The Roman Catholic Diocese of Yichang/Ichang (, ) is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

Latin

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, prov ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

of the Metropolitan Archbishopric of Hankou in central China, yet depends on the missionary

Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congrega ...

. Its episcopal see is the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of St. Francis in the city of

Yichang Yichang ( zh, s= ), Postal Map Romanization, alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. Yichang had a population of 3.92 million people at the 2022 census, making it the third most pop ...

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

province. No statistics available. Vacant since 2012.

History

* Established on September 2, 1870 as

Apostolic Vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

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 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 The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

; 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 (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a Mendicant orders, mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis ...

(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 an ...

Cæsarea Paneas Banias (; ; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: , etc.; ), also spelled Banyas, is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek god Pan. It had been inhabited for 2,000 years, until its Syrian population fle ...

(1876.01.25 – 1888.11.22), ''previously Pro-Vicar Apostolic of Southwestern Hupeh 湖北南境 (1870.08 – 25 January 1876)'' *

Benjamin Christiaens Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...

, 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 ; ) 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 the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city has ...

(1900.04.27 – 1904.07.19) *

Modest Everaerts "Modest" is an adjective describing the quality of Modesty and may refer to: * A number of saints, see under Saint Modest (disambiguation) * Michael Modest (born 1971), semi-retired American professional wrestler * Modest (email client), a free, ...

, O.F.M. (born Belgium) (December 24, 1904 – death October 27, 1922), Titular Bishop of

Tadama Tadamata (or Tadama) was a town in the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis. It was also the seat of a bishopric that, no longer being a residential see, is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees. Its bishop David is mentioned ...

(1904.12.24 – 1922.10.27) *

Johannes Trudo Jans Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, '' Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Ye ...

, 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'' *

, 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 () 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 time of Augustus and late ...

(1930.03.25 – 1946.04.11) ;''Suffragan Bishops of Yichang 宜昌'' *

Noël Gubbels Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city *Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * Noel Park, a suburb in Greater London, Engl ...

, 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 admi ...

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 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