The appointment of Bishop Zen, an outspoken campaigner for the rights of persecuted Roman Catholics, is seen as a sign that the Pope intends to combine dialogue with Beijing with an assertion of religious freedom. The Vatican estimates that it has eight million followers in China, compared with five million who follow the official state-run Church.

It had been widely thought that Bishop Zen was the “secret cardinal”, named by the late John Paul II in 2003. Popes can keep the name of a cardinal secret if the appointment is politically sensitive or if disclosure is likely to endanger the prelate in question.

Speculation over John Paul’s secret cardinal had also focused on Monsignor Stanislaw Dzywysz, his former secretary and now Archbishop of Cracow. However Archbishop Dzywysz was also named a cardinal yesterday.

Vatican officials said that the identity of John Paul’s secret cardinal may never be known.