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Shanghai

Xujiahui Cathedral at the western end of Shanghai’s French concession was built by the Jesuits between 1904 and 1906, and is one of the largest Catholic churches in China. The church was originally known as Saint Ignatius and sat at the centre of what
was then a thriving Catholic community. Around it were a home for foundlings, a large orphanage, schools and workshops for the unfortunate. Girls were taught cookery and needlework while boys were taught woodwork and glass-blowing. There
was also a monastery, a nunnery, a seminary, a printing press and a vast library (housing works mainly in Latin). The church choir still sings in Latin today.

The St. Ignatius
Cathedral of Shanghai (聖依納爵主教座堂), also referred to as Xujiahui
Cathedral (徐家汇天主教堂), is a Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral,
located on Puxi Road, in the Xujiahui district of Shanghai, China. The cathedral is attended by
over 2000 people every Sunday.

The interior was severely damaged during the Cultural Revolution and the organ was destroyed. However, in an effort to make amends, the government has funded restoration work and today the inside gleams as it did when first built. It featured in Steven Speilberg’s film “Empire of the Sun” (1987), and is just a few kilometres from Longhua Temple.

Designed by English architect William Doyle, and built by French Jesuits between 1905 and 1910, it is said to have once been known as “the grandest cathedral in the Far East.” It can accommodate 2,500 worshippers at the same time. In 1966, at the opening of the Cultural Revolution, Red Guards vandalized the cathedral, tearing down its spires and ceiling, and smashing its roughly 300 square meters of stained glass. For the next ten years the building served as a state-owned grain warehouse.

In 1978 the cathedral was re-opened, and the spires were restored in the early 1980s..

In 1989, the first-ever Chinese language mass was celebrated in St. Ignatius by order of Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian. The celebrants were Father Thomas Law of Hong Kong, Father Joseph Zen of Hong Kong (later named bishop and Cardinal of Hong Kong), and Father Edward Malatesta of San Francisco.

The building’s restoration is continuing. In 2002, Wo Ye, a Beijing-born artist, and Father Thomas Lucas, a Jesuit from the University of San Francisco, began a five year project to replace the cathedral’s stained glass windows. The new windows
incorporate Chinese characters and iconography, and they are expected to be finished in time for the 2010 World’s Fair in Shanghai.

Services

• Sunday: 06:00, 07:30, 10:00 and 18:00
• Weekday: 7:00 am (Sat Vigil at 6:00 pm); First Friday
  observance: 6:00 pm

Contact: +86 21 6438
4632, +86 21 6438 2595

Transportation

St. Ignatius Cathedral may be reached by taking Shanghai Metro Line 1 to the Xujiahui station. Take Exit 3 and the Cathedral is right behind you.

In the media

The cathedral was featured in the opening scenes of Steven Spielberg’s 1987 film Empire of the Sun.

Luke Chou

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