HAICHOW, APOSTOLIC PREFECTURE. — In the northern part of the civil province of Kiangsu, in China. It was erected on 9 June 1949 through the division of the portion of territory that the diocese of Shanghai had north of the missions of Nanchino and Haimen, and was entrusted to the Jesuits of the province of France, who had withdrawn from there, transferring the diocese of Sciangai to the Chinese secular clergy.
It extends over approximately 40,000 sq. km. At the time of its erection it had approximately 8,000,000 inhabitants, of whom 8,500 were Catholics and 500 catechumens.
Apart from one or two stations founded in 1900 and a few unsuccessful attempts made around 1910, the evangelization of this territory did not begin until 1920. The distinctive language, the profoundly superstitious mentality, the greed for gain, the deep-rooted banditry, and the wars that have followed one another almost without interruption since 1926 make this region highly unpromising and almost impossible to win for Christianity. It has been ravaged by the war with Japan and is now being ravaged by Communist domination. There were 17 districts, each headed by a missionary: 11 have been completely destroyed, and only 6 remain relatively active. Five Fathers have been killed, and five others, missing for more than two years, have either died or are prisoners of the Communists.