Luo Wenzao

The Most Reverend Luo Wenzao OP
Bishop of Nanjing
Portrait of Luo wearing Qing headwear and a crucifix
Native name	羅文藻
Church	Catholic Church
Diocese	Nanjing
In office	1685–1690 (apostolic vicar) 1690–1691 (bishop)
Successor	Giovanni Francesco Nicolai
Other post(s)	Titular Bishop of Basilinopolis
Orders
Ordination	1654
Consecration	1685 by Bernardino della Chiesa
Personal details
Born	c. 1610s Fu'an, Fujian, China
Died	(1691-02-27)27 February 1691 Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	羅文藻
Simplified Chinese	罗文藻
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Luó Wénzǎo Wade–Giles Lo2 Wên2-tsao3 IPA [lwǒ wə̌n.tsàʊ]
Courtesy name
Chinese	汝鼎
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Rǔdǐng
Art name
Chinese	存鼎
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wǒcún

Luo Wenzao^[a] OP (c. 1610s – 27 February 1691) was the first person of Chinese ethnicity to be appointed as a Catholic bishop. After the Qing dynasty proscribed Christianity and banished foreign missionaries in 1665, Luo became the only person in charge of the Catholic missions in China. In 1674, the Holy See first appointed Luo as a bishop. He declined it but accepted his second appointment in 1679. Due to opposition from Dominicans, he was consecrated as the apostolic vicar of Nanjing in 1685 and held the position until his death in 1691.

Although a Dominican himself, Luo held tolerant views that were closer to those of Jesuits in the Chinese Rites controversy. Luo was an active participant in the controversy: he consecrated Chinese priests and argued for the acceptance of Chinese rituals for the sake of preserving the early Catholic Church in China. Luo had studied at the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, and in addition to his Chinese heritage, Luo was proficient in Spanish and Latin.

Along with other Dominicans, Luo edited Xingshen Shiyi (Chinese: 形神實義; lit. 'The True Meanings of the Body and the Spirit'), a 1673 Chinese Catholic theology book by Raimundo del Valle. Luo also wrote a Latin epitaph in 1690; he is the namesake of Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan. His date of birth is not known and there remains controversy over his real name.
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