The Apostolic Prefecture of Xinjiang-Urumqi is a pre-diocesan missionary Latin jurisdiction of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in north-western China's vast region

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

, which is exempt, i.e. directly dependent on the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

and its missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, not part of any

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

. It borders on

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

and

Tadjikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centra ...

(all three Ex-Soviet

West Turkestan Russian Turkestan (russian: Русский Туркестан, Russkiy Turkestan) was the western part of Turkestan within the Russian Empire’s Central Asian territories, and was administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship. It comprised the o ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

-disputed Kashmir,

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

, Han-China proper (notably the Archdiocese of Lanzhou) and (Outer) Mongolia. Its episcopal see is the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

, in regional capital

Ürümqi Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...

. No statistics are available.

Antecedents

* Modern missions in Xinjiang (from contemporaries in the West during the 1920s and 1930s known as Sinkiang) were mounted by the

Scheutists The CICM Missionaries officially named as the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ( la, Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae) abbreviated C.I.C.M, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men established in ...

from their neighboring Apostolic Vicariate of Kansu (no Archdiocese of Lanzhou), under its authority. * On 1 October 1888 the Holy See erected and confided to them a Mission sui iuris of I-li, restoring (while demoting) in the name the short-lived Diocese of Ili-baluc (1320–30), which has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Khanbalik 汗八里, in the

Great Khan Khagan or Qaghan (Mongolian:; or ''Khagan''; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣 ), or , tr, Kağan or ; ug, قاغان, Qaghan, Mongolian Script: ; or ; fa, خاقان ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan ...

's Mongol-Chinese capital. * This Independent Mission of Ili was suppressed on 8 March 1922 by

Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...

papal brief A papal brief or breve is a formal document emanating from the Pope, in a somewhat simpler and more modern form than a papal bull. History The introduction of briefs, which occurred at the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Eugene IV (3 Marc ...

(breve) ''Apostolatus officium'', incorporating its territory in the Western Kansu (the former Kansu; two year later renamed Lanchowfu).

History

* Established on 14 February 1930 as

Mission sui juris A mission ''sui iuris'', or in Latin ''missio sui iuris'' (plural ''missions sui iuris''); also spelled mission(s) sui juris), also known as an independent mission, is a rare type of Roman Catholic missionary pseudo-diocesan jurisdiction, rankin ...

of Xinjiang 新疆 (中文) / Urumqi 烏魯木齊 (中文) / Sinkiang / Xinjiang-Urumqi 新疆烏魯木齊 (中文) / Sinkiangen(sis) (Latin) by

's papal brief ''Decet Romanum Pontificem'', on Ili's former territory, split off from the then

Apostolic Vicariate of Lanchowfu The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lanzhou ( la, Lanceuven(sis), ) is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Catholic church with an Ecclesiastical province, yet depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Its ...

蘭州府), but now confided to the

Divine Word Missionaries The Society of the Divine Word ( la, Societas Verbi Divini), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Ri ...

. * Promoted on 21 May 1938 as Apostolic Prefecture of Xinjiang 新疆 (中文) / Urumqi 烏魯木齊 (中文) / Sinkiang / Xinjiang-Urumqi 新疆烏魯木齊 (中文) / Sinkiangen(sis) (Latin)

Ordinaries

(all Roman Rite) ;Ecclesiastical Superior of Xinjiang 新疆 * Father Ferdinando Loy (卢裴德),

(S.V.D.) (born Germany) (20 November 1931 – 21 May 1938) ;Apostolic Prefects of Xinjiang 新疆 * Ferdinando Loy (卢裴德), S.V.D. (21 May 1938 – death 23 June 1969) *

Paul Xie Ting-zhe Paul Xie Ting-zhe (1931 – 14 August 2017) was a Roman Catholic bishop. Xie Ting-zhe was ordained to the priesthood in 1980. He was ordained a bishop clandestinely in 1991 and served as bishop for the Apostolic Prefecture of Xinjiang, Ch ...

(謝庭哲) (born China 1931 – clandestine consecration as bishop on 25 November 1991 – death 14 August 2017)

References

Sources and external links

GCathholic, with Google satellite photo - data for all sections, accessed 18 April 2017
Apostolic prefectures Roman Catholic dioceses in China Religion in Xinjiang Organizations based in Xinjiang {{RC-diocese-stub

Antecedents

History

Ordinaries

See also

References

Sources and external links