Catholic Patriotic Association of China

　　  The Catholic Patriotic Association of China is located at No. 14 Liuyin Street, Xicheng District. It was officially established in Beijing in 1958. In 1982, the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China was founded in Beijing as the governing body for all dioceses of the Catholic Church in China. It has 56 members. The Catholic Church’s Pastoral Affairs Committee was also established. The second Pastoral Affairs Committee had 172 members.

　　  It oversees the Catholic Theological and Philosophical College, which trains Catholic clergy. Under the Bishops’ Conference, an editorial body publishes the journal “China’s Catholic Church” as well as Bibles and other religious texts. Christianity is divided into three major branches: Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Catholicism was introduced to China during the Yuan Dynasty but was later interrupted, before being reintroduced in the late Ming Dynasty. There are currently 3.3 million Catholics in China.