Archdiocese of Guiyang
Archidioecesis Coeiiamensis
天主教貴陽總教區
天主教贵阳总教区
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| Location | |
| Country | China |
| Ecclesiastical province | Guiyang |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 100,000 km2 (39,000 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 1950) 7,000,000 24,713 (0.4%) |
| Information | |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Cathedral | St. Joseph's Cathedral, Guiyang |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Paul Xiao Zejiang |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guiyang (formerly spelled Kweyang; Latin: Archidioecesis Coeiiamensis; simplified Chinese: 天主教贵阳总教区; traditional Chinese: 天主教貴陽總教區) is an archdiocese located in the city of Guiyang, provincial capital of Guizhou (formerly, Kweichow; French: Kouy-tcheou), southwestern China.
On April 24, 1690, at the time of the creation of the bishoprics of Beijing and NanjingbyPope Alexander VIII, Guizhou came under the authority of the latter. During a new division on October 15, 1696, Guizhou became an apostolic vicariate in its own right.[1][2] However, in 1715, the then Apostolic Vicar of Kweichow, Claude de Visdelou, saw clearly that he was absolutely unable to take charge of the province, and handed over the Mission of Guizhou to Johannes Müllener [ru], Apostolic Vicar of Szechwan.[3] The Vicariate of Kweichow had not been re-erected until March 27, 1846.[2]
Guizhou was evangelized by missionaries from Sichuan (Szechwan) during the 18th and 19th centuries. At that time, the Catholic Church in Sichuan produced a number of itinerant catechists (i.e. local missionaries) thanks to a well-organized training system.[4] Since 1774, evangelization was carried out by Jean-Martin Moye, provicar of Eastern Szechwan (future Archdiocese of Chongqing), and a Sichuanese missionary, Benoît Sen.[5] In 1798, Lawrence Hu Shï-lu, also a missionary from Sichuan, built a small church in Guiyang (Kweyang) for the Catholic community of about 100 people, which later became St. Joseph's Cathedral.[6]
On December 3, 1924, the Apostolic Vicariate of Kweichow was renamed Apostolic Vicariate of Kweyang, and on April 11, 1946, it was elevated to the rank of archdiocese.[2]
26°35′00″N 106°43′01″E / 26.5833°N 106.7170°E / 26.5833; 106.7170
