The Roman Catholic Diocese of Chengdu (formerly spelt Chengtu) is a suffragan Latin Catholic diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Chongqing covering southwestern China's Sichuan area, yet depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Established on 15 October 1696 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Szechwan, its episcopal see is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (colloquially known as Ping'anqiao Church) located in the city of Chengdu. The Diocese of Chengdu is the first bishopric of the Catholic Church in Sichuan (Szechwan), since the separation of the mission's eastern territory in 1856, it was designated Western Szechwan Mission.

Extent

The diocese, based in Chengdu, covers 4 cities, namely, Chengdu (Tchen-tou-fou), Deyang (Te-yang-hien), Guangyuan (Koang-yuen-hien) and Mianyang (Mien-tcheou-hien), and 37 districts and counties, totaling an area of 54,900 square kilometers. It is bordered by the Diocese of Kangding to the west, Diocese of Shunqing to the east, Diocese of Jiading to the south, Diocese of Qinzhou to the northwest, and Diocese of Hanzhong to the northeast. No recent statistics available.

History

Généalogie des juridictions MEP au Sichuan avec ses rattachements.png ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Sichuan (Szechwan), with its three attachments: Tibet, Yunnan and Guizhou (Kweichow).]] One of the headquarters of the Spanish Redemptorist missions in Sichuan was based in the Apostolic Vicariate of Chengtu.

Episcopal ordinaries

All Roman Rite; so far, like other members of Latin congregations, it has ministered by European missionaries for most of its history.

Sources and external links