HAICHOW, APOSTOLIC PREFECTURE OF
In the northern part of the civil province of Kiangsu, in China. It was erected on 9 June 1949 by dividing the territory north of the missions of Nanking and Haimen, which had belonged to the diocese of Shanghai, and was entrusted to the Jesuits of the French province, who have since withdrawn, handing over the diocese of Siangai to the Chinese secular clergy.
It covers approximately 40,000 sq. km. At the time of its creation, it had about 8,000,000 inhabitants, of whom 8,500 were Catholics and 500 catechumens.
Except for one or two posts founded in 1900 and a few unsuccessful attempts made around 1910, the evangelization of this territory did not begin until 1920. The peculiar language, the deeply superstitious mentality, the greed for gain, entrenched brigandage, and the wars that have followed one another almost without interruption since 1926 make this region very ungrateful and almost impossible for Christian conquest. It has been further afflicted by the war with Japan and is now 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, are either dead or prisoners of the communists.