HONG KONG (SE): On April 23, 11.00am in Mexico—midnight in Hong Kong [13-hours ahead], the former Pontifical Representative of the Study Mission in Hong Kong, Monsignor Javier Herrera-Corona, was ordained an archbishop at the hands of the Vatican secretary of state, Pietro Cardinal Parolin. The ceremony was held at the church of his diocesan seminary in Autlán, Jalisco, Mexico, where he had been living and working for some time.
The Holy See announced the appointment of Archbishop Herrera-Corona, as nuncio to the Republic of Congo Brazzaville and Gabon and as Titular Archbishop of Vuturara, on February 5. He had to hasten to pack, say goodbye to friends and leave Hong Kong on March 11.
Born in Autlán in 1968, Archbishop Herrera-Corona entered the minor seminary in 1982 and undertook his philosophical and theological studies, respectively, in the major seminaries of Guadalajara and Guadalupe.
He was ordained to the priesthood on 21 September 1993. After one year of parish ministry in his diocese, he was appointed head of the financial committee of the diocesan seminary of Autlán and worked there until 1998. He also taught of philosophy.
In September 1998, he was sent to Rome to obtain a licentiate in Philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Upon completion of his studies in 2000, he joined the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy to prepare for the diplomatic service of the Holy See. In 2003 he completed his doctoral studies in Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
After graduation, he started his diplomatic service as secretary at various apostolic nunciatures: from 2003 to 2006 in Pakistan, from 2007 to 2009 in Perú, from 2010 to 2014 in Kenya, and from 2014 to 2016 in Great Britain. He served at the Study Mission in Hong Kong from July 2016 and became its head in January 2020.
In all posts and services that he was asked to cover, Archbishop Herrera-Corona brought the passion and zeal of a reliable Latin American priest into his work. He paid particular attention to maintaining personal relationships and good rapport with people from different walks of life. He expressed great satisfaction with all his experiences in these various countries: he enjoyed his time, although confronted with dangerous surroundings like in Pakistan.
He worked in Hong Kong for six years, showing a deep commitment to serving the Church in China, Hong Kong and Macau. He had to deal prudently with the increasingly restrictive policy of religious activities in mainland China, with the implementation of several measures to achieve the officially planned sinicisation of religion. He encouraged and provided guidelines to clergy and faithful in the difficult conditions in which they were living, also worsened by the recent spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
His significant contribution to the Hong Kong diocese was completing the challenging and complicated process of providing a suitable new bishop.
The Church in Hong Kong, in particular, remains indebted to him for his dedicated service in Hong Kong, Macau and China.
The Sunday Examiner extends its congratulations and prayers on his episcopal ordination and the new appointment!
