Michael Fu Tieshan

Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan of Beijing was a top leader of the Catholic Patriotic Association.

Biography

In 1931, Fu was born in Qingyuan County, Hebei province. As a youth, he entered minor seminary. In 1956, he was ordained a priest.
From 1963 to 1966, he studied at Red Flag University in Beijing.
The historical record is unclear on Fu's experience during the Cultural Revolution. At some point, Fu married.
In 1979 was made a bishop by Beijing. He was the first state-appointed bishop since the Cultural Revolution. The appointment lacked the approval of the pope.
In 1981, Fu was a part of the first delegation that the CCPA sent to an international meeting, attending an ecumenical meeting organised by the Canadian Council of Churches.
He was appointed chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association in 1998. He was acting president of the government-recognized Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church in China. He was named vice chairman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress, China's legislature, in 2003.
Fu died in Beijing Hospital from lung cancer. His death was announced in Beijing by the Xinhua news agency.
Anthony Liu Bainian, vice chairman of the Patriotic Association, told UCA News, an Asian church news agency, that Fu wanted to "see his priests, whom he hasn't met for a long time" due to his long illness.
He was succeeded by Joseph Li Shan.