Shanghai Bishop Aloyisius Jin Luxian, who revived the Catholic church in China‘s financial hub after years of Maoist persecution, has died. He was 97.

Ordained in 1938, Jin was imprisoned for nearly two decades under communist China‘s founder Mao Zedong, who ordered Chinese Catholics to cut their ties with the Vatican.

Jin was formally released in 1982 and named Shanghai bishop in 1988 by the Communist Party controlled Patriotic Catholic Association. Although the Vatican recognized another priest as Shanghai bishop, Jin worked tirelessly to recover church property and rebuild congregations.

Jin’s anointed successor, Thaddeus Ma Daqin, was placed under house arrest at Shanghai’s Sheshan Seminary last year after renouncing his membership in the Patriotic Association, enraging communist officials who maintain tight controls on religion.

Jin died Saturday.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News