CHENGTING, DIOCESE OF. — With the suppression of the Diocese of Beijing in 1856, a papal brief of 3 May of that same year established three apostolic vicariates in the civil province of Hopeh, then called Celi or Chihli: the one with its seat at C. was named the Apostolic Vicariate of Western Celi and retained this name until 3 December 1924, when it took the name of the city where the ordinary resided. From that time it was entrusted to the Congregation of the Mission: the Lazarists. In 1924 the Apostolic Prefecture of Lihsien was erected (today the Diocese of Ankwo, q.v.), which took part of its territory from C.; in 1929, by division of C., the Apostolic Prefecture of Shunteh was erected. On 11 April 1946, C. was raised to the rank of a suffragan diocese of Beijing.
At present C. covers approximately 18,000 sq. km. The total population, as of 30 June 1947, was about 4,000,000, of whom 20,176 were Catholics, distributed among 15 primary stations and 132 secondary ones. There were 16 Italian missionary priests and 13 Chinese priests; 4 foreign lay religious, and 88 sisters, of whom 72 were native. The diocese has suffered considerable damage from the war.