KINGHSIEN, DIOCESE OF — In China, in the south-eastern part of the civil province of Hopeh. Erected as an apostolic prefecture on 24 April 1939, by division of the apostolic vicariate of Sienhsiem, on 9 January 1947 it was raised to the status of a suffragan diocese of Peking. It is entrusted, as was the mother mission, to the Society of Jesus, which sends thither the Religious of the regular province of Austria, who have been on the spot since 1926.
It has an area of 9,500 sq. km. As of 30 June 1947, out of a population of approximately 2,500,000 inhabitants, there were 32,663 Catholics and 161 catechumens. Besides the bishop, there were 33 fathers of the Society of Jesus, of whom 6 were Chinese, and 12 Chinese secular priests. In the preparatory seminary there were 31 pupils, in the minor seminary 15, and in the regional seminary, with its seat at K., 6; there were also 5 scholastic brothers of the Society of Jesus. The auxiliary personnel consisted of 6 coadjutor brothers, 11 sisters (of whom 9 were Chinese), 33 catechists and 27 teachers. The territory, divided into 18 parishes, had 319 Christian communities with 30 churches, 162 chapels and 127 oratories. The works included 1 boys’ college, 1 girls’ college and 18 dispensaries; the 15 elementary schools had 612 pupils, the single middle school 65 and the 13 prayer and elementary schools 92. The regional seminary, canonically erected here in 1941, besides serving the diocese of K., also serves the missions of Sienhsiem, Taming and Yungniem.
When, in May 1856, the civil province of Hopeh was divided into three separate apostolic vicariates, the south-eastern vicariate of Peking, with its seat at Sienhsiem—from which K. originated—was already fairly well evangelized. In the territory now belonging to K., there were in that year 27 Christian communities with 138 faithful; in 1852 the communities had grown to 155 and the faithful to 7,452; in 1938, on the eve of the creation of K., the communities had risen to 293 and the faithful to 30,038, with 2,764 catechumens. The disturbances of recent years have, among other things, caused the closing of the colleges and schools.