi passed away of pulmonary emphysema in Brescia on February 13, 1983, aged 83. Funeral celebrations were held at the Brescia Cathedral, the parish church of Corteno Golgi and the chapel of the PIME community residence of Lecco. These celebrations saw the participation of Monsignor John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung, Bishop of Hong Kong.
In accordance to his wishes, Bianchi was buried at the Cemetery of Villa Grugana di Calco of the PIME Missionaries. After Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong had a crypt constructed inside the cathedral of his diocese intended to house the remains of all its previous Ordinaries, his remains were transferred to Hong Kong in 2014 along with those of Bishop Luigi Piazzoli PIME.
Those were turbulent times in Hoi Fung. On one occasion, Father Bianchi and the other priests and religious of the district were locked up in a hotel and were waiting for death, and were saved only at the last moment. He was arrested and released by the Communist regime twice.
Director of the Hoi Fung District, he taught philosophy at the Seminary of Mooiyen. Named regional superior of the Chinese Missions in 1947, Pope Pius XII appointed him Coadjatur Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong 'cum futura successione'. Bianchi received his episcopal consecration with the Titular See of Choma on October 9, 1949 from Bishop Enrico Valtorta PIME., at the Cathedral of Hong Kong.
Following his consecration he returned to China in order to pursue his missionary work at Hoi Fung but was arrested. He was still in prison when he became Bishop of Hong Kong following the death of his predecessor, Monsignor Valtorta on September 3, 1951.
Released from prison and expelled from China in October 1952, he settled in Hong Kong where he began his episcopal ministry. Bishop Bianchi made his first entrance to the Hong Kong territory of his diocese seated on the pillion of Father Ambrogio Poletti's motorcycle. At Taipo they took the train.
Word had spread. When the bishop arrived, still in coolie clothes, at the Kowloon station, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Riberi, most of the clergy and religious of the diocese and a crowd of about a thousand Catholics were waiting excitedly to hail him, only two hours after his arrival at Lowu. His progress to the cathedral was a prolonged triumph. A 'Te Deum' in the cathedral ended that unforgettable day.
In 1954, after 33 years in the missions, he returned for the first time to his native Italy. He visited the United States in 1955 and Germany in 1959, 1962, and 1968, in order to raise awareness of the serious social situation in Hong Kong and ask for help, especially for refugees.
Resigning from the pastoral government of his see at 69 years of age, in the hope that it would be taken over by a Chinese, Bianchi was succeeded by Monsignor Francis Xavier Chen-Ping Hsu.
Named Bishop of the Titular See of Sorres, he left the diocese on August 14, 1969, returning back at the invitation of his successor Bishop Hsu, for a short time during the historic pastoral visit of of Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1970. From 1969 he lived in Italy at the PIME Community in Lecco.
Monsignor Lorenzo Bianchi passed away of pulmonary emphysema in Brescia on February 13, 1983, aged 83. Funeral celebrations were held at the Brescia Cathedral, the parish church of Corteno Golgi and the chapel of the PIME community residence of Lecco. These celebrations saw the participation of Monsignor John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung, Bishop of Hong Kong.
In accordance to his wishes, Bianchi was buried at the Cemetery of Villa Grugana di Calco of the PIME Missionaries. After Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong had a crypt constructed inside the cathedral of his diocese intended to house the remains of all its previous Ordinaries, his remains were transferred to Hong Kong in 2014 along with those of Bishop Luigi Piazzoli PIME.
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