The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Jinan (), locally known as Jiangjunmiao Catholic Church (), is the oldest Catholic church in

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

History

The original church dates back to 1651, founded by Jaboulet (), a Spanish missionary of the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

. After the Chinese Rites controversy broke out,

Yongzheng Emperor The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizong of Qing, personal name Yinzhen, was the fourth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing em ...

of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

(1644–1911) ordered to demolish churches, confiscate church lands and force Catholics to return to secular life. In 1861, French bishop Luigi Moccagatta () came to

and proposed to the Qing government to rebuild the Catholic church in Jiangjunmiao Street (), which was approved. The reconstruction project started in 1864 with Romanesque architectural style by Italian bishop Eligio Pietro Cosi () and was completed two years later. The church was named "Church of the Immaculate Conception" and used as the Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jinan. The abbey and episcopal office were added to the church in 1863 and the Haixing School () was added to the church in 1898, respectively. In 1905, the Sacred Heart Cathedral replaced it as the cathedral of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jinan The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jinan (, ) is an archdiocese located in the city of Jinan (Shandong) in China. History * September 3, 1839: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Shantung from the Diocese of Beijing * December 2, 1885: Rename ...

. The church was closed in 1966 due to the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

. It was officially reopened to the public on 23 June 1979. In October 2013, it was designated as a provincial cultural relic preservation organ by the Shandong government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of the Immaculate Conception, Jinan Roman Catholic churches completed in 1866 Churches in Shandong Tourist attractions in Jinan 1866 establishments in China 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in China