Li Baoyu

Li was born into a poor peasant family who were devout adherents of the Catholic faith. He left home in 1920 to seek a monastic life and was consecrated a priest in 1933. From 1935 to 1938, Li studied at Beijing’s Furen University (the Catholic University of Peking), after which he engaged in pastoral work in various counties including Zhouzhi, Huxian, Xinping, and Wugong. After liberation, he immediately expressed his support for the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Government. In 1950, he attended the first Conference of Personages of Various Circles of Zhouxian as a representative of the religious circles. In 1951, appointed superintendent bishop, he urged all Catholic believers to participate in land reform and the campaign for resisting U. S. aggression and aiding Korea. He was regarded as an outstanding patriot within the Chinese Catholic Church.

In 1956, Li attended the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association Sponsors’ Conference in Beijing. He addressed the First Representative Conference of the Chinese Catholic Church in 1957 on “The Present Situation of the Patriotic Movement of the Chinese Catholic Church and Its Future Tasks.” He was concurrently vice-chairperson of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and chairperson of Shaanxi Provincial Catholic Patriotic Association. During the Cultural Revolution, he was framed and imprisoned for five years. He was rehabilitated in 1978. He died two years later from illness. On 26 Feb 1990, the tenth anniversary of his death, a memorial service was held in his native town by the Shaanxi Provincial Catholic.