WANHSIEN [WANZHOU], Diocese of. - In the eastern part of the province of Szechwan, in central-western China.

It was erected as an apostolic vicariate on 2 Aug. 1929 with 10 civil sub-prefectures of the mission of Chungking (v.) and was entrusted to the Chinese secular clergy. On 11 Apr. 1946, with the establishment of the episcopal hierarchy in China, it was elevated to a diocese, suffragan of Chungking.

It has an area of about 20,000 sq km. As of 30 June 1947, out of a total population of about 5,000,000 inhabitants, Catholics numbered 21,393; priests 43; major seminarians 13, minor seminarians 67; nuns 14, of whom 7 were foreign. Among the works were 3 orphanages, 2 medicine dispensaries, 113 schools with 2,930 pupils.

The history of the evangelization of the mission of W. is the same as that of the mother mission of Chungking (v.); at the time of its erection (1929), 22,960 Christians were ceded to W.

Bibliography4 works

BIBL.: AAS, 22 (1930), pp. 129-30; GM, p. 212; Annuaire de l'Église cath. en Chine 1948, Shanghai 1948, passim; MC, 1950, p. 358.

Adamo Pucci

@incollection{ec12_wanhsien_diocesi_di, author = {Pucci, Adamo}, title = {Wanhsien, diocesi di}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XII}, pages = {1649}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1954}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/wanhsien-diocesi-di} }

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Wanhsien [Wanzhou], Diocese of

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