Tingchow [Changting], Diocese of

TINGCHOW [CHANGTING], Diocese of. - In the southwestern part of the province of Fukien, in southern China.

It was erected as an apostolic prefecture on 27 Dec. 1923 with the civil subprefecture of the same name, detached from the apostolic vicariate of Northern Fukien, which, on that same date, took the name of apostolic vicariate of Foochow. On 8 May 1947 it was elevated to a diocese, suffragan of Foochow. From the outset it has been entrusted to the Dominicans of the regular province of Cologne. It has an area of about 20,000 sq km. As of 30 June 1947, out of a total population of about 2,000,000 inhabitants, Catholics numbered 3,711 and catechumens 365; priests 22, of whom 1 was Chinese; major seminarians 1 and minor seminarians 10; lay brothers 5; sisters 22, of whom 4 were native. Among the works are 1 hospital, 8 medicine dispensaries, 9 orphanages, 22 schools with 1,316 pupils.

The first evangelical preaching in the territory of T. dates back to the 17th century: in 1663 the Jesuits of Foochow counted 800 Christians at T., where Father Giulio Aleni had built a church, which was later burned down during the persecution, and the Christian community almost disappeared as well. It was able to be revived two centuries later, in 1880, by Father Bernon, of the Foreign Missions of Paris, who settled at Hapahi, where he remained until 1891. In this same year arrived Father Giacomo Garcia, O.P., and the Chinese priest Vincenzo Kiang, who returned to Foochow almost immediately. In 1900 Fathers Bienes and Martin, with other Dominican confreres, found only 52 Catholics in the entire territory: a fairly noticeable progress occurred from 1912 onward. In the first years of autonomous life, the missionaries encountered major obstacles because of the communists, who were already infesting that area: the resumption of work and the considerable development that took place afterward 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.

Adamo Pucci