Fuling Catholic Church

29°43′29″N 107°24′36″E / 29.724696°N 107.410076°E / 29.724696; 107.410076LocationFuling District, City of ChongqingCountryChinaDenominationRoman CatholicHistoryFounded1861; 163 years ago (1861)Founder(s)Paris Foreign Missions SocietyArchitectureFunctional statusActiveArchitectural typeChurchYears built1861
1991 (renovated)SpecificationsBellsYesAdministrationArchdioceseChongqingClergyArchbishopSede vacante

Fuling Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church located in Fuling District of the city of Chongqing, West China. Founded in 1861, the church has been subjected to the control of the state-sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association since 1957. In the West, it's best known for the description given by Peter Hessler in his book River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (2001).

History

The church was founded in 1861 by French missionaries. The church also had two French priests until the Communist Revolution;^[1] According to written sources, the church was converted into a sock factory by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.^[2] The priest and the neighborhood, instead, assert that the church itself was just closed down and the sock factory was started in the buildings in front of the church.

In 1981 the church reopened and on the first Sunday about twenty people went to Mass.^[3] The church was renovated in 1991, as stated on the plaque next to the entrance of the church.

The neighborhood

Fuling Catholic Church is located in Fuling historical city center. This area will be heavily renewed in 2017. Many buildings, except the very old ones, will be torn down. After consultation with the government, it has been agreed that the church will not be torn down and rebuilt in Lidu (李渡镇) neighborhood.^[4]

Gallery

• 
  The entrance to the courtyard - 2017
• 
  The entrance to the church - 2017
• 
  The plaque next to the church entrance - 2017
• 
  The interior of the church - 2017
• 
  The courtyard - 2017
• 
  The priest's office - 2017
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  Virgin Mary chapel - 2017
• 
  Virgin Mary - 2017

See also

• Catholic Church in Sichuan

References

Bibliography

Books