It was 100 years ago—on Sept. 12, 1921—when the Maryknoll Sisters assigned its first group of sisters to China, the order’s first mission.

A new bishop has been installed in China’s Wuhan Diocese, making him the latest to be ordained under a deal between the Vatican and China.

While the Holy See continues to dialogue with the Chinese government, the church is proud of Catholics who have held on to their faith in the country, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.

Father Anthony Li Hui is the fifth Chinese bishop appointed under the terms of a Vatican-China agreement signed in 2018 and renewed in 2020, the Vatican press office said.

While May 24 has been celebrated with prayer for and with the church in China every year since 2008, Francis’ message on Sunday comes at the end of a week in which a number of troubling news reports reached the Vatican.

Bishop-designate Stephen Chow Sau-yan told Hong Kong media people must start with a sense of faith and not assume Beijing is the enemy, and he hoped for dialogue to develop a better understanding.