SIENHSIEN, DIOCESI di. – In the central part of Hopeh province, in northern China.
It was erected, under the name of Apostolic Vicariate of South-Eastern Peking (and subsequently also designated by that of South-Eastern Celi), on 30 May 1856, through the division of the Diocese of Peking, suppressed on the same date, and was entrusted to the Society of Jesus, which, for missionary work, sends there religious from the regular province of Champagne. On 3 June 1921 it ceded territory to the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Shantung (v. YENCHOW); on 3 December 1924 it took its name from the city of S.; on 24 May 1933 it ceded 10 civil subprefectures for the erection of Yung-nien (v.); on 11 April 1935 it ceded another 7 Taming (v.); and on 24 April 1939, through a final division,
gave rise to the Apostolic Prefecture of Kinghsiens (v.). On 11 April 1946, with the establishment of the episcopal hierarchy in China, it was elevated to a suffragan diocese of Peking.
It has an area of 8400 sq. km. As of 30 June 1947, out of a total population of approximately 2,000,000 inhabitants, Catholics numbered 61,600; there were 44 Chinese priests and 8 foreign priests; 35 major seminarians and 52 minor seminarians; 12 Chinese lay brothers and 3 foreign ones; 110 indigenous nuns and 12 foreign ones. By the date mentioned above, political events had already destroyed or caused the closure of the charitable institutions and schools.
At the time of its erection, in 1856, S. comprised 41 civil subprefectures with 9505 faithful, distributed among 132 Christian communities; three Jesuits and two Chinese secular priests were working there. Despite obstacles of every kind, development was immediately considerable and increased further after the Boxer persecution (1900), during which 5 missionaries and 4500 faithful were massacred: in 1870 Catholics numbered 19,612, rising to 50,475 in 1900, to 102,390 in 1920, and to 130,910 in 1929.