SUANHWA [XUANHUA], Diocese of. - In the southern part of the province of Chahar in northern China.

It was erected as an apostolic vicariate on 10 May 1926 with 9 civil subprefectures detached from the mission of Peking (v.) and was entrusted to the Chinese secular clergy; on 11 April 1946, with the establishment of the episcopal hierarchy in China, it was elevated to a diocese suffragan of Peking. On 8 January 1948 the part of the city of Kalgan west of the river that crosses it was detached from S. and incorporated into the neighboring mission of Siwantze.

It has an area of 50,000 sq km. As of 30 June 1947, out of a total population of 1,700,000 inhabitants, Catholics numbered 36,900; the priests 54, of whom 2 were foreign; major seminarians 3, minor seminarians 50; nuns 43. The charitable works and the schools, as of the aforementioned date, had been closed because of political events.

Administered at first by the Jesuits, at least from 1724, the territory of S. passed to the Lazarists in 1785 and counted, at that date, about 3000 Christians. In 1900 the Boxer persecution destroyed five of the seven residences and more than 2000 faithful were massacred.

Bibliography4 works

BIBL.: AAS, 18 (1926), pp. 377-78; GM, p. 209; Ann. de l'Egl. cath. en Chine 1948, Sciangai 1948, passim; MC, 1950, pp. 314-15.

Adamo Pucci

@incollection{ec11_suanhwa_diocesi_di, author = {Pucci, Adamo}, title = {Süanhwa, diocesi di}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XI}, pages = {1452}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1953}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/suanhwa-diocesi-di} }

One of some 20,000 entries brought back from the twelve printed volumes (1948–54). Spotted something? Help us improve it.

Suanhwa [Xuanhua], Diocese of

About this entry