St. Dominic's Cathedral ( zh, 福州圣多明我主教座堂), locally known as the ''Fanchuanpu Tianzhutang'' (), is located by the Min River,

Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

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 ...

. It is the seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Fuzhou and the Ecclesiastical Province of Fuzhou.

History

It was first established in the third year of Tongzhi in 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 ...

(1864) by the Spanish Dominicans. In 1911, it was erected as the

cathedral church A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral ...

of the Archdiocese of Fuzhou. In the 21st year of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

(1932) the old building was demolished and the present cathedral was begun in an area of 1371.4 square meters that can accommodate 3,000 people. It was known as "The Grandest Church in the South of

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

", and it is still the largest

Catholic 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 ...

church in

today. It was said that the sound of its bells ringing can be heard from more than ten

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

s away. Before 1949, of the approximately 10,000 Catholics of

, approximately half belonged to the cathedral (5,153 people). During 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 church was attacked by the Red Guards in 1966, who then proceeded to removing the cross from the

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

atop the cathedral

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

. The cathedral was closed and used for other purposes. It was reopened in 1985. In 1994, the Cathedral of St. Dominic was the center of worship of about 16,000 Catholics and still serves as the place of worship for half of the Catholic population of Fuzhou.

The cathedral complex

Other than the cathedral itself, several other buildings form the cathedral complex. These buildings are: * The Cathedral

Rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

* The Archdiocesan Center and Office * The Cathedral Garden, which contains a large standing

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

; a shrine to the

Immaculate Heart of Mary The Immaculate Heart of Mary () is a Roman Catholic devotional name used to refer to the Catholic view of the interior life of Mary, mother of Jesus, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love ...

Our Lady of Fatima Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...

; a shrine to St. Therese; a statue of Sacred Heart of Jesus erected in the year 1990; a sculptural group featuring Christ as the Good Shephard; stones engraved with biblical passages in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

; light-up religious texts; statues of

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

s and various

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

s, including Sts. Peter and Paul the Apostles,

St. John Bosco John Melchior Bosco ( it, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; pms, Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and saint of the 19th century. While working ...

, St. Michael the Archangel, etc. File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Fuzhou Outdoor Crucifix.webp, The outdoor

, located behind the chancel File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Fuzhou Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary-Our Lady of Fatima.webp,

Shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

of the

File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Fuzhou Shrine of St. Therese.webp,

St. Therese ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Fuzhou Rectory and Good Shephard Sculptural Group.webp, Side of the Cathedral

. The

Good Shepherd The Good Shepherd ( el, ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, ''poimḗn ho kalós'') is an image used in the pericope of , in which Jesus Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23 ...

Sculptural Group is in the foreground. File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Fuzhou With the Cathedral Rectory and Statues of Sts. Peter and Paul the Apostles.webp, Statues of Sts. Peter and Paul the Apostles in front of the Cathedral

File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Fuzhou Statue of St. John Bosco.webp, Statue of

with

St. Dominic Savio Dominic Savio ( it, Domenico Savio; 2 April 1842 – 9 March 1857) was an Italian student of John Bosco. He was studying to be a priest when he became ill and died at the age of 14, possibly from pleurisy. He was noted for his piety and devotio ...

Architecture and interior

Architecture

The cathedral is built in the neo-Gothic style, however with neo-Classical, neo-Romanesque, and

touches, as respectively seen in the pillars of the nave, the rounded-arches found throughout the building, and the many of the exterior

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

s, which makes the cathedral unique within the realm of ecclesiastical construction. The cathedral follows a typical

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

floor plan with two rows of 11

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

separating the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

from the two

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

s. The cathedral also features the

ribbed ''Ribbed'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX, released in 1991 through Epitaph Records. It was their last album to feature Steve Kidwiler on guitar; he was replaced by El Hefe. ''Ribbed'' is also the last NOFX album p ...

groin vaults—a common feature of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

cathedrals of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. The vaults of St. Dominic's Cathedral are painted blue and dotted with stars. This is a common feature among cathedrals and churches built in the neo-Gothic style, such as the

Sainte Chapelle The Sainte-Chapelle (; en, Holy Chapel) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France. Co ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, or the Notre Dame Basilica in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Altars

The cathedral contains five altars. The

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...

of the cathedral is topped by a statue of Our Lady of the Rosary, who revealed to St. Dominic the Catholic devotion of the

Rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

. There are also four side altars in four side chapels within the cathedral: the north-transept altar of

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

; the south-transept altar of

; the altar at the chapel of the Sacred Heart at the rear of the north aisle, which was later rededicated to

St. Vincent Ferrer Vincent Ferrer, OP ( ca-valencia, Sant Vicent Ferrer , es, San Vicente Ferrer, it, San Vincenzo Ferreri, german: Sankt Vinzenz Ferrer, nl, Sint-Vincent Ferrer, french: Saint Vincent Ferrier; 23 January 1350 – 5 April 1419) was a Valencian D ...

; and the altar at the chapel of the

at the rear of the south aisle, which was later rededicated to

St. Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 15 ...

in 2017, but eventually rededicated to St. Peter Sanz, a bishop of the Archdiocese of Fuzhou. The rededications of the two rear-end chapels to Sts. Vincent Ferrer and

Peter Sanz Peter Sanz (22 September 1680 – 26 May 1747) ( ca, Pere Sans i Jordá, es, Pedro Sans i Jordá) was a Catalan Dominican friar who was sent as a missionary bishop to China. He was declared a martyr and canonized by the Catholic Church. E ...

is reminiscent of the cathedral's Dominican foundations and are possibly restorations of the original dedications of the altars from before the destructions brought by

. The

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s of St. Joseph and St. Therese are placed in the central

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

of their respective altars. File:Saint Dominic's Cathedral.jpg, St. Dominic's Cathedral in 2017 before the renovation. The Archdiocesan Center can be seen on the bottom-right corner File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Pre-2018-Renovation Nave.webp, Side of the nave before the addition of the new windows File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Pre-2018-Renovation Nave Window.webp, One of the old nave windows File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Nave.webp, Side of the nave after the new stained-glass windows have been installed File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Fuzhou New Nave Stained-Glass Window Exterior View.webp, Exterior view of one of the new windows. This window shows the Apparition of

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

to St. Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes. File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Fuzhou Post-Renovation Interior.webp, The cathedral interior after the 2017 renovation File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Fuzhou High Altar.webp, The high altar File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Fuzhou St. Joseph's Chapel.webp,

's Chapel File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Fuzhou St. Therese's Chapel.jpg, Altar/Shrine inside

's Chapel File:St. Dominic's Cathedral Fuzhou View of the Choir Loft.webp, View of the choir loft

Renovations

To reverse the damages inflicted upon the cathedral during the

as well as the deteriorations throughout the years, the cathedral was heavily renovated and restored in 2017. The nave column capitals were gilded to highlight the details. The walls of the cathedral, now covered with mold due to the damp climate of

South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

, was cleaned and whitewashed. Leaded

stained-glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows featuring simple designs were specially commissioned and installed on the west-end of the cathedral as well as the three east windows featuring the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

and the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church in the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

. In addition, a new

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

and Versus Populum Altar,

Ambo Ambo may refer to: Places * Ambo, Kiribati * Ambo Province, Huanuco Region, Peru ** Ambo District ** Ambo, Peru, capital of Ambo District * Ambo Town, a town in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia ** Ambo, Ethiopia, a capital of West Shewa Zone ...

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

, and Altar of

, as well as new matching

altar rail The altar rail (also known as a communion rail or chancel rail) is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church, from the nave and oth ...

s were commissioned and was installed at the cathedral. Other changes included the addition of new angel holy water basins and the removal of the curtains and the curtain rods of the nave windows. 010621200095wycfh153B W 640 10000

The more complicated leaded painted stained-glass windows featuring biblical scenes and

Marian Apparitions A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time. In the Catholic Church, in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian ap ...

and other Catholic

iconographies Iconology is a method of interpretation in cultural history and the history of the visual arts used by Aby Warburg, Erwin Panofsky and their followers that uncovers the cultural, social, and historical background of themes and subjects in the visu ...

were later installed in the cathedral

2008 cathedral rectory structural relocation

The church was listed among the major cultural relics of

Fujian Province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

in 1996. Owing to Fuzhou's urban development of the South Riverside Avenue in 2008, which was projected to go through where the cathedral

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

was standing, the cathedral rectory was structurally relocated. The cathedral rectory structural relocation was conducted by the Academy of Building Research in order to make some modifications without altering its beauty and original conception. The cathedral rectory was moved 80 meters from its original location and rotated 90 degrees to make way for the street construction.

References

{{coord, 26, 03, 04, N, 119, 19, 12, E, region:CN_type:city_source:kolossus-plwiki, display=title Churches in Fuzhou Churches in Fujian Roman Catholic cathedrals in China Tourist attractions in Fujian Tourist attractions in Fuzhou Cathedral architecture Catholicism in China Catholicism in Asia Dominican churches Gothic Revival church buildings in China