He was a member of the 8th, 9th, and 10th National Committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Yu was born in Chongming District of Shanghai, on August 27, 1917, to a Catholic family.
After high school, he entered the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Haimen and then studied theology at the Xuhui Catholic Church.
In November 1959 he was made Bishop of Haimen without the consent of the pope and was excommunicated latae sententiae.
He was among several Chinese priests who became bishops without a papal mandate in the People's Republic of China between 1958 and 1962.