SUIHSIEN [SUIZHOU], APOSTOLIC PREFECTURE OF. - In the north-eastern part of the province of Hupeh, in central China.

It was erected on 17 June 1937 with 3 civil sub-prefectures of the apostolic vicariate of Hankow (v.) and was entrusted to the Order of Friars Minor, which, for the missionary work, sends there the religious of the Irish regular province of St. Patrick.

It has an area of 12,000 sq km. As of 30 June 1947, out of a total population of about 1,200,000 inhabitants, Catholics numbered 8,886; foreign priests 15 and Chinese 3; major seminarians 7, minor seminarians 20; nuns 5, all Chinese. Among the works were 2 hospitals, 4 medicine dispensaries, 1 orphanage, 51 schools with 2,885 pupils.

The first preaching of the Gospel in the territory of S. dates back to the second half of the 17th century; in 1686 the Jesuit Giacomo Motel erected a church in Anlu, the capital city of the civil sub-prefecture of the same name. At the time of its erection, Catholics numbered 7,000 and catechumens 1,300, with 13 churches and 29 oratories.

Bibliography4 works

BIBL.: Arch. di Prop. Fide, Incurto erezione S. 1937; AAS, 30 (1938), pp. 5-6; Annuarie de l'Eglise catholique en Chine 1948, Sciangni 1948; MC, 1950, p. 365.

Adamo Pucci

@incollection{ec11_suihsien_prefettura_apostolica, author = {Pucci, Adamo}, title = {Suihsien, prefettura apostolica di}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XI}, pages = {1496}, 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/suihsien-prefettura-apostolica-di} }

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Suihsien [Suizhou], Apostolic Prefecture of

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