HAINAN, APOSTOLIC PREFECTURE. — It comprises the island of the same name between the southern Chinese Sea and the Gulf of Tonkin. It formed part of the apostolic vicariate of Pakhoi until 15 Apr. 1929, when it was erected as a sui iuris mission and entrusted to the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts (Picpusians), who had been working there since 1923; on 25 May 1936 it was raised to an apostolic prefecture.
It has an area of 35,000 sq. km. As of 30 June 1949, there were 3,196 Catholics and 377 catechumens; 6,000 Protestants and 1,200 Muslims; the remainder, 2,400,000, were pagans. In addition to the apostolic prefect, there were 17 foreign religious priests and 4 Chinese secular priests. Thirteen students were studying in the minor seminary, and none in the regional seminary of Kwangtung in Hong-Kong. The auxiliary personnel included: 32 sisters, 5 Spanish and 27 Chinese; 16 catechists, 31 teachers, 1 physician, and 9 nurses. Scattered throughout the very extensive territory were 8 principal and 20 secondary stations, with 2 churches and 26 oratories or chapels. The institutions included 1 hospital with 60 beds, 6 medical dispensaries, and 2 orphanages housing 134 persons. The 9 elementary schools had a total of 772 pupils.
The first proclamation of the Gospel was brought to this island by the Franciscan Fathers in the sixteenth century; they were succeeded by the Portuguese Jesuits of Macao and then by the Fathers of the Paris Society of Foreign Missions.