Zong Huaide

Zong Huaide (1917-1997) was chairman of the China Catholic Bishops College, chairman of the China Patriotic Catholic Association, dean of the Chinese Catholic Academy of Theology and Philosophy and bishop of the Jinan Parish in Shandong Province.

Zong was born into a Catholic family in Shandong Province. In 1930, he began to study theology and graduated seven years later. In 1943, he was appointed as a priest and started the missionary work. And he took an active part in the resistance against Japanese invaders.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, he called on the Chinese Catholic to shake off foreign controls and embark on a road of self-independence. He devoted much of his energy in the cultivation of Chinese Catholic and acted as the chief of Chinese Catholic Academy of Theology and Philosophy.

In 1992, he was voted as chairman of the China Catholic Bishops College and chairman of the China Patriotic Catholic Association. In 1997, he died in Beijing.