St. Ignatius Cathedral of Shanghai
Encyclopedia
- For other places bearing the name St. Ignatius, see St. IgnatiusSt. Ignatius-People:* Ignatius of Antioch, third Patriarch of Antioch, considered a saint by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches*Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church...
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
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
Roman Catholic cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
, located on Puxi Road, in Xujiahui
Xujiahui
Xujiahui , also spelt Zikawei or Siccawei is an historical and cultural area in Xuhui District of Shanghai, China. The area is a well known precinct for shopping and entertainment in Shanghai....
, Xuhui District
Xuhui District
Xuhui District is a district of Shanghai. It has a land area of 54.76 km² and a population of 982,200 as of 2008 .The Xuhui District is centred on Xujiahui, after which it is named. Xujiahui was historically land owned by Ming dynasty bureaucrat and scientist Xu Guangqi, and later donated to the...
of Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. The cathedral is attended by over 2000 people every Sunday.
History
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 EastFar East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
." 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 metres 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
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
was celebrated in St. Ignatius by order of Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Aloysius Jin Luxian. The celebrants were Father Thomas Law of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, 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
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
, 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.
Chinese Masses
- Sunday: 06:00h, 07:30h, 10:00h and 18:00h
- Weekday: 07:00h (Sat Vigil at 18:00h); First Friday observance: 18:00h
Transportation
St. Ignatius Cathedral may be reached by taking Shanghai Metro Line 1Shanghai Metro Line 1
Line 1 is the main north-south line of the Shanghai Metro and was the first line to open, in 1995. It runs from Fujin Road in the north, via Shanghai Railway Station to Xinzhuang in the south...
to the Xujiahui station
Xujiahui (Shanghai Metro)
Xujiahui is the name of an interchange station between Lines 1 and 9 of the Shanghai Metro. It is located in the Xujiahui area of Xuhui District, Shanghai.The station is one of the busiest in the metro system, and is extremely crowded during peak hours...
.
In the media
The cathedral was featured in the opening scenes of Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's 1987 film Empire of the Sun
Empire of the Sun (film)
Empire of the Sun is a 1987 American coming of age war film based on J. G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which stars Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, and Nigel Havers...
.