The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (), colloquially known as the Xuanwumen church () or Nantang () to the locals, is a historic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
located in the
Beijing
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Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, Xicheng District, near the
Beijing Financial Street
Beijing Financial Street (BFS) () is where Chinese regulatory agencies are located. It is located inside Beijing's innermost 2nd Ring Road. According to the 13th 5 years plan, Beijing Financial Street will be positioned more towards a regula ...
. While the original foundation of the cathedral was in 1605, making it the oldest Catholic church in Beijing, the current building in
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style dates from 1904. The present Archbishop
Joseph Li Shan
Joseph Li Shan (; born March 1965 in Daxing District, Beijing) is a Chinese Catholic prelate who serves as Archbishop of Beijing. He was consecrated a bishop on 21 September 2007, at age 42 at a ceremony at Nan Tang (South Cathedral) in Xuanw ...
, installed in September 2007, is one of the few Catholic bishops also recognised by the
Catholic Patriotic Association
The Catholic Patriotic Association (), abbreviated CPA, is a state-sanctioned organization of Catholicism in the People's Republic of China. It was established in 1957 after a group of Chinese Catholics met in Beijing with officials from the Chi ...
.
The church has been closed for repairs since 10 December 2018.
History
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, as a foundation, dates back to 1605, in the 33rd year of the reign of the
Wanli Emperor
The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was the ...
of the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci, SJ (; la, Mattheus Riccius; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610), was an Italians, Italian Society of Jesus, Jesuit Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He create ...
arrived in Beijing, the Wanli Emperor permitted him a residence slightly to the west of the site of the current cathedral, near Xuanwumen. 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
Shunzhi Emperor
The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661) was the second Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1644 to 1661. A Deliberative Council of Prince ...
of the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
, under the leadership of the German Jesuit
Johann Adam Schall von Bell
Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1 May 1591 – 15 August 1666) was a German Jesuit, astronomer and instrument-maker. He spent most of his life as a missionary in China (where he is remembered as "Tang Ruowang") and became an adviser to the Shunz ...
, 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 with the words 'Respect the Teachings of the Way of Heaven' (钦宗天道).
The Shunzhi Emperor was friendly to Schall and the church, visiting it no less than 24 times, bestowing upon it a stone
stela
A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
with the words 'built by Imperial Order' (敕建) inscribed upon it.
In 1690, Beijing received its first Roman Catholic
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
in three hundred years, the
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
Bernardin della Chiesa, and the church became a
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
.
In 1703, in the 24th year of the reign of the
Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
, the cathedral was enlarged and renovated, and after ten years, a European-style building was complete, the second European-style building in Beijing after the Canchikou church. This was destroyed in 1720 by an earthquake in Beijing. A new
cruciform
Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly described ...
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 reign of the
Yongzheng Emperor
, regnal name =
, posthumous name = Emperor Jingtian Changyun Jianzhong Biaozhen Wenwu Yingming Kuanren Xinyi Ruisheng Daxiao Zhicheng Xian()Manchu: Temgetulehe hūwangdi ()
, temple name = Shizong()Manchu: Šidzung ()
, house = Aisin Gioro ...
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...
, who donated 10,000 taels of silver for restoration work, and also bestowed a calligraphed board in his own hand, inscribed with the characters '万有真原' on it, meaning 'The True Origin of All Things'.
In 1838, in the 14th year of the reign of the
Daoguang Emperor
The Daoguang Emperor (; 16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanxong of Qing, born Mianning, was the seventh Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning ...
, 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
The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...
, 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
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
broke out in 1900, all the churches of Beijing were targets of vandalism, and on 14 June 1900, the cathedral was razed to the ground, together with most other churches of Beijing.
In 1904, the present structure, the fourth church on the site, was completed. On 21 December 1979, Bishop
Michael Fu Tieshan
Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan (Simplified Chinese: 傅铁山, Traditional Chinese: 傅鐵山; November 3, 1931 – April 20, 2007) of Beijing was a top leader of the Catholic Patriotic Association.
Biography
Fu was born in Hebei province. He serv ...
was consecrated in the cathedral, the first major event in the life of the Catholic Church in China after the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
.
The cathedral is possibly the best known to foreigners in China, as English-language masses are celebrated there.
Current masses
The cathedral is currently (April 2019) closed for renovation and the English Mass is being held at 14:00 (2 P.M.) in the North Church.
The Italian/Spanish mass is at 10:00 (10 A.M.) in an outbuilding of the South Cathedral.
There is a Chinese Mass at 08:30 (8:30 A.M.).
Masses before the Cathedral was closed for renovation
Masses are held in multiple languages. Weekday masses are held Monday to Saturday in Latin at 06:00, and then in Mandarin at 06:30 and 07:15. On Saturday, there is a vigil mass at 18:30 in Mandarin that is a "youth mass". On Sundays, there are mass in Latin at 06:00, and Mandarin at 07:00, 08:30, 16:00, and 18:00. There are masses in English with readings also in French at 10:30, and in Italian with Spanish readings at 12:30."Catholic Mass Times in Beijing" ''Our Lady of China'' English Foreign Community in Beijing, website visited on 21 February 2017.
See also
*
Roman Catholic Marian churches
Catholic Marian churches are religious buildings dedicated to the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These churches were built throughout the history of the Catholic Church, and today they can be found on every continent including Antarctica. ...
*
Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci, SJ (; la, Mattheus Riccius; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610), was an Italians, Italian Society of Jesus, Jesuit Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He create ...
*
Johann Adam Schall von Bell
Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1 May 1591 – 15 August 1666) was a German Jesuit, astronomer and instrument-maker. He spent most of his life as a missionary in China (where he is remembered as "Tang Ruowang") and became an adviser to the Shunz ...
*
Xishiku Cathedral
The Church of the Saviour ( zh, t=救世主堂, s=救世主堂), also known as the Xishiku Church ( zh, t=西什庫天主堂, s=西什库天主堂) or Beitang ( zh, t=北堂, s=北堂, l=the North Church, links=no), is a historic Roman Catholic c ...
(Beitang)
*
Wangfujing Cathedral
St. Joseph's Church (), commonly known as Wangfujing Church () or Dongtang (, the East Cathedral), is an early 20th-century Romanesque Revival church that is one of the four historic Catholic churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Beijing. ...
(Dongtang)
*
Xizhimen Church
The Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel ( zh, 圣母圣衣堂), more often colloquially referred to as Xizhimen Church ( zh, 西直门天主堂), is a Roman Catholic Church located on the southern side at No. 130 of Xizhimen Neidajie in Beijing. ...
(Xitang)
*
List of Catholic cathedrals in China
This is the list of cathedrals in China sorted by original denomination.
Roman Catholic
Cathedrals of the Catholic Church in China:GCatholic.orgCathedrals China/ref>
* Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Baoding
* Immaculate Conceptio ...
*
List of Jesuit sites
This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association.
Nearly all these sites have bee ...