Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Beijing
Encyclopedia
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
located in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. While the original foundation of the cathedral was in 1605, making it the oldest Catholic church in Beijing, the current building in the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style dates from 1904. The present Archbishop Joseph Li Shan
Joseph Li Shan
Joseph Li Shan is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Beijing, China. He was consecrated a bishop on 21 September 2007, at age 42 at a ceremony at Nan Tang at Xuanwumen...
, installed in September 2007, is one of the few bishops openly recognized by both the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Church and the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
.
History
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, as a foundation, dates back to 1605, in the thirty-third year of the reign of the Emperor Wanli of the Ming DynastyMing Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
. When the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Jesuit Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci, SJ was an Italian Jesuit priest, and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission, as it existed in the 17th-18th centuries. His current title is Servant of God....
arrived in Beijing, the Emperor permitted him a residence slightly to the west of the site of the current cathedral, in the Xuanwumen district. Attached to this residence was a small chapel, in Chinese style, with only the presence of a cross atop the entrance to distinguish it as a church. This was at the time referred to as the Xuanwumen Chapel (宣武门礼拜堂).
In 1650, in the seventh year of the reign of the Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, under the leadership of the German Jesuit Johann Adam Schall von Bell
Johann Adam Schall von Bell
Johann Adam Schall von Bell was a German Jesuit and astronomer. He spent most of his life as a missionary in China and became an adviser to the Chinese emperor.- Life :...
, work on a new church building was begun on the site of the Xuanwumen Chapel. Construction of was complete in two years, and the new church received the honour of a Ceremonial gateway
Paifang
Paifang, also called pailou, is a traditional Chinese architectural gating style as an archway.The word paifang originally was a collective term used to describe the top two levels of administrative division and subdivisions of ancient Chinese city. The largest division within a city in ancient...
with the words 'Respect the Teachings of the Way of Heaven' (钦宗天道).
Emperor Shunzhi was friendly to Schall and the church, visiting it no less than twenty four times, bestowing upon it a stone stela with the words 'built by Imperial Order' (敕建) inscribed upon it.
In 1690, Beijing received its first Roman Catholic bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
Bernardin della Chiesa, and the church became a cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
.
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
structure was built in the baroque style, with a length of 86 metres and width of 45 metres. This was again severely damaged by an earthquake in 1730, in the eighth year of the Emperor Yongzheng, who donated 1000 tael
Tael
Tael can refer to any one of several weight measures of the Far East. Most commonly, it refers to the Chinese tael, a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency....
s of silver towards its repair. The repaired cathedral had larger and taller windows, resulting in a brighter and grander interior.
The cathedral was damaged by fire in 1775, this being the fortieth year of the reign of the Emperor Qianlong, who donated 10,000 taels of silver for restoration work, and also bestowed a calligraphed board in the Emperor's own hand, inscribed with the characters '万有真原' on it, meaning 'The True Origin of All Things'.
In 1838, in the fourteenth year of the reign of the Emperor Daoguang, due to constant conflicts with the power and influence of the Catholic Church, for the sake of peace, the Qing government decreed a restriction of the activity of the Catholic Church in China. In this decree, the cathedral was confiscated by the government and remained such until the end of the Second Opium War
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860...
, when the Catholic Church was again permitted to act freely. The cathedral was reopened in 1860 under the leadership of Bishop Joseph Martial Mouly.
When the Boxer rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
broke out in 1900, all the churches of Beijing were targets of vandalism, and on 14 June 1900, the cathedral was set razed to the ground, together with most other churches of Beijing.
In 1904, the present structure was completed, the fourth church on the site. On 21 December 1979, Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan
Michael Fu Tieshan
Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan of Beijing was the top leader of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association....
was consecrated in the cathedral, the first major event in the life of the Catholic Church in China after the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
.
The cathedral is possibly the best known to foreigners, as it has an English-language mass on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., as well as Chinese-language masses at 6:00 a.m., 6:30 a.m., and 7:15 a.m. weekdays, and at, 7:00 a.m., & 8:30 a.m Sundays. The Extraordinary Rite of Mass is said in Latin, ad orientem, on Sunday mornings at 6:00am.
Currently on April 26, 2009, this parish is under His Excellency Bishop Joseph Li Shan, with International Parish Chaplain Rev. Fr. Matthew Zhen, and Assistant International Parish Chaplain Rev. Fr. Justin Liu. It is located at 141 Qianmen Xidajie, Xuanwumen, Beijing 100031, P.R.China. Their local telephone number is 6602 6538.
See also
- Roman Catholic Marian churchesRoman Catholic Marian churchesThroughout history, Roman Catholics have built churches to venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today, a large number of Roman Catholic churches dedicated to the Blessed Virgin exist on all continents...
- Matteo RicciMatteo RicciMatteo Ricci, SJ was an Italian Jesuit priest, and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission, as it existed in the 17th-18th centuries. His current title is Servant of God....
- Johann Adam Schall von BellJohann Adam Schall von BellJohann Adam Schall von Bell was a German Jesuit and astronomer. He spent most of his life as a missionary in China and became an adviser to the Chinese emperor.- Life :...
- Xishiku CathedralXishiku CathedralThe Xishiku Cathedral , commonly referred to as the Beitang is a historic Catholic church in the Xicheng District, Beijing, China...
(Beitang) - Wangfujing CathedralWangfujing CathedralThe Wangfujing Cathedral , also named St. Joseph's Wangfujing Cathedral or to the locals, Dongtang is a historic Catholic cathedral located in downtown Beijing, near Wangfujing. A small church was first established in 1653 on the open grounds by the Jesuit Father Lodovico Buglio...
(Dongtang) - Xizhimen ChurchXizhimen ChurchThe Xizhimen Church , or Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic Church located on the southern side at n.130 of Xizhimen Neidajie in Beijing. It is commonly referred to as Xitang to the locals.The Xizhimen Church was the last among the four historic Catholic churches in...
(Xitang) - List of Catholic cathedrals in China