St. Michael's Cathedral, Qingdao
Encyclopedia
St. Michael's Cathedral is a Catholic church in Qingdao
(also known as Tsingtao), Shandong
Province, China and is the seat of the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Qingdao. It is located in the oldest part of Qingdao, at 15 Zhejiang Road, on the east side of Zhongshan Road in Shinan District
. Built by German
missionaries, the cathedral stands at the top of a hill in the center of the old German-built part of the city. It is the largest example of Romanesque Revival architecture in the province, resembling a German cathedral of the 12th century.
St. Michael's Cathedral is the product of a strong German presence in Shandong Province in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the mid-19th century the European powers forcibly opened China to foreign trade. The Divine Word Missionaries
built a church in the Jiaozhou Bay concession
in Shandong in 1902, and in 1934 erected the cathedral, which remained nominally under their administration until 1964. In 1942 it came under the control of the Japanese Army
, returning to Chinese control when the Japanese left Qingdao in 1945. In the early 1950s, all foreign missionaries, including the Bishop of Qingdao, were either imprisoned or expelled from China, and during the Cultural Revolution
(1966–1976) the cathedral was defaced and abandoned. In 1981, it was repaired by the government and reopened for services, and in 1992 it was listed as a Provincial Historic Building by the government of Shandong Province.
, the country was forcibly opened to foreign trade by a number of treaties collectively referred to as the Unequal Treaties
. Following the Treaty of Nanjing (1842), the British established the first treaty ports
. Following China's concession
to the British Empire, other foreign powers including France, the United States, Portugal, Germany, Japan, and Russia won concessions as well. Foreigners, who were centered in foreign sections of the cities, enjoyed legal extraterritoriality
as stipulated in the Unequal Treaties. Foreign clubs, racecourses, and churches were established in major treaty ports. Some of these port areas were directly leased by foreign powers, such as the concessions in China
, effectively removing them from the control of local governments.
("Jiaozhou" is romanized as Kiaochow, Kiauchau or Kiao-Chau in English and Kiautschou in German) for building its first naval base in East Asia in order to expand into the interior of Shandong. In 1891 the Qing government
decided to make Qingdao (commonly spelled "Tsingtao") defensible against naval attack and began to improve the existing fortifications of the town. German naval officials observed and reported on this Chinese activity during a formal survey of Jiaozhou Bay in May 1897. In November 1897, the German Navy seized Jiaozhou Bay under the pretext of ensuring that reparations were paid for the murder of two German Catholic missionaries in the province. In the spring of 1898, the German government signed a treaty that allowed the Germans to lease an area of 540 square km for 99 years, to construct a railway to Jinan
, the capital of Shandong province, and to exploit coalfields along the railroad.
The Jiaozhou Bay concession
, as it became known, existed from 1898 to 1914. With an area of 552 km² (136,402 acre; 213.1 sq mi), it was located in the imperial province of Shandong
(alternatively romanized as Shantung or Shan-tung) on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula in northern China. Qingdao was its administrative center. According to Dr. Wilhelm Matzat, of the University of Bonn, "The so-called Marktstrasse (Market street) was nothing more than the old main street of the Chinese village of Tsingtao, and the buildings lining it were the former homes of fishermen and farmers. Having sold their property, they resettled their homes and fields in the villages further east." On gaining control of the area, the Germans outfitted the impoverished fishing village of Tsingtao with wide streets, solid housing areas, government buildings, electrification throughout, a sewer system and a safe drinking water supply. The buildings were built in a European style. The area had the highest density of schools and per capita student enrollment in all of China; primary, secondary and vocational schools were funded by the Imperial German
treasury and Protestant and Roman Catholic missions.
The cathedral was built by the Divine Word Missionaries
(abbreviated "SVD," from their Latin name: Societas Verbi Divini), the first German Catholic missionary society. The order was founded in 1875 "for the propagation of the Catholic religion among pagan nations," at Steyl (today in the Limburg Province
of the Netherlands), by German Catholic priests fleeing the Kulturkampf
. The society's first mission was established in 1882 in southern Shantung, a district of more than 10 million people, which contained 158 Catholics. At the time, the area was part of the Apostolic Vicariate
of Shantung, managed by Italian Franciscan
s, who were tasked with rebuilding the earlier Catholic mission work. However, the mission work proceeded slowly, due to insufficient personnel and resources. The southern half of the province, in particular, had been all but neglected. Consequently, it was transferred to the SVD on December 2, 1885, and became the Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Shan-tung. The new Vicariate Apostolic was headquartered in Yanzhou
, Shandong and headed by Bishop Johann Baptist von Anzer
, SVD, who led it until November 24, 1903. By 1907, the mission numbered 35,378 Catholics and 36,367 catechumen
s, and by 1924, 106,000 Catholics and 44,000 catechumens. The SVD's presence in Qingdao was first recorded when the mission purchased land there in 1899 and began building a mission hall.
temple. Adjacent to his house he had a provisional chapel built which served as a place of worship/service for the European inhabitants of Qingdao until 1902 when a mission hall with a chapel was built. Major Kopka von Lossow, commander of the Third Sea Battalion which was stationed in Qingdao, ordered about a hundred of his men to attend services every Sunday.
On a hill chosen by Bishop von Anzer, Father Bartels purchased some land on Qufu Road, having a printing house and the SVD mission hall erected in 1902. The mission hall was converted to a schoolDexian Primary School, on Dexian road. in 1922, and was operating as of May 2010.
The Holy Ghost Convent was also built on the same hill, occupied by Franciscan sisters who worked as nurses and teachers.
The cathedral's original architect (commissioned by Bishop Augustin Henninghaus) designed a three-aisled Gothic
church, but the World War I conquest of Qingdao by the Japanese on November 16, 1914, put an end to the cathedral plans. The city reverted to Chinