The Diocese of Zhoucun (Chowtsun) (, ) is a

Latin Catholic 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 ''sui iuris'' churches in full communion w ...

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 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 ...

located in

Zhoucun Zhoucun district () is a district in Zibo, Shandong Province, China. The district covers and had an estimated population of 288,440 in 2013. Its main industry is textiles and furniture manufacture. The center of the commercial district has a rec ...

(

Zibo Zibo () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province of China, province, China. It borders the provincial capital Jinan to the west, Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Bi ...

) 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 ...

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

in China.

History

* April 16, 1929: Established as Mission "sui iuris" of Zhangdian from the Apostolic Vicariate of Tsinanfu * June 1, 1932: Promoted as

Apostolic Prefecture 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 Zhangdian * May 18, 1937: Promoted 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 Zhoucun * April 11, 1946: Promoted as Diocese of Zhoucun

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 Zhoucun (Roman rite) ** Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang (2013–present) ** Bishop Joseph Ma Xue-sheng (1997–2013) ** Bishop John Gao Ke-xian (1993–2005) ''(clandestinely)'' ** Bishop

Henry Ambrose Pinger Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainment ...

, O.F.M. (April 11, 1946 – September 24, 1988) * Vicars Apostolic of Zhoucun (Roman Rite) ** Bishop Henry Ambrose Pinger, O.F.M. (May 18, 1937 – April 11, 1946) * Prefects Apostolic of Zhangdian (Roman Rite) ** Fr. Henry Ambrose Pinger, O.F.M. (later Bishop) (1932 – May 18, 1937) * Ecclesiastical Superiors of Zhangdian (Roman Rite) ** Fr. Henry Ambrose Pinger, O.F.M. (later Bishop) (1930–1932)

References

GCatholic.org

Roman Catholic dioceses in China Christian organizations established in 1929 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Religion in Shandong Zibo {{PRChina-RC-diocese-stub