entrusted to his care; his powers are in general those necessarily connected with the ordinary administration of such an office, for instance: the assigning of missionaries and the making of regulations for the good management of the affairs of the mission. Prefects apostolic govern independent territories and are subject only to the pope. When a vicariate or a diocese extended over a very large territory in which the Catholic population was unequally distributed, the Holy See sometimes placed a portion of the territory in charge of a prefect apostolic; in which case the faculties of the prefect were more limited, and in the exercise of his office he was supervised by the vicar apostolic or the diocesan bishop. With a view to better protecting the authority of the local vicar apostolic or bishop, it was proposed in the First Vatican Council to abolish prefects apostolic having jurisdiction over districts within a vicariate or diocese of the Latin Church, but the Council was interrupted and the practice continued until Pope Leo XIII abolished them within the Oriental Churches by a decree of Propaganda Fide on 12 September 1896, and established superiors with special dependence on the papal representatives of the areas concerned. In 1911 there were 66 prefectures apostolic: 5 in Europe; 17 in Asia; 3 in North America (e.g., the Yukon); 11 in South America; 23 in Africa and 7 in Oceania. At the end of 2010, the prefectures apostolic were only 39, of which the vast majority (29) were in PR China (many vacant), where development of the Catholic Church, including that of the prefectures, had long been hindered by actions of the government. The 10 other prefectures included a newly created one for Azerbaijan, 4 more in Asia, 3 in Africa, 1 in the Americas and 1 in Oceania. Current apostolic prefectures In China Ankang 安康 (Hinganfu) / Ankang Baojing 保靖 / Paoking Guilin 桂林 / Kweilin Hainan 海南 / Hainan Haizhou 海州 / Haichow Jiamusi 佳木斯 / Kiamusze Jian′ou 建甌 / Kienow Lingling 零岭 / Yongzhou 永州 / Yungchow Linqing 臨清 / Lintsing Lintong 臨潼 / Lintung Lixian 澧縣 / Lizhou 澧州 / Lichow Qiqihar 齊齊哈爾 / Tsitsibar Shaowu 邵武 / Shashi 沙市 / Shasi Shiqian 石阡 / Shihtsien Suixian 隨縣 / Suihsien Tongzhou 同州 / Tungchow Tunxi 屯溪 / Tunki Weihai(wei) 威海衛 / Weihaiwei Xiangtan 湘潭 / Siangtan Xining 西寧 / Sining Xinjiang 新絳 / Jiangzhou