The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sipingjie/Siping/Szepíngkai ( la, Sepimchiaeven(sis), ) is a Latin

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

in the

Ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

of the Metropolitan of

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...

. Its episcopal seat is at Sacred Heart Cathedral located in the city of Sipingjie (Siping, Jiling or Szepíngkai) in Jilin province.

History

* Established on August 2, 1929 as the Apostolic Prefecture of Szepingkai (), on territories split off from the then

Apostolic Vicariate of Shenyang The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Shenyang ( la, Fomtienen(sis), ) is a Latin Metropolitan archdiocese in northeastern PR China. Its cathedral episcopal see is a Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in the city of Shenyang, capital of Liaonin ...

() and the

Apostolic Vicariate of Rehe The Roman Catholic Diocese of Jehol. ( la, dioecesis Geholensis), also known in Chinese as Rehe or Jinzhou, is a diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Shenyang in China, covering part of the former Rehe Province. Both Jehol and Rehe are form ...

() * June 1, 1932: Promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Szepingkai () * Lost territory on 18 May 1937 to establish the

Apostolic Prefecture of Lindong The Apostolic Prefecture of Lindong (or Lintung) is a missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction, not entitled to a titular bishop, in PR China, China. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province. Hist ...

() * April 11, 1946: Promoted and renamed as Diocese of Siping(jie) alias Szepíngkai (), ending its missionary, pre-diocesan and exempt status

Ordinaries

''(all

Roman rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

, mostly missionary members of a Latin congregation) ;'' Apostolic Prefects of Szepingkai'' * Fr. Joseph Louis Adhémar Lapierre,

Société des Missions-Étrangères du Québec The Society of Foreign Missions (french: Société des Missions-Étrangères du Québec) is a missionary Roman Catholic Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right for men. It is devoted to missions mainly in Latin America and the Far East. It ...

(Society of Foreign Missions; P.M.E.) (February 19, 1930–May 24, 1932 ''see below'') ; ''Apostolic Vicar of Szepingkai'' * Joseph Louis Adhémar Lapierre, P.M.E. (''see above'' May 24, 1932–April 11, 1946 ''see below''),

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Cardicium (1932.05.24–1946.04.11) ; ''Suffragan Bishops of Sipingjie'' * Joseph Louis Adhémar Lapierre, P.M.E. (''see above'' April 11, 1946–death December 1, 1952) * ''

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

(1954.04.02–2004) Paul Zhang *

Andrew Han Jingtao Andrew Han Jingtao (; born 26 July 1921 – 30 December 2020) was a Chinese Catholic clandestine Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sipingjie since 1982 until his death in 2020. Biography Han was born in Jilin on July 26, 1921. Some documen ...

(1982–2020.12.30)

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org

Roman Catholic dioceses in China Christian organizations established in 1929 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Organizations based in Jilin {{Asia-RC-diocese-stub