Pope establishes Diocese of
Chengde in China
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| Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in China. |
In the context of the Provisional Agreement on the
Appointment of Bishops signed by the Holy See and the People's Republic of
China, Pope Francis decides to establish the Diocese of Chengde in China.
The Diocese of Chengde
Desiring to promote the pastoral care of the Lord’s flock
and to attend with greater efficacy to its spiritual good, the Supreme Pontiff
Pope Francis has decided to constitute in China the Diocese of Chengde, which
will be suffragan to the See of Beijing, with the church of Jesus the Good
Shepherd, situated in the Administrative Division of Shuangluan, “Chengde
City”, as its Cathedral.
A significant part of the territory of the new Diocese
belonged historically to the Apostolic Vicariate of Eastern Mongolia, erected
on the 21st December 1883 and elevated to the Diocese of
Jehol/Jinzhou with the Bull Quotidie Nos of Pope Pius XII on
the 11th April 1946.
The new ecclesiastical circumscription is found in the
province of Hebei. Its territory is defined by the current civil boundaries of
“Chengde City” and thus includes eight rural Districts (Chengde, Xinglong,
Pingquan, Luanping, Longhua, Fengning, Kuancheng and Weichang) and three
Administrative Divisions (Shuangqiao, Shuangluan and Yingshouyingzikuang).
As a result, the ecclesiastical boundaries of the Dioceses
of Jehol/Jinzhou and of Chifeng are being modified, in that a portion of the
territory of each now becomes part of the new Diocese of Chengde. This latter
has an area of 39,519 km2 with a population of about 3.7
million inhabitants, of whom, according to recent estimates, about 25,000 are
Catholics, living in 12 parishes and served by 7 priests, a dozen religious
women and some seminarians.
22nd September 2018
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