Population- Total- Catholics 9.43 million150000 Coadjutor Joseph Sun Ji-gen | Rite Latin Rite | |
Ecclesiastical province Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Beijing | ||
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.
Contents
The diocese is also named Roman Catholic Diocese of Handan/Yongnian (Chinese: 邯郸/永年教区).
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.
The Diocese plans to build a cathedral in Handan, with a total cost of 3.5 million yuan. 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
Handan/Yongnian is the fastest-growing diocese in Mainland China after the Diocese of Xingtai.
Leadership
There are 85 priests in the diocese.