TINGCHOW, DIOCESE OF
In the south-western part of the province of Fukien, in southern China.
It was erected as an apostolic prefecture on 27 December 1923 with the homonymous civil subprefecture, detached from the apostolic vicariate of Northern Fukien, which on the same date took the name of apostolic vicariate of Foochow. On 8 May 1947 it was raised to the status of diocese, suffragan of Foochow. From the beginning it has been entrusted to the Dominicans of the regular province of Cologne. It covers an area of approximately 20,000 sq km. As of 30 June 1947, out of a total population of approximately 2,000,000 inhabitants, there were 3,711 Catholics and 365 catechumens; 22 priests, of whom Chinese; 1 major seminary and 10 minor seminaries; 5 lay brothers; 22 sisters, of whom 4 native. Among the works are 1 hospital, 8 dispensaries, 9 orphanages, and 22 schools with 1,316 pupils.
The first evangelical preaching in the territory of Tingchow dates back to the 18th century: in 1663 the Jesuits of Foochow counted 800 Christians in Tingchow, where Father Giulio Aleni had built a church, which was later burned down during persecution and the Christian community almost disappeared. It was revived two centuries later, in 1880, by Father Bernon of the Paris Foreign Missions, who settled in Hapahi, where he remained until 1891. In that same year Father Giacomo Garcia, O.P., and the Chinese priest Vincenzo Kiang arrived; the latter soon returned to Foochow. In 1900 Fathers Bienes and Martin, along with other Dominican confreres, found only 52 Catholics throughout the territory: a fairly noticeable progress occurred from 1912 onwards. In the early years of its autonomous existence, the missionaries encountered major obstacles due to the communists, who were already infesting that area; the resumption of work and the considerable development that followed were cut short by the great war between China and Japan, which placed the German personnel of the mission in a difficult and dangerous position.