Roman Catholic Diocese of Wanxian

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wanxian (formerly spelled Wanhsien; Latin: Dioecesis Uanscienensis; Chinese: 天主教萬縣教區), also known as Diocese of Wanzhou, is a Latin Catholic diocese located in Wanzhou District (formerly Wanxian), Chongqing in the ecclesiastical province of Chongqing, in the easternmost part of western China. It was established on August 2, 1929 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Wanhsien for the Mission of Sichuan (Szechwan).

Diocese of Wanxian Dioecesis Uanscienensis 天主教萬縣教區 天主教万县教区
Location
Country	China
Ecclesiastical province	Chongqing
Metropolitan	Chongqing
Statistics
Area	20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2009) 1,700,000 60,000 (3.5%)
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	August 2, 1929 (as apostolic vicariate)
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Wanzhou
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Paul He Zeqing
Metropolitan Archbishop	Sede vacante
Map
Wanxian (Ouan-hien) was part of the Eastern Szechwan Mission. Map prepared by Adrien Launay, 1889.

Territory

The Diocese of Wanxian covers Wanzhou District (Ouan-hien) and eight counties in the mountainous area of northern Chongqing, namely, Chengkou, Fengjie, Kaixian, Liangping, Wushan, Wuxi, Yunyang and Zhongxian, totaling approximately 20,000 square kilometers. It is bordered by the Diocese of Shunqing to the west, Diocese of Shinan to the east, Apostolic Prefecture of Xing'anfu to the north, and Archdiocese of Chongqing to the south and southwest.

History

Further information: Catholic Church in Sichuan

• August 2, 1929: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Wanhsien (Ouan-hien) from the Apostolic Vicariate of Chungking (Chongqing; Tchong-kin-fou)
• April 11, 1946: Promoted as Diocese of Wanhsien

Special churches

• Sacred Heart Church at Longbao (龍寶鎭聖心堂), a town located in the suburbs of Wanxian.

Bishops

Vicar Apostolic of Wanhsien

Francis Xavier Wang Zepu, first Vicar Apostolic of Wanhsien

• Francis Xavier Wang Zepu (Wang Tse-pu) (December 16, 1929 – April 11, 1946)

Bishop of Wanhsien

• Francis Xavier Wang Zepu (Wang Tse-pu) (April 11, 1946 – July 3, 1947)

Bishops of Wanxian

• Matthias Duan Yinming (Tuan In-Min) (June 9, 1949 – January 10, 2001)
• Joseph Xu Zhixuan (July 31, 1989 Appointed Coadjutor Bishop;succeeded as ordinary on Jan 10, 2001; Dec 8, 2008 Died)
• Paul He Zeqing (December 13, 2008 – Present)

See also

• Anglican Diocese of Szechwan

References

• "Diocese of Wanxian". gcatholic.org. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
• "Diocese of Wanxian [Wanhsien]". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved October 24, 2023.