The Mission sui juris of I-li was a pre-diocesan

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

ecclesiastical jurisdiction or mission ''sui iuris'' 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 Mongol-imperial China, notably in (mostly Muslim)

East Turkestan East Turkestan ( ug, شەرقىي تۈركىستان, Sherqiy Türkistan, bold=no; zh, s=东突厥斯坦; also spelled East Turkistan), is a loosely-defined geographical and historical region in the western provinces of the People's Republic of ...

History

* In 1320, the jurisdiction has been established as Diocese of Ili-baluc, alias Almaliq, alias Kuldja, on pagan territory split off from 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; no incumbent available, but it was suppressed in 1330. * Modern missions in the region, now known as Xinjiang (= 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 (now Archdiocese of Lanzhou), under its authority. * On 1 October 1888, the Ili see was restored, albeit demoted as lowest-ranking pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction:

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 I-li 伊犁, alias Kuldja, alias Yining 伊寧. * It was again 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 from ...

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 Apostolic Vicariate of Western Kansu (the former Kansu; two year later renamed Lanchowfu). ; Heritage However its territory would soon see a new missionary see, the present Apostolic Prefecture of Xinjiang-Urumqi, 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 Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation ...

on 14 February 1930 as Mission sui juris of Xinjiang.

Ordinaries

It has had only three

Ecclesiastical Superior 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, rank ...

s, all members of the

(C.I.C.M.), from the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

: * Daniel Bernard van Koot, C.I.C.M. (1888 - 1893) * Jan Baptist Steeneman, C.I.C.M. (Dutch; 1898 – death 1918) * Joseph Hoogers (高東升), C.I.C.M. (Belgian; 1918.06.08 – 1922), later

Apostolic Prefect An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

of Datongfu 大同府 (China) (1923.03.03 – 1931.09.28).

References

Source and external links

GigaCatholic
; Bibliography * Joseph de Moidrey,
La hiérarchie catholique en Chine, en Corée et au Japon (1307–1914)
', Shanghai 1914, p. 94. * Breve ''Decet Romanum Pontificem'', AAS 22 (1930), p. 478. {{DEFAULTSORT:I-li, Mission sui juris Missions sui iuris Former Roman Catholic dioceses in China 1898 establishments in China