Sinkiang, Apostolic Prefecture of

SINKIANG, APOSTOLIC PREFECTURE OF. - It comprises the civil province of the same name, also called Chinese Turkestan or Eastern Turkestan, in northwestern China.

It was erected as a mission sui iuris on 14 February 1930, by detachment of territory from the apostolic vicariate of Lanchow (v.) and was entrusted, like the mother mission, to the religious of the Society of the Divine Word; on 21 May 1937 it was elevated to an apostolic prefecture.

It has an area of 1,828,000 sq km. As of 30 June 1947, out of a population of over 4,000,000 inhabitants, Catholics numbered 471 and catechumens 16. Besides the apostolic prefect, there were 11 foreign priests and 2 Chinese priests, 1 foreign lay brother and 2 Chinese sisters. Among the works was 1 primary school.

From Sian (v.), in the 6th century, the Nestorian heretics pushed as far as the province of S. and founded an archbishopric at Kashgar. Also from Sian, at the beginning of the 19th century, a Chinese priest periodically visited, with a journey of 6,000 km round trip, the 300 faithful who formed the community of Korree, where in 1860 the Rev. Thomas Chang was assigned, who followed the Catholics into their exile at Kuldja, after the capture of Korree by the Muslims (1864). Of the general massacre carried out by the rulers, about forty Christians survived, who did not yield even to the enticements of the popes, who entered S. after the Russian occupation (1871); in 1922 the Verbite religious succeeded the missionaries of Scheut in the government of the apostolic vicariate of Kansu, today Lanchow.

Adamo Pucci