The Diocese of Xianxian/Síenhsíen (, ) is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

ecclesiastical jurisdiction or

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 ...

of the

Catholic Church in China The Catholic Church ( zh, p=Tiānzhǔ jiào, c=天主教, l=Religion of the Lord of Heaven, after the Chinese term for the Christian God) first appeared in China upon the arrival of John of Montecorvino in China proper during the Yuan dynasty ...

. Its

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

is the city of

Xianxian Xian County or Xianxian () is a county in the east of Hebei province of China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Cangzhou. Administrative divisions Towns: *Leshou (), Huaizhen (), Guozhuang, Xian County, Guozhuang () ...

. The diocese is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandr ...

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 Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Archdiocese of Beijing.

History

left, View of the mission at the end of the 19th century * May 30, 1856: Established 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 Southeastern Chi-Li 直隸東南 from the Diocese of Beijing 北京 * December 3, 1924: Renamed as Apostolic Vicariate of Xianxian 獻縣 * April 11, 1946: Promoted as Diocese of Xianxian 獻縣

Leadership

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s of Xianxian ** Bishop Joseph Li Liangui (March 20, 2000 – Present) ** Bishop François-Xavier Zhao Zhen-sheng, S.J. () (April 11, 1946 – October 15, 1968) * Vicars Apostolic of Xianxian 獻縣 ** Bishop François-Xavier Zhao Zhen-sheng, S.J. () (December 2, 1937 – April 11, 1946) ** Bishop

Henri Lécroart Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include: People French nobles * Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France * H ...

, S.J. () (December 23, 1919 – December 2, 1936) * Vicars Apostolic of Southeastern Chi-Li 直隸東南 ** Bishop

Henri Maquet Henri Maquet (; 30 August 1839 – 27 November 1909) was a Belgian architect, best known for his work for King Leopold II of Belgium. Born in Brussels, Maquet trained in Liège, at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, then worke ...

, S.J. () (July 20, 1901 – December 23, 1919) ** Bishop Henri-Joseph Bulté, C.M. () (March 14, 1880 – October 14, 1900) ** Bishop Edouard-Auguste Dubar, S.J. () (September 9, 1864 – July 1, 1878) ** Bishop Adrien-Hippolyte Languillat, S.J. () (May 30, 1856 – September 9, 1864)

References

GCatholic.org

Diocese website (Chinese)
(currently censored)
UCAN Diocese Profile

History

Leadership

References

See also