Roman Catholic Diocese of Wanxian

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wanxian (formerly spelled Wanhsien; Dioecesis Uanscienensis; ), also known as Diocese of Wanzhou, is a Latin Catholic diocese located in Wanzhou District (formerly Wanxian), Chongqing in the ecclesiastical province of Chongqing, in the easternmost part of western China. It was established on August 2, 1929 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Wanhsien for the Mission of Sichuan (Szechwan).

Territory
The Diocese of Wanxian covers Wanzhou District (Ouan-hien) and eight counties in the mountainous area of northern Chongqing, namely, Chengkou, Fengjie, Kaixian, Liangping, Wushan, Wuxi, Yunyang and Zhongxian, totaling approximately 20,000 square kilometers. It is bordered by the Diocese of Shunqing to the west, Diocese of Shinan to the east, Apostolic Prefecture of Xing'anfu to the north, and Archdiocese of Chongqing to the south and southwest.

History

 * August 2, 1929: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Wanhsien (Ouan-hien) from the Apostolic Vicariate of Chungking (Chongqing; Tchong-kin-fou)
 * April 11, 1946: Promoted as Diocese of Wanhsien

Special churches

 * Sacred Heart Church at Longbao (龍寶鎭聖心堂), a town located in the suburbs of Wanxian.

Bishops
Francis Xavier Wang Tse-pu.jpg
 * Vicar Apostolic of Wanhsien
 * Francis Xavier Wang Zepu (Wang Tse-pu) (December 16, 1929 – April 11, 1946)


 * Bishop of Wanhsien
 * Francis Xavier Wang Zepu (Wang Tse-pu) (April 11, 1946 – July 3, 1947)


 * Bishops of Wanxian
 * Matthias Duan Yinming (Tuan In-Min) (June 9, 1949 – January 10, 2001)
 * Joseph Xu Zhixuan (July 31, 1989 Appointed Coadjutor Bishop;succeeded as ordinary on Jan 10, 2001; Dec 8, 2008 Died)
 * Paul He Zeqing (December 13, 2008 – Present)