Chow was appointed Bishop of Hong Kong on 17 May 2021. The see had been vacant since 3 January 2019, when
Michael Yeung died after less than two years in office. His appointment was described as a surprise by the Jesuit magazine
America given that he had not been mentioned as one of the likely candidates for the post. The
Union of Catholic Asian News had mentioned in January 2019 that two of the candidates were Jesuits, without naming them. Chow later revealed that he initially declined the bishop's title in December 2020 because he thought the post should go to a member of the
secular clergy. He relented after receiving a handwritten letter from
Pope Francis. He was consecrated on 4 December 2021. During his first
Chrism Mass as bishop in April 2022, Chow expressed support for
ordained female priests, saying in a homily, "I turn to English, just to address our ordained brothers, and I hope one day maybe ordained sister[s] too.” In April 2023, Chow visited the
archdiocese of Beijing. He met with Archbishop
Joseph Li Shan, visited several churches and the
Zhalan Cemetery that holds the tombstone of
Matteo Ricci. During the visit he told the press: "Everyone would like to see their own country do well, no one wants it to do badly. I think it’s everyone’s duty to be patriotic if you're a citizen in Hong Kong or mainland China." His was the first Beijing visit by a Hong Kong bishop since 1985. After returning to Hong Kong, he elaborated further on his call to patriotism. He said:"Like many Hongkongers, I grew up during the colonial era when national sentiment and identity could hardly be part of our consciousness. It can be said that our blood does not carry any love for the nation...It requires extra effort to alter this mentality and it is even more difficult to do so after experiencing the social and political changes over the past decade...I believe both the central and local governments are also aware of this. We really need guidance from the Holy Spirit so we can love our country and our churches at the same time." He also called for dialogue with the government and that people should help the government improve for the sake of the country. In May 2023, Chow commented that he did not believe the Vatican-China deal was 'dead', despite disputes regarding Beijing's unilateral installation of bishops. He also said that "The fate of the church in China is inseparable from that of the country, as all the people of the church are also Chinese."On 9 July 2023, Pope Francis announced he plans to make him a cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 30 September. Chow commented on the appointment: At the aforementioned consistory, he was made Cardinal-Priest of
San Giovanni Battista de La Salle. He was subsequently appointed a member of the
Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. He participated as a
cardinal elector in the
2025 papal conclave that elected
Pope Leo XIV. He has been praised by state media in China as a 'bridge-builder'. ==References==