HANKOW, ARCHDIOCESE OF. — The Apostolic Vicariate of Hupeh, which from 2 Apr. 1856 comprised the entire civil province of the same name in central China, was divided on 11 Sept. 1870 into three distinct vicariates: of Western-Northwestern Hupeh, of Western-Southern Hupeh, and of Eastern Hupeh, which on 3 Dec. were respectively given the names Laohokow, Ichang, and H. The latter underwent a first division on 12 Dec. 1923, giving rise to the three Apostolic Prefectures of Puchi (q.v.), Wuchang, and Hanyang (q.v.); then a second division on 18 July 1929 with the erection of the mission *sui iuris* of Hwangchow, now a diocese under the name of Kirchow, and finally a third division on 17 June 1937, when the Apostolic Prefecture of Suihsien (q.v.) was erected. With the establishment of the episcopal hierarchy in China on 11 Apr. 1946, H. was raised to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese of the ecclesiastical province of Hupeh, with the suffragan dioceses of Hanyang, Ichang, Kirchow, Laohokow, Shihnan, and Wuchang. It is entrusted to the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, which sends Italian religious from the Venetian province for apostolic work.
Within its current boundaries, the archdiocese of H. covers 12,120 sq. km. As of 30 June 1948, the total population was approximately 3 million, of whom 35,072 were Catholics and 12,206 catechumens; the remainder were pagans and followers of Buddhism (about 2 million), Taoism (about 600,000), and Confucianism (about 300,000). The missionary personnel, in addition to the archbishop, included 14 Chinese secular priests and 56 Franciscan friars; 5 Franciscan lay brothers and 7 Marist brothers. There were 48 students in the preparatory seminary, 2 in the minor seminary, and 2 in the regional seminary for Hupeh, which is based in H. and entrusted to the Friars Minor. The sisters, belonging to 4 different institutes, numbered 183, of whom 85 were Chinese; there were also 309 catechists, 335 teachers, 119 baptizers, 16 doctors, and 131 nurses. The territory was divided into 7 districts or deaneries with 29 parishes, 92 primary stations and 317 secondary stations, 29 churches, and 63 chapels. Among the institutions were 4 hospitals with 316 beds, 22 clinics, 3 orphanages with 183 residents, 1 old people’s home with 12 residents. The 34 elementary schools educated 3,727 children, the 3 middle schools had 2,534 pupils, and the 18 prayer and elementary schools had 544 attendees.
The first Christian preaching in Hupeh dates back to the 17th century, carried out by the Jesuits, but it was suppressed by persecutions and did not develop: on 18 Feb. 1820 the Blessed Francis Regis Clet, a Vincentian priest, was strangled there. In 1835 the Blessed John Gabriel Perboyre, also a Vincentian priest and strangled there on 11 Sept. 1840, found only 200 Christians in the three major cities of H., Hanyang, and Wuchang. The movement toward the Catholic Church intensified in the mission of H., especially after 1900 and even more so after the fall of the empire. Brigand bands caused damage and casualties, including Fr. Melotto in 1923, but even greater destruction was wrought by the war between Japan and China and the world war.