HUNGTUNG [HONGTONG], Diocese of. - In the civil and ecclesiastical province of Shansi, in northern China. It was erected as an apostolic prefecture on June 17, 1932, with territory detached from the mission of Lunn, and was entrusted to the Chinese secular clergy; on April 18, 1950, it was elevated to a diocese, suffragan of Taiyuan.
It has an area of approximately 16,000 sq km. As of June 30, 1946, out of a total of 1,300,000 inhabitants, Catholics numbered 12,396 and catechumens 699. The missionary personnel consisted of 28 Chinese priests and 2 foreign priests, with whom 11 catechists, 28 teachers and 92 baptizers collaborated. The students in the preparatory seminary numbered 15, 18 in the minor seminary and 12 in the regional seminary of Suanhwa (v.), which for some years has been transferred to H. The territory, canonically divided, had 8 quasi-parishes; in the remaining part there were 6 primary stations and 3 secondary ones. There were 5 churches and 5 chapels. Among the works were counted 1 dispensary and 1 orphanage with 35 girls. In the three elementary schools 314 children were educated and in the only middle school 120 pupils. The listeners of the 8 schools of prayer and first elements numbered 292.
The first Christians of the territory of H. date from 1760; in 1881 the first house was purchased to serve as a chapel and residence. But Catholicism made no visible progress there until after the persecution of 1900: the following year 2,186 Christians were counted. The mission suffered greatly because of the Sino-Japanese War and then because of the communist civil war.
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Adamo Pucci