Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 December 2008
Between 1922 and 1953, the German-Dutch CatholicCongregation Societas Verbi Divini,SVD, also known as the Divine Word Missionaries orSteyl Missionaries, sent approximately 90missionaries to Northwest China. During these threedecades, the Divine Word Missionaries establishedsome 30 missionary stations (plus about 100out-stations) in Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang.
The author would like to thank P. Bosold SVD ofthe Archivum Generale in Rome andthe staff of the MissionswissenschaftlicheBibliothek of the Steyl Congregation inSt Augustin/Germany for their valuable assistanceand the Gerda Henkel Foundation for providing agenerous grant to enable this research.
In this text Chinese words are usuallytranscribed using the modern Chinesepinyin system, e.g. Gansu insteadof Kansu. However, in such terms as ‘VicariateApostolic of Kansu Occidentale’, the transcriptionsystem used by the missionaries and/or by theVatican is retained.
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