Pope Francis has appointed a priest from the Tsou ethnic community as the new bishop of the Diocese of Chiayi in Taiwan.

February 16, 2022

Bishop-elect Norbert Pu of Chiayi, Taiwan. (Photo: Chinese Regional Episcopal Conference)

ROME: Pope Francis has appointed a priest from the Tsou ethnic community as the new bishop of the Diocese of Chiayi in Taiwan.

Father Norbert Pu, 63, has served as parish priest of Christ the King Church in Putzu since 2017, a Vatican bulletin said February 15 when the appointment was announced.

Bishop-elect Pu is the ninth bishop of Chiayi. He succeeds Archbishop Thomas An-zu Chung, who served the Diocese of Chiayi from 2008 to 2020 before Pope Francis appointed him archbishop in the national capital Taipei.

Born on August 26, 1958 in Alishan, Chiayi, Norbert Pu received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1980 and in theology in 1985 from St. Robert Bellarmine’s Faculty of Theology at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei. He was ordained a priest on January 1, 1987.

He studied theology at Saint Augustine University in Germany from 1994 to 2000 and obtained a master’s degree.

Since his ordination, he has served the Diocese of Chiayi in various roles. He served as parish priest of St. John’s Cathedral Church (1988-94); acting pastor of the Diocesan Pilgrimage Center (2008-09); parish priest of Saint John’s Cathedral (2004-16) and diocesan consultor (2008-09).

He served as Chairman of the Commission for the Aboriginal Apostolate (2009-10) and provided pastoral services to Aboriginal tribes in Taiwan.

Then he was president of the Commission for the Liturgy (2010-11); Spiritual Director of Chiayi Pastoral Regions (2011-13); member of the Cemeteries Commission of the Diocesan Pilgrimage Center and of the Finance Commission (2013-14); spiritual director (2014-15) and member of the Council of Priests (2015-16).

He spent June 2016 to July 2017 to continue his studies in Germany. On his return, he was appointed parish priest of Christ the King Church in Putzu.

Since 2017, he has been a diocesan consultant and a member of the Council of Priests and the Commission for Nursery Schools. Since 2018, he has been Vice President of the Commission for Liturgy and Chaplain of Hong Ren Catholic High School.

The Diocese of Chiayi covers 2,442 square kilometers and includes the city of Chiayi and the counties of Chiayi and Yunlin in the southwestern plains of Taiwan.

The Diocese of Chiayi has about 18,000 Catholics and the estimated population of the diocesan territory is about 1.5 million.

Taiwan is a sovereign and democratic nation with a population of 24 million. Communist China still views Taiwan as a breakaway province, not an independent nation, and has threatened to annex it militarily.

About 2% of Taiwan’s population is from Aboriginal ethnic groups, collectively known as the Austronesian people with linguistic and genetic ties to the people of the Philippines and other Polynesian groups, the Guide to Taipei website says.

According to official statistics, around 35% of Taiwanese are Buddhists, 33% Taoists and around 19% non-religious. Christians make up about 4 percent.

Major Christian denominations include Protestants, Catholics, and Mormons. Presbyterian Christians have played an important role in Taiwanese politics as they have been strongly associated with the Taiwanese democracy movement. Four of its five presidents since 1949 have been Christians.

The Catholic Church in Taiwan has about 300,000 members in one archdiocese and six dioceses, according to church data. A significant number of Catholics are refugees from mainland China and migrants from various countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia.–ucanews.com