Exploring Chinese Catholicism in the Italian Peninsula: A Sociological Study of the Chinese Catholic Community in Italy

In this chapter we examine the Chinese Catholic Community in Italy, a small diaspora religion within the increasingly plural Italian religious landscape. The research’s first aim is to map the Chinese Catholic communities in Italy, emphasising their historical development and distribution in the Italian peninsula. Secondly, we provide data on the Chinese clergy and believers, as well as describe main activities and practices of this diaspora religion. Finally, we study the paths of settlement of the Chinese Catholic Community in the novel socio-cultural context, and the facets of its religious transnationalism with the homeland. In short, the article sheds light on both the recent re-shaping of the Italian Christian landscape, and the peculiar establishment of a Chinese Catholic group abroad.