The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kunming ( la, Coenmimen(sis), ) is an

archdiocese In 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 provinces were administratively associate ...

located in the city of

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The Archdiocese has not had a legitimate,

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

-appointed

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

since 1952, when French Archbishop Alexandre Derouineau was expelled from China in the aftermath of the

Chinese Communist Revolution The Chinese Communist Revolution, officially known as the Chinese People's War of Liberation in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and also known as the National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion in the Republic of China (ROC ...

. The government of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

installed Father Kong Lingzhong as archbishop in 1962 and Father

Joseph Ma Yinglin Joseph Ma Yinglin (Chinese: 馬英林; born 1965) is the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association-sponsored Bishop of the diocese of Kunming, China. He was consecrated a bishop on 30 April 2006, at age 41. The diocese had been vacant for 11 years. ...

as archbishop in 2006. Neither government appointment is considered legitimate by the Vatican since they were not appointed by the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. In 2000, the Vatican appointed Lawrence Zhang Wen-Chang as

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 ...

of Kunming. He served until his death in 2012.

History

* 1687: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Guangdong-Guangxi-Yunnan from the

Apostolic Vicariate of Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

* 1696: Renamed as Apostolic Vicariate of Yunnan * 1715: Suppressed to the

Apostolic Vicariate of Szechwan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

* August 28, 1840: Restored as Apostolic Vicariate of Yunnan from the Apostolic Vicariate of Szechwan * December 8, 1924: Renamed as Apostolic Vicariate of Yunnanfu * April 11, 1946: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kunming

Leadership

* Arch

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

s of Kunming 昆明 (Roman rite) ** Archbishop Alexandre-Joseph-Charles Derouineau, M.E.P. (April 11, 1946 – September 30, 1973) * Vicars Apostolic of Yunnanfu 雲南府 (Roman Rite) ** Bishop Alexandre-Joseph-Charles Derouineau, M.E.P. (later Archbishop) (December 8, 1943 – April 11, 1946) ** Bishop Jean Larregain, M.E.P. (June 13, 1939 – May 2, 1942) ** Bishop Georges-Marie de Jonghe d'Ardoye, M.E.P. (later Archbishop) (May 3, 1933 – October 16, 1938) ** Bishop Charles-Marie-Félix de Gorostarzu, M.E.P. (October 21, 1907 – March 27, 1933) * Vicars Apostolic of Yunnan 雲南 (Roman Rite) ** Bishop Jean-Joseph Fenouil, M.E.P. (July 29, 1881 – January 10, 1907) ** Bishop Joseph Ponsot, M.E.P. (January 21, 1841 – November 17, 1880) ** Bishop Joachim-Enjobert de Martiliat, M.E.P. (October 2, 1739 – 1752)

Suffragan dioceses

* Dali 大理

Sources

GCatholic.org

Archdiocese website (Chinese)

References

Roman Catholic dioceses in China Religious organizations established in the 1680s Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 17th century Christianity in Yunnan Kunming {{PRChina-RC-diocese-stub