CHANGSHA, ARCHDIOCESE OF. - Mission entrusted to the Italian Franciscans in China in the province of Hunan. Its area is 22,820 sq. km.; the population slightly exceeds 5 million. In this territory the preaching of the Gospel goes back to the second half of the 17th century. In 1856 the province of Hunan, detached from Hupeh, was erected as a mission in its own right and entrusted to the Franciscans, and in 1879, when this was divided into two missions, southern and northern Hunan, Changsha remained the residence of southern Hunan. After the insurrection of 1900 the works rose again and the Christian community was reconstituted, though it suffered grave setbacks in the aftermath of the war with Japan. Nevertheless the work never came to a halt, and the mission gave rise to other daughter foundations as well: Yungchow-fu in 1925, Hengchow in 1930, Siangtan in 1938, all entrusted to the Franciscans.
From 11 April 1946, C. has been elevated to an archdiocese-metropolis of the Hunan ecclesiastical province, at present with 3 suffragan dioceses: Changteh, Hengchow and Yuanling. As of 30 June 1948 the missionary personnel of C. consisted of 16 Italian fathers, 2 German, 1 Yugoslav and 5 Chinese secular priests. The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary were 13, of whom 5 were Chinese, and the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9, all Chinese. There were 54 catechists, 78 teachers, 12 doctors dependent on the mission and 15 nurses. The schools: 10 elementary with 759 pupils, 2 secondary with 157 students. Works of charity: 2 hospitals, 10 dispensaries, 2 orphanages, 2 homes for the aged. On the same date Catholics numbered 9,081 and catechumens 1,038; the Protestants in the mission were about 6,000.
Bibliography4 works
Giovanni B. Tragella
