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Diocese of Jehol

diocese of the Catholic Church in China

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 24, 2025
Entity authorityQ870082 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Jehol (Latin: dioecesis Geholensis), also known in Chinese as Rehe or Jinzhou, is a diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Shenyang in China, covering part of the former Rehe Province. Both Jehol and Rehe are forms of the former Chinese name of the city of Chengde; Jinzhou refers to the State of Jin that formerly occupied part of the diocese.

The diocese lost an important part of its territory in 2018, when the entire city of Chengde was taken out to form the Diocese of Chengde, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Beijing. Now, only the Liaoning part of the diocese remains, along with a very small part of Hebei.

History

December 21, 1883: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Eastern Mongolia 東蒙古 from the Apostolic Vicariate of Mongolia 蒙古

December 3, 1924: Renamed as Apostolic Vicariate of Jehol 熱河

April 11, 1946: Promoted as Diocese of Jehol 熱河

Leadership

Bishops of Jehol 熱河 (Roman rite)

Bishop Joseph Julian Oste, C.I.C.M. (April 9, 1948 – January 19, 1971)

Bishop Louis Janssens, C.I.C.M. (April 11, 1946 – January 9, 1948)

Vicars Apostolic of Jehol 熱河 (Roman rite)

Bishop Louis Janssens, C.I.C.M. (February 4, 1942 – April 11, 1946)

Bishop Conrad Abels, C.I.C.M. (July 5, 1897 – 1942)

Vicars Apostolic of Eastern Mongolia 東蒙古

Bishop Théodore-Herman Rutjes, C.I.C.M. (December 11, 1883 – August 4, 1896 [died])

References

Citations

Bibliography

Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Mongolia". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Diocese of Jehol” is diocese of the Catholic Church in China. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Diocese, Jehol and diocese, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2018, 1883, 1924, 1946—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1883. For this dossier, Diocese, Jehol and diocese is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “diocese of the Catholic Church in China” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q870082. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2018, 1883, 1924 and 1946.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Diocese of Jehol”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Diocese of Jehol primary sources, Diocese of Jehol archive and Diocese research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Diocese of Jehol”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Diocese of Jehol” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.