KIENOW, APOSTOLIC PREFECTURE of. - In the northern part of the civil province of Fukien, in central China. It was erected as a mission sui iuris, under the name of Kienning, on 6 May 1931, by division of the apostolic vicariate of Foochow, and on 8 Jan. 1938 it was raised to an apostolic prefecture under the name of K. It is entrusted to the Dominicans of the regular province of St. Joseph in the United States of America, who had been present there since 1923. As an apostolic prefecture, it depends directly on the Holy See.
It has an area of 11,000 sq. km. As of 30 June 1950, out of a population of 1,325,258 inhabitants, there were 3,000 Catholics and 258 catechumens; there were 2,500 Episcopalian Protestants, the remainder being pagans. The Fathers, including the apostolic prefect, numbered 15, of whom 3 were Chinese; there were 3 students
in the minor seminary and 2 in the regional seminary based at Foochow. The auxiliary personnel consisted of 2 Dominican lay brothers, 8 sisters, 35 catechists, and 30 baptizers.
The Christian community of Kuaten, in the mountainous north-western part of the prefecture, originated from Catholics who had taken refuge there, especially from the neighbouring civil province of Kiangsi, in order to escape persecution after the middle of the eighteenth century; they remained faithful, although deprived of a priest for many years. Evangelical preaching in the rest of the territory dates from the beginning of our century.