Roman Catholic Diocese of Suzhou

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Suzhou (Latin: Dioecesis Suceuvensis, Chinese: 天主教苏州教区) is a diocese located in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China, under the Ecclesiastical Province of Nanjing. It covers the entire city of Suzhou.[1]

Diocese of Suzhou

Dioecesis Suceuvensis

天主教苏州教区
Cathedral of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, Suzhou
Location
CountryChina
Ecclesiastical provinceEcclesiastical Province of Nanjing
MetropolitanNanjing
Statistics
Area8,488[1] km2 (3,277 sq mi)
Information
RiteLatin Rite
Established1949
CathedralCathedral of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, Suzhou
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopJoseph Xu Honggen
Metropolitan ArchbishopFrancis Savio Lu Xinping

History

Ming dynasty

The Italian Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci introduced Catholicism into Jiangsu in 1599. He stayed in Suzhou in January of that year. In 1616, Giulio Aleni founded a church in Changshu, which is currently a city in the Suzhou Diocese.[2][3]

Qing dynasty

In Suzhou city, Italian missionaries established the first Catholic church in 1649. By 1664, there were over 500 Catholics in Suzhou city and over 10,000 Catholics in Changshu.[3]

In 1724, the Yongzheng Emperor proscribed Catholicism in China.[4] His son, the Qianlong Emperor, continued the practice.[5] In 1814, the Jiaqing Emperor further codified the prohibition of general Christianity.[6] The Daoguang Emperor rescinded most anti-Christian edicts in 1844.[5]

In 1853, the Mission sui iuris of Suzhou was established. It later became a deanery under the Jiangnan Apostolic Prefecture in 1855.[3]

Republic of China

In 1922, the Deanery of Suzhou was included under the newly established Jiangsu Apostolic Prefecture, which changed its name to Nanjing Apostolic Prefecture in 1926.[7] The Shanghai Apostolic Prefecture, which contained the Suzhou Deanery, was separated from the Nanjing Prefecture in 1933, and became a diocese in 1946.[7] The Suzhou Deanery was elevated into a diocese and separated from the Shanghai Diocese on 9 June 1949.[8][9][3]

People's Republic of China

Upon the founding of the PRC, there were about 34 clergy members and 31,350 Catholics in the diocese.[3] During the Cultural Revolution, many historical churches of the diocese were damaged. Church activities gradually resumed in the 1980s.[1] In 1992, there were about 8 priests, 18 nuns, and 50,000 Catholics in the diocese.[3]

Yushan Forum

Since 2018, the diocese has been a co-sponsor of the Yushan Forum (Chinese: 渔山论坛), according to the Bureau of Religious and Ethnic Affairs of Suzhou (Chinese: 苏州市民族宗教事务局). The forum's topics of each time are listed below:

  • October 2018: The Sinicization of Catholic Literature and Art[10]
  • January 2022, September 2022: Adherence to the Sinicization of Catholicism[11][12]

Bishops
Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei, first bishop of Suzhou in 1949

The first bishop of Suzhou was Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei (simplified Chinese: 龚品梅; traditional Chinese: 龔品梅). He was consecrated in 1949. Later he was arrested in 1955 and released in 1985. He left China for the United States in 1988 and died in 2000.[13] Kung was named Cardinal in pectore by Pope John Paul II in 1979. His membership in the College of Cardinals was made public in 1991, after Kung left China.[14][15]

According to the Chinese Province of the Jesuits, the auxiliary bishop Joseph Fan Zhongliang (Chinese: 范忠良) would have automatically succeeded as the bishop of Suzhou Diocese after Kung's death. Fan was secretly consecrated in 1985. However, he was not recognized by the Chinese government. He died in 2014.[16]

Catholic Patriotic Association
Main article: Catholic Patriotic Association

Ignatius Shen Chuming (Chinese: 沈初鸣) became the vicar general of Suzhou in 1956. He was elected bishop in 1958 and consecrated in 1959. He was a standing member of the national Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) of China. The year of his death is uncertain: according to Catholic-Hierarchy.org, he died in 1966; according to the Committee of Ethnic and Religious Affairs of Jiangsu (Chinese: 江苏省民族宗教事务委员会), he died in 1974.[17][2]

Matthias Ma Longlin (Chinese: 马龙麟) was elected and consecrated bishop in 1981. He later became the chair of the CPA of Suzhou. He died in 1999.[2]

In 1999, the CPA appointed Joseph Xu Honggen (Chinese: 徐宏根) as the bishop of Suzhou, and he later also received the appointment from the Holy See. In 2006, Xu was officially consecrated Bishop at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, Suzhou.[18] In 2016, Pope Francis met Bishop Xu in Vatican City, making Xu the first ever mainland Chinese bishop to meet the Pope.[19][20]

Churches
Cathedral of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, Suzhou
Tangjiao Catholic Church, Changshu
Xiaohengtang Catholic Church, Kunshan

According to Jiangsu's Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA), an organization affiliated with the Chinese united front, the diocese contains the following churches:[21]

