[1] The Italian Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci introduced Catholicism into Jiangsu in 1599.

In 1616, Giulio Aleni founded a church in Changshu, which is currently a city in the Suzhou Diocese.

[13] Kung was named Cardinal in pectore by Pope John Paul II in 1979.

His membership in the College of Cardinals was made public in 1991, after Kung left China.

[16] Ignatius Shen Chuming (Chinese: 沈初鸣) became the vicar general of Suzhou in 1956.

He was a standing member of the national Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) of China.

[17][2] Matthias Ma Longlin (Chinese: 马龙麟) was elected and consecrated bishop in 1981.

[19][20] According to Jiangsu's Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA), an organization affiliated with the Chinese united front, the diocese contains the following churches:[21] Suzhou Industrial Park Gusu Xiangcheng Wujiang Changshu Zhangjiagang Kunshan Taicang