HANGCHOW [HANGZHOU], ARCHDIOCESE OF. - The civil province of Chekiang, in central-eastern China, until 14 Aug. 1838 was part, together with the provinces of Kiangsi and Fokien, of the apostolic vicariate of Fokien (v. FOOCHOW); on that date two distinct vicariates were erected: that of Fokien and that of Chekiang and Kiangsi. Fokien remained with the Friars Preachers, while Chekiang and Kiangsi was given to the Lazarists.
On 27 March 1846 the Lazarist mission too was divided, to give life to two distinct vicariates: of Chekiang and of Kiangsi. On 10 May 1910 Chekiang was further divided into the apostolic vicariates of western Chekiang and eastern Chekiang. On 3 Dec. 1924 the former took the name of apostolic vicariate of H., the latter of apostolic vicariate of Ningpo. From then on H. underwent no further divisions: only in June 1940 did it cede the district of Kinhwa to the apostolic prefecture of Lishui (v.). With the establishment of the episcopal hierarchy in China, on 11 Apr. 1946, H. was elevated to an archiepiscopal-metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province of Chekiang with the suffragan dioceses of Ningpo and Taichow, to which on 13 May 1948 that of Lishui was added, and on 3 March 1949 that of Yungkia. H. always remained entrusted to the Congregation of the Mission, which sends there the religious of the province of Paris.
It has an area of about 32,000 sq km. As of 30 June 1947 the total population was around 6,000,000 inhabitants, of whom 30,000 Catholics and 2,000 catechumens. The missionary personnel, besides the archbishop, counted 48 Chinese secular priests and 19 French Lazarists; 3 Latin students and 2 philosophy students were studying, for this archdiocese, in the Seminary of Ningpo. The sisters were 115, of whom 94 Chinese. Among the works were 2 orphanages with 400 inmates; 3 hospitals with 50 beds; 22 medical outpatient clinics, which in the year 1946-47 had given 2,680,353 consultations; 4 laboratories. The 3 secondary schools had 669 pupils, the 22 elementary schools 2779 schoolchildren. Earlier statistics reported a fairly large number of catechists, teachers and baptizers, 2 doctors and 13 nurses.
At the time of the preaching of the Pastrovicchi (7th cent.) there were in H. a few thousand Christians, later massacred in the 8th cent. Under the ancient Franciscan mission H. was one of the suffragan sees of the archdiocese of Khambaliq, later destroyed under the Yuan dynasty. There the Cathedral was built through the generosity of an Armenian lady, and another church by Bishop Andrew of Perugia. Bl. Odoric of Pordenone brought to H., from the East Indies, the relics of Bl. Nicholas of Tolentino. In the 16th cent. Christianity re-entered Chekiang through the work of Leone Ly and Michele Yang, Chinese men of letters, baptized by Fr. Matteo Ricci. The Jesuits founded in the city and province several residences (1610-80). Worthy of mention are Frs. de Rocha, Trigault, Froes, Cattaneo, Ribeiro, Martini, Diaz, Verbiest and Intorcetta, almost all of whom died and were buried in H., in the still existing crypt of the cemetery "Ta Fang Tsin". The mission went through grave persecutions in 1691, renewed under the emperor Yong Tcheng (the church built by Fr. Martini in 1661 was then converted into a pagoda, and could be recovered only in 1860); likewise in 1790 and in the following century, especially between 1858 and 1864. In 1858 (when the apostolic vicariate of Chekiang and Kiangsi was erected) there remained only a few groups of the faithful: H., Taofupang (Kiashing), Chuchow and Ningpo.
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Adamo Pucci