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

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 mission ''sui iuris'' of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in Mongol-imperial China, notably in (mostly Muslim)

East Turkestan East Turkestan or East Turkistan (, : , : ), is a loosely-defined geographical region in the northwestern part of the People's Republic of China, on the cross roads of East and Central Asia. The term was coined in the 19th century by Russi ...

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 ( Middle Mongol:; or ''Khagan''; ) or zh, c=大汗, p=Dàhán; ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of imperial ...

'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 known as the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary () and often abbreviated as C.I.C.M, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men established in 1862 by the Belgian Cathol ...

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 In the Canon law of the Catholic Church, canon law of the Catholic Church, a mission (, pl. ), also known as an independent mission, can be defined as: "an Ecclesial community, ecclesial structure erected from a previous territory, with expli ...

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 (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

papal brief A papal brief or breve (from the Latin "''breve'', meaning "short") is a formal document emanating from the pope. History The introduction of briefs, which occurred at the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Eugene IV (3 March 1431 – 23 Februa ...

(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 The Apostolic Prefecture of Xinjiang-Urumqi is a pre-diocesan missionary Latin jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Northwestern China's vast region Xinjiang, which is exempt, i.e. directly dependent on the Holy See and its missionary Roman Congr ...

, confided to the

Divine Word Missionaries The Society of the Divine Word (), 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 Right for men. As of 2020, i ...

on 14 February 1930 as Mission sui juris of Xinjiang.

Ordinaries

It has had only three

Ecclesiastical Superior In the canon law of the Catholic Church, a mission (, pl. ), also known as an independent mission, can be defined as: "an ecclesial structure erected from a previous territory, with explicit boundaries, under the care of a religious communit ...

s, all members of the

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

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

: * 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

Sources

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 Christianity in Xinjiang