KIATING, DIOCESE OF. — In the western part of the civil province of Szechwan, in central China. It was erected as an apostolic prefecture under the name of Yachow on 19 July 1929, through division of the apostolic vicariate of Suifu; on 3 March 1933, having grown by the addition of five civil subprefectures ceded by Suifu, it was elevated to an apostolic vicariate; on 9 February 1938, enlarged further by the annexation of the civil subprefecture of Loshan (K.), likewise ceded by the mother mission, it took the name of K., from the city that became the residence of the ordinary; on 11 April 1946, with the establishment of the episcopal hierarchy in China, it was raised to the status of a suffragan diocese of Chungking. From the beginning it was entrusted to the care of the Chinese secular clergy.
As of 30 June 1947, out of a population of approximately 2,600,000, there were 13,345 Catholics and 105 catechumens. Besides the bishop, there were 24 priests, of whom 5 belonged to the diocese of Suifu; the preparatory seminary had 14 students, the minor seminary 32, and the major seminary 14. Auxiliary personnel included 34 religious sisters, 46 catechists, 65 teachers, and 26 baptizers. The territory, divided into 16 parishes and 168 mission stations, had 7 churches and 15 chapels. Among its works were 7 dispensaries, 5 orphanages with 49 residents, 1 hospice for the elderly with 12 guests. The 2 primary schools had 772 pupils, and the 41 prayer and elementary instruction groups had 894 listeners.
The history of the evangelization of K. is closely linked to that of its mother mission, Suifu (v.). Within its territory there are Christian communities whose origins go back more than 120 years. Even the stations founded at the beginning of this century have faithful of exemplary Christian life. Like the rest of Szechwan, the mission of K. has suffered, from the earliest years of its independent existence, from serious social and political upheavals influenced by materialism.