Jiaxing Catholic Church

Church in Zhejiang, China

30°46′03″N 120°45′28″E / 30.767368°N 120.757913°E / 30.767368; 120.757913LocationJiaxing, ZhejiangCountryChinaDenominationRoman CatholicHistoryStatusParish churchFounded1902 (1902)Founder(s)Bu Shijia (步师加)ArchitectureFunctional statusActiveArchitectural typeChurch buildingStyleGothic architectureYears built1930Groundbreaking1917Completed1930SpecificationsFloor area1,590 m² (0.00061 sq mi)MaterialsBricks

Jiaxing Catholic Church (simplified Chinese: 嘉兴天主堂; traditional Chinese: 嘉興天主堂; pinyin: Jiāxīng Tiānzhǔtáng) is a Roman Catholic Church in downtown Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China.

History

Jiaxing Catholic Church was originally built by French priest Louis Boscat / Bu Shijia 步师加 (1848-1904) in 1902. It was the headquarters of Carmelites in Jiaxing. The current church was designed by the Italian priest, missionary of the Congregation of the Mission, Angelo-Joseph Asinelli / Han Rilu 韩日禄 (1871-1950). The construction began in 1917 and was completed in 1930 thanks to gifts from the Shanghai philanthropist Joseph Lo Pa Hong 陆伯鸿 (1875-1937). During the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards attacked the church and part of it was badly damaged.^[1] In March 2005, it was designated as a "Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the Provincial Level" by the Zhejiang government. In May 2013, it was listed among the seventh batch of "Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Zhejiang" alongside Jiaxing Vincent Abbey by the State Council of China.^[2] The restoration of the church will begin in November 2019 and is expected to be completed in December 2020.^[3]

References

^ 嘉兴天主教堂破旧不堪何时修缮仍未知（图）. zjol.com.cn (in Chinese). 30 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
^ 嘉兴国保嘉兴文生修道院与天主堂. ifeng (in Chinese). 22 October 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
^ Huang Na (黄娜), ed. (19 October 2019). 期待！嘉兴市中心“国宝”下月开始修缮. zjol.com.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.