The Roman Catholic Diocese of Yichang/Ichang ( la, Iciamen(sis), ) is a suffragan Latin

diocese 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 associa ...

in the

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 ...

of the Metropolitan Archbishopric of Hankou in central China, yet depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. 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 St. Francis in the city of

Yichang Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

province. No statistics available. Vacant since 2012.

History

* Established on September 2, 1870 as Apostolic Vicariate of Southwestern Hupeh 湖北南境, on territory split off from the then Apostolic Vicariate of Hupeh 湖北 * Renamed on December 3, 1924 after its see as Apostolic Vicariate of Yichang 宜昌 * Lost territories twice : on 1936.07.07 to establish the

Apostolic Prefecture of Shashi :''See Shashi for namesakes'' Shashi () is a district within the main urban area of Jingzhou, Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It is located on the left (northern) bank of the Yangtze River, between Yichang and Wuhan. History * Shas ...

沙市 and on 1938.06.14 to establish the then Apostolic Vicariate of Shinan 施南 * Promoted on April 11, 1946: as Diocese of Yichang 宜昌.

Episcopal ordinaries

(all Roman rite; until 1950 European missionary members of Latin congregations) ;''Apostolic Vicars of Southwestern Hupeh 湖北南境'' * Alessio Maria Filippi,

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

(O.F.M.) (born Italy) (25 January 1876 – death 22 November 1888),

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 ...

of Cæsarea Paneas (1876.01.25 – 1888.11.22), ''previously Pro-Vicar Apostolic of Southwestern Hupeh 湖北南境 (1870.08 – 25 January 1876) * Benjamin Christiaens, O.F.M. (born Belgium) (February 13, 1889 – retired 1899), Titular Bishop of Colophon (1889.02.13 – death 1931.01.07) * Théotime Matthieu Verhaeghen, O.F.M. (born Belgium) (April 27, 1900 – death July 19, 1904), Titular Bishop of

Syene Aswan (, also ; ar, أسوان, ʾAswān ; cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲁⲛ ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of t ...

(1900.04.27 – 1904.07.19) * Modest Everaerts, O.F.M. (born Belgium) (December 24, 1904 – death October 27, 1922), Titular Bishop of Tadama (1904.12.24 – 1922.10.27) * Johannes Trudo Jans, O.F.M. (born Belgium) (13 December 1923 – 3 December 1924 ''see below''), Titular Bishop of Rhosus (1923.12.13 – death 1929.09.09) ;''Apostolic Vicars of Yichang 宜昌'' * Johannes Trudo Jans, O.F.M. (born Belgium) (''see above'' 3 December 1924 – death 9 September 1929) * Noël Gubbels, O.F.M. (顧學德) (born Belgium) (March 25, 1930 – April 11, 1946 ''see below''), Titular Bishop of

Attuda Attuda or Attouda ( grc, Ἄττουδα) was a Hellenistic city in ancient Caria and later in the Roman province of Phrygia Pacatiana. There are coins of the place with the Greek epigraph ''Ἱερὰ Βουλὴ Ἀττουδέων'', of the ti ...

(1930.03.25 – 1946.04.11) ;''Suffragan Bishops of Yichang 宜昌'' * Noël Gubbels, O.F.M. () (''see above'' April 11, 1946 – death November 18, 1950), also

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 adm ...

of daughter Diocese of Shinan 施南 (China) (1946.04.11 – 1950.11.18) *'' Paul Francis Zhang Mingqian O.F.M. (first Chinese incumbent) (1959 – death 2005.07.24), without papal mandate * Francis Lu Shouwang (2007 - death April 30, 2011).

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org - data for all sections

Diocese website (Chinese)

UCAN Diocese Profile
* Carine DUJARDIN, ''Missionering en Moderniteit. De Belgische minderbroeders in China 1872-1940'' ission and Modernity. The Belgian Franciscans in China 1872-1940 KADOC-Studies 19, Leuven University Press, 1996, 518 p. Roman Catholic dioceses in China

Religious organizations established in 1870 Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 19th century Yichang Religion in Hubei {{Asia-RC-diocese-stub

History

Episcopal ordinaries

See also

References

Sources and external links