Joseph Zen
Bishop of Hong Kong
Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, SDB (Chinese: 陳日君, born 13 January 1932) is a Chinese Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Hong Kong from 2002 to 2009. He was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 and has been outspoken on issues regarding human rights, political freedom, and religious liberty. He is a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
Zen's strong ties with Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp often attract criticism from the pro-Beijing camp and the government of China. Zen retired on 15 April 2009, but remains a strong pro-democracy influence in Hong Kong. On 11 May 2022, he was arrested by the National Security Police and later that day released on bail.
Life and career
Joseph Zen was born in Shanghai to Catholic parents, Vincent Zen and Margaret Tseu. He studied in a church school during the Second Sino-Japanese War, but was sent to an abbey after his father suffered a stroke.
After entering the Salesians at the Hong Kong novitiate in 1948, he was ordained to the priesthood on 11 February 1961 by Cardinal Maurilio Fossati. Zen obtained a licentiate in theology (1961) and a doctorate in philosophy (1964) from the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q470052. VIAF identifies the subject as 49539147. The Library of Congress control number is nb2010025626. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1932, 2002, 2009 and 2006.
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