Roman Catholic Diocese of Yongnian

Diocese of Yongnian
Dioecesis Iomnieninus
天主教永年教区
Location
Country China
Ecclesiastical province Beijing
Metropolitan Beijing
Statistics
Population
- Total
- Catholics

9.43 million
150000
Information
Rite Latin Rite
Current leadership
Bishop Stephen Yang Xiang-tai
Metropolitan Archbishop Joseph Li Shan
Coadjutor Joseph Sun Ji-gen

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Yongnian/Weixian (Latin: Iomnienin(us), Chinese: 永年, 魏縣) is a diocese located in the city of Yongnian in the Ecclesiastical province of Beijing in China.

The diocese is also named Roman Catholic Diocese of Handan/Yongnian (Chinese: 邯郸/永年教区).[1]

History

The Catholic Church in Handan was established as an apostolic prefecture on May 24, 1929, by Pope Pio XI. The diocesan territory covered the counties of Yongnian, Jize, Zhuzhou, Weixian, Chengan, Cixian, Handan, Qinghe, Guangping, Feixiang with the cathedral located at Zhaozhuang of Weixian. It became an apostolic vicariate on March 6, 1933 and was made a diocese on April 11, 1946.[2]

The Diocese plans to build a cathedral in Handan, with a total cost of 3.5 million yuan.[3] The construction of the church was approved by the local government in 2013. The church will be designed by the School of Architecture of the Hebei University of Engineering and will be located in the Wulipu Village in the Sucao Township[4][5]

Handan/Yongnian is the fastest-growing diocese in Mainland China after the Diocese of Xingtai.[6]

Leadership

There are 85 priests in the diocese.[7]

References

Coordinates: 36°47′N 114°30′E / 36.783°N 114.500°E