Thomas Tien Ken-sin, SVD (Chinese: 田耕莘; pinyin: Tián Gēngxīn; October 24, 1890 – July 24, 1967) was a Chinese Cardinal of the Catholic Church and chair of Fu Jen Catholic University. He served as ArchbishopofPeking from 1946 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 by Pope Pius XII.
His Eminence Thomas Tien Ken-hsin
SVD
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|---|---|
| Cardinal, Archbishop of Beijing | |
 | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Archdiocese | Beijing |
| Province | Hopeh |
| See | Beijing |
| Installed | 1946 |
| Term ended | July 24, 1967 |
| Predecessor | Paul Léon Cornelius Montaigne |
| Successor | Matthias Pei Shang-de |
| Other post(s) | Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Via |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | June 9, 1918 |
| Consecration | October 29, 1939 |
| Created cardinal | February 18, 1946 byPope Pius XII |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1890-10-24)October 24, 1890 |
| Died | July 24, 1967(1967-07-24) (aged 76) Taipei, Taiwan |
| Buried | St. Joseph the Wonder Worker Church (Cardinal Tien Memorial Church), Chiayi City |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Parents | Kilian Tien Ken-sin Maria Yang |
| Previous post(s) |
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| Coat of arms |  |
| Styles of Thomas Tien Ken-sin | |
|---|---|
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
Thomas Tien Ken-sin was born in Chantsui, Yanggu, (Shantung province) to Kilian Tien Ken-sin and his wife Maria Yang. Baptized in 1901, he studied at the seminaryinYenchowfu before being ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Augustin Henninghaus on June 9, 1918. Tien then did pastoral work in the Yangku Mission until 1939. He entered the Society of the Divine Word on March 8, 1929, in the Netherlands, taking his first vows on February 2, 1931, and his final ones on March 7, 1935. He was raised to Apostolic Prefect of Yangku on February 2, 1934.
On July 11, 1939, Tien was appointed Apostolic Vicar of Yangku and Titular BishopofRuspae. He received his episcopal consecration on the following October 29 from Pope Pius XII himself, with Archbishops Celso Constantini and Henri Streicher, MAfr, serving as co-consecrators. Tien was later made Apostolic Vicar of Qingdao on November 10, 1942.
He was elevated to Cardinal PriestofSanta Maria in ViabyPope Pius XII in the consistory of February 18, 1946. Tien, the first cardinal from China, was then named, on April 11 of that same year, the first ArchbishopofBeijing in post-Yuan Dynasty China.[1] In 1951 he was exiled from China by the Communist regime, and spent this time in Illinois in the United States, to where he came that year for treatment of a heart ailment.[2] He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 1958 papal conclave which selected Pope John XXIII, and was Apostolic AdministratorofTaipei from December 16, 1959 to 1966. From 1962 to 1965, he attended the Second Vatican Council, and voted in the 1963 papal conclave, which selected Pope Paul VI.
Tien died in Taipei on July 24, 1967, at age 76. He is buried in the St. Joseph the Wonder Worker Church at Chiayi City.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Vicar Apostolic of Qingdao 1936–1946 |
Elevated to diocese |
| New diocese | Bishop of Qingdao | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Archbishop of Beijing 1946–1967 |
Succeeded by
Joseph Li Shan |
| Preceded by
Joseph Kuo Joshih |
Apostolic AdministratorofTaipei 1959–1966 |
Succeeded by
Stanislaus Lo Kuang |
| Preceded by | Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Via 1946–1967 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | — TITULAR — Bishop of Ruspae 1939–1946 |
Succeeded by |
