Simon Zhu Kaimin

Simon Zhu Kaimin, SJ (Chinese: 朱开敏; 30 October 1868 - 22 February 1960) was a Chinese Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Jiangsu. He was also a member of the Society of Jesus.

His Excellency, The Most Reverend Simon Zhu Kaimin SJ
Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Haimen
Simon Zhu Kaimin in December 1926.
Native name	朱开敏
Archdiocese	Roman Catholic Diocese of Haimen
Province	Jiangsu
Installed	August 2, 1926
Term ended	February 22, 1960
Predecessor	New position
Successor	Mark Yuan Wen-zai
Orders
Ordination	by Pope Pius XI
Personal details
Born	(1868-10-30)October 30, 1868 Shanghai, Qing dynasty
Died	February 22, 1960(1960-02-22) (aged 91) Haimen, Jiangsu, China
Nationality	Chinese
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Parents	Zhu Puzhai (朱朴斋) Ma Jianshu (马健淑)
Coat of arms
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	朱開敏
Simplified Chinese	朱开敏
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhū Kāimǐn

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhu.

Name

His given name is Ximeng (Chinese: 希孟). His Zi is Mingde (Chinese: 铭德). His Hao is Jiqiu (Chinese: 季球) and Kaimin (Chinese: 开敏).

Biography

Zhu was born in Shanghai, on October 30, 1868 to a fisherman's family. His ancestral home in Qingpu County, Jiangsu Province. His ancestor Ma Tingluan (Chinese: 马廷鸾) was the prime minister of the Southern Song. Their family has believed in Catholicism since the Ming dynasty. His mother Ma Jianshu (马健淑) was the elder sister of Ma Xiangbo, founder of Fudan University.

In 1883 he studied Latin at the Dongjiadu Catholic Church (Chinese: 董家渡小修院) and then studied theology at Xujiahui Catholic Church (Chinese: 徐家汇大修院). He joined the Society of Jesus on September 9, 1888. He was ordained a priest on June 28, 1898.

On August 2, 1926, he was appointed bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Haimen by the Pope Pius XI. On October 28, 1926, he and five other Chinese priests (Odoric Cheng Hede, Philippus Zhao Huaiyi, Hu Ruoshan, Melchior Sun Dezhen, and Chen Guodi) were ordained bishops by Pope Pius XI in Rome. Then they had traveled to France, Belgium and other countries.

He returned to China in March 1927 and founded Xilei Middle School (Chinese: 天主教锡类中学) that same year.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, he actively raised funds to support the fight against the Empire of Japan.

At the beginning of 1949, he lived in Shanghai. He returned to Haimen in 1955. In 1958 Matthew Yu Chengcai was proposed as the new bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Haimen, Zhu reported the result to the Holy See. On January 15, 1959, Zhu was labeled as a rightist by the Communist government. Zhu was brought to be persecuted and suffered political persecution. On November 15, 1959, Matthew Yu Chengcai was consecrated as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Haimen in Nanjing, but it was not recognized by the Holy See.

Zhu died of illness on February 22, 1960. He was buried in the Tomb of Yuangongsuo (Chinese: 袁公所墓地). In 1966, Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution, his tomb was completely destroyed by the Red Guards. He was rehabilitated on May 15, 1980.