Suzhou Industrial Park

  • Suzhou Industrial Park Catholic Church, where the bishop's office is located. It is the tallest Catholic Church building in China, with its main tower standing 80 metres (260 ft) tall.[22][23]

Gusu

Xiangcheng

  • Xiangcheng Catholic Church (Chinese: 湘城镇天主堂)

Wujiang

  • Lili Catholic Church (Chinese: 黎里天主堂)
  • Shengze Catholic Church (Chinese: 盛泽天主教堂)[24]

Changshu

  • Tangjiao Catholic Church (Chinese: 塘角天主堂)

Zhangjiagang

  • Houcheng Catholic Church (Chinese: 后塍天主堂)
  • Yangshe Catholic Church (Chinese: 杨舍天主堂)
  • Luyuan Catholic Church (Chinese: 鹿苑天主教堂)

Kunshan

  • Xiaohengtang Catholic Church (Chinese: 小横塘天主堂): upon its consecration on 2 May 2016, it was the tallest Catholic church in China. It has a 75 metres (246 ft) tall main spire and a boat-shaped structure.[25]
  • Lujia Catholic Church (Chinese: 陆家天主堂)

Taicang

  • Loudong Catholic Church (Chinese: 娄东天主堂)
  • Zhangjing Catholic Church (Chinese: 张泾天主堂)

See also

References

Citations
  1. "Diocese of Suzhou". ucanews.com. UCA News. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  2. 江苏省民族宗教事务委员会 (1 March 2015). "江苏天主教界著名人士简介". Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  3. "《江苏省志·宗教志》·第四章 天主教·第一节 教区沿革" (in Chinese). 江苏古籍出版社. December 2001. Archived from the original on 14 August 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  4. Thomas H. Reilly (2004), The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Rebellion and the Blasphemy of Empire, Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, pp. 43ff, 14ff, 150ff, ISBN 0295984309, see , accessed 18 April 2015.
  5. Jocelyn M. N. Marinescu (2008). Defending Christianity in China: The Jesuit Defense of Christianity in the "Lettres Edifiantes Et Curieuses" & "Ruijianlu" in Relation to the Yongzheng Proscription of 1724. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-549-59712-4. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  6. Robert Samuel Maclay (1861). Life among the Chinese: with characteristic sketches and incidents of missionary operations and prospects in China. Carlton & Porter. p. 336. Retrieved 6 July 2011. mohammedan slaves to beys.
  7. "《上海宗教志》>>第四编 天主教>>第二章 团体>>第二节 天主教上海教区" (in Chinese (China)). 上海社会科学院出版社. January 2001. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  8. Pan, Yiting; Wang, Jun; Chen, Xi (September 2021). "糅杂与权宜：苏州杨家桥天主堂"混合性"建造溯源研究" [Eclecticism and Expediency:"Hybridity" of Sino-Western Building Construction in the Yangjiaqiao Catholic Church in Suzhou]. Huazhong Jianzhu (in Chinese). 39 (292): 127–132. doi:10.13942/j.cnki.hzjz.2021.09.026. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  9. Pope Pius XII (1949). "CONSTITUTIONES APOSTOLICAE" (PDF). Acta Apostolicae Sedis. TYPIS POLYGLOTTIS VATICANIS. 16: 588. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  10. ""渔山论坛--天主教文学艺术中国化神学研讨会"顺利开幕" (in Chinese). 苏州市民族宗教事务局. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  11. "天主教苏州教区召开第二届渔山论坛暨坚持天主教中国化方向研讨会" (in Chinese). 苏州市民族宗教事务局. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  12. "第三届渔山论坛——坚持我国天主教中国化方向研讨会在苏召开" (in Chinese). 苏州市民族宗教事务局. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  13. "Cardinal KUNG Pin-Mei, Ignatius". catholic.org.hk. Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  14. "His Holiness John Paul II Biography". Holy See Press Office. 30 June 2005. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  15. Mancini, Marco (9 January 2014). "Concistoro in arrivo... numeri e curiosità del recente passato". Korazym.org (in Italian). Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  16. "【R.I.P】范忠良 主教蒙主恩召". Society of Jesus, Chinese Province. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  17. "Diocese of Suzhou [Soochow]". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  18. "江苏省天主教苏州教区举行主教祝圣典礼，国家宗教事务局，2006-04-21". State Administration for Religious Affairs. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  19. "教皇方济各首次公开接见中国大陆主教 惹猜测". Guancha.cn. 15 October 2016. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  20. "Pope Meets Mainland Chinese Bishop in First Ever Public Meeting". La Croix International. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  21. "Parish Profile". jstzj.com. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  22. "国内最高的天主教堂就在阳澄湖畔". Suzhou Industrial Park. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  23. "天主教苏州教区公署暨苏州工业园区天主堂落成祝圣典礼隆重举行" (in Chinese). 苏州市民族宗教事务局. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  24. "吴江区盛泽天主教堂举办开堂庆典活动" (in Chinese). 苏州市民族宗教事务局. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  25. "Tallest church in China consecrated". UCA News. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
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