KINGHSIEN [JING COUNTY], 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 Sienhsien, on 9 January 1947 it was elevated to a diocese, suffragan of Peking. It is entrusted, like the mother mission, to the Society of Jesus, which sends there the Religious of the regular province of Austria, who had 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 about 2,500,000 inhabitants, Catholics numbered 32,663 and catechumens 161. 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 31 students were studying, in the minor seminary 15, and in the regional one, with its seat at K., 6; there were moreover 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 and 1 girls' college and 18 pharmaceutical dispensaries; the 15 elementary schools had 612 pupils, the only middle school 65, and the 13 schools of prayer and first elements 92. The regional seminary, canonically erected here in 1941, serves, besides the diocese of K., the missions of Sienhsien, Taming and Yungnien.
When, in May 1856, the civil province of Hopeh was divided into three distinct apostolic vicariates, that of south-eastern Peking, with its seat at Sienhsien, from which K. originated, was already fairly evangelized. In the territory now belonging to K. there were in that year 27 Christian communities with 1,382 faithful; in 1888 the Christian communities had grown to 155 and the faithful to 7,452; in 1938, on the eve of the erection of K., the Christian communities had risen to 293 and the faithful to 30,038 with 2,764 catechumens. The disturbances of recent years have caused, among other things, the closure of the colleges and schools.
Bibliography3 works
Adamo Pucci