The Aowei Church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (, literally ''Aowei Church of Holy Rosary'') is a

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 Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

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 ...

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 was founded in 1848 as 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 ...

by the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

History

This Catholic church lies in the middle of Cha-ting Avenue, and is the oldest church in Fuzhou. It was built as a

in 1848 during 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 ...

. The building is built in a unique blend of

traditional Chinese architecture Chinese architecture (Chinese:中國建築) is the embodiment of an architectural style that has developed over millennia in China and it has influenced architecture throughout Eastern Asia. Since its emergence during the early ancient era, the ...

and

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

, and its floor space is 360 square meters. The church was only the oldest church standing in Fuzhou before its unlawful destruction. In 1912, the

episcopal throne A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

was moved to what then became St. Dominic's Cathedral which later became the largest Catholic church in the entire province of

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 ...

, and remained so to this day. After the removal of the

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

, the Church of Our Lady of the

Holy Rosary Holy Rosary may refer to: * Rosary, a set of prayer beads used in a traditional Roman Catholic devotion * The Holy Rosary, a prayer based on the rosary See also * Holy Rosary Academy (disambiguation), one of several Roman Catholic schools with ...

became a Dominican Priory. In 1932, the Dominican Priory was moved to Chong-zhen Catholic Church(崇真堂) on Zhongxuan Road(中选路), and the church became an ordinary

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

During the

Great Proletarian 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 ...

from 1966 to 1976, religious toleration was suppressed by the government, and the church was closed and used by a government factory, and later, when the factory was moved, the church building was given to the Children's Hospital of Fuzhou for use. While being used by the government owned factory, the church building suffered slight damage, and the north tower was demolished. In 1987, the church was given to CPCA, but remained closed and unused for unknown reasons. In the same year and again 1992, the local government announced that the building would be protected as a cultural relic after series of serious damages had been inflicted upon the church building when the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

and the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

of the was illegally demolished due to road expansion of Cha-ting Avenue. Despite the repeated proclamation of the church building to be preserved as a historic landmark and cultural relic, the church was illegally occupied once more by the Children's Hospital of Fuzhou in 2002, and the entire building was unlawfully demolished to make way for a makeshift cafeteria. 'Till this day, no charges or legal case had been made by anyone in regards to the unlawful occupation and demolition by the Children's Hospital of Fuzhou.

External links

A photograph of Aowei Church of Holy Rosary
(Chinese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Aowei Church of Holy Rosary Religious organizations established in 1884 Churches in Fujian Roman Catholic cathedrals in China Churches completed in 1848 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in China Churches in Fuzhou