[1] In 1660, the Propaganda Fide (the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith) in Rome established an Apostolic vicariate in Nanking which was under its direct control, upsetting the Portuguese.
[1] On April 10, 1690, the two dioceses were erected: the current Vicar Apostolic of Nanking, Dominican Gregory Luo Wenzao, was made bishop of Nanking; and Franciscan Bernardino della Chiesa was named bishop to the newly created Diocese of Beijing.
[1] In 1690, Pope Alexander VII named Francisco Spinola, a Jesuit, as coadjutor Bishop of Nanking; the nomination was approved by the Portuguese.
[1] After Bishop Wenzao's death in 1691, Father Giovanni Francesco Nicolai, a Franciscan, assumed control of the Diocese as administrator with right of succession (In 1688, Wanzao had been granted by the Holy See the right to choose and nominate his successor).
[5] In 1696, after complaints from the Propaganda Fide, Pope Innocent XII reached a new agreement with the Portuguese monarch which limited the jurisdiction of the three dioceses under Portuguese control (Macau, Nanking, Beijing) to two provinces each[6] and allowed the Vatican to establish Apostolic Vicariates under its direct control in the remaining provinces of China.