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	Bishop and Mrs. White in Chinese garb.

The Spring issue of Rotunda, from the Royal Ontario Museum, celebrates the contribution to its collections by Wycliffe College graduate Bishop William White (1873-1960), who was a missionary in China for 38 years.

As a youth from near Peterborough, White was encouraged towards the ministry by a lay reader in the local church of Norwood. After an unsuccessful application to go as a missionary to Africa, White came to Wycliffe College to study theology. Following ordination in 1897, with missionary postings only available in China, he set off knowing little about where he was going. Settling in Fujian province he learned the local Mandarin dialect, dressed like the locals, and wore his hair long. Following his marriage, he transferred to Fukien province where he served in a variety of capacities especially in the large leper colony. At age 36 he was made bishop of Henan, centred at Kaifeng, where he ministered from 1910.  He coordinated famine relief, and oversaw the construction of many Anglican churches and buildings, including a cathedral opened in 1922. By 1934 when he left, 11 churches with their own Chinese priests had been established. The Anglican mission that White established gained wide recognition throughout China.

At age 60 White embarked on a new career in Toronto as university professor and museum curator. He was responsible for establishing a school of Chinese studies at the university. He left a legacy of Chinese cultural and art objects to the ROM.

Throughout his life White maintained a strong daily devotional life, and recognized God’s hand in all he did. Ambitious, confident, and energetic, Bishop White has left us with an inspiring legacy.

 Wycliffe College gratefully thanks the Royal Ontario Museum for permission to make the article on Bishop White, which appears in Rotunda 38:3 (Spring, 2006), available here.