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The ordination ceremony was carried out at Chengde's Pingquan Church
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China's state-backed Catholic church has ordained a bishop, without the approval of Pope Benedict XVI.
Guo Jincao's ordination was carried out in the north-eastern city of Chengde amid a strong security presence.
It was not immediately clear if bishops loyal to the Pope were forced to attend the ceremony as the Vatican had feared.
China's millions of Catholics are split between followers of Pope Benedict XVI and members of a state-backed church, the Patriotic Chinese Church.
The Vatican and Beijing have had no diplomatic ties since the 1950s, when Beijing expelled foreign clergy.
However, the Vatican and the state-backed Church have since reached a tacit agreement on the appointment of new bishops, the BBC's David Willey says.
But the Vatican warned earlier this week that it would regard any attempt by Beijing to force Chinese Catholic bishops, who were in communion with Rome, to attend the ceremony in Chengde as a grave violation of freedom of religion and of conscience.
This would also damage relations between China and the Vatican, the Pope's spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said.
There are an estimated 10 million Catholics in China, most of whom belong to the Patriotic Chinese Catholic Church.
But there are several million more who belong to an underground Catholic Church, which accepts the sole authority of the Pope in Rome to appoint new bishops.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The ordination ceremony was carried out at Chengde's Pingquan Church Related stories
China's state-backed Catholic church has ordained a bishop, without the approval of Pope Benedict XVI.
Guo Jincao's ordination was carried out in the north-eastern city of Chengde amid a strong security presence.
It was not immediately clear if bishops loyal to the Pope were forced to attend the ceremony as the Vatican had feared.
China's millions of Catholics are split between followers of Pope Benedict XVI and members of a state-backed church, the Patriotic Chinese Church.
The Vatican and Beijing have had no diplomatic ties since the 1950s, when Beijing expelled foreign clergy.
However, the Vatican and the state-backed Church have since reached a tacit agreement on the appointment of new bishops, the BBC's David Willey says.
But the Vatican warned earlier this week that it would regard any attempt by Beijing to force Chinese Catholic bishops, who were in communion with Rome, to attend the ceremony in Chengde as a grave violation of freedom of religion and of conscience.
This would also damage relations between China and the Vatican, the Pope's spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said.
There are an estimated 10 million Catholics in China, most of whom belong to the Patriotic Chinese Catholic Church.
But there are several million more who belong to an underground Catholic Church, which accepts the sole authority of the Pope in Rome to appoint new bishops.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.