Originally, it served to secure the stole, as Durandus (a quo stola pontificis cum ipso cingulo colligatur), Rat., III, 1, 3) and St. Charles Borromeo («subcintorium, quo stola cum cingulo connectitur», Braun, op. cit. in bibl., p. 120, n. 5) state, because the stole was still quite long. Later, the stole was shortened and secured with the cincture itself; the s. became a simple ornament. According to Durandus, it symbolizes bodily chastity, just as the cincture symbolizes that of the soul. The s. had no relation to, nor did it originate from, the Greek epigonation, which was always worn on the right side and was originally an enchirion, a sudarium.
SUCHOW, DIOCESE OF. — In the north-eastern part of the province of Kiangsu, in central China.
It was erected as an apostolic prefecture on 1 July 1931, comprising eight civil sub-prefectures of the apostolic vicariate of Nanking; on 18 June 1935 it was raised to an apostolic vicariate, and on 11 April 1946, with the establishment of the episcopal hierarchy in China, to a diocese, a suffragan of Nanking. It has been entrusted since the beginning to the Society of Jesus, which, for missionary work, sends its members from the regular province of Lower Canada.
It covers an area of 20,000 sq. km. As of 30 June 1947, with a population of 4,500,000, there were 88,329 Catholics and 15,691 catechumens; 49 foreign priests and 27 Chinese priests; 5 major and 5 minor seminarians; 15 lay brothers, of whom 5 were Chinese; 20 sisters, of whom 5 were indigenous. Among the works were 1 hospital, 15 dispensaries, 122 schools with 8,382 pupils.
The missionaries, who settled permanently in the territory of Suchow in 1890, found only 98 Christians of recent date; by 1900 they had risen to 5,171, and by 1929 to 52,349. The population, living in extreme poverty, found in the Church not only faith but also material assistance for their needs and protection against local brigandage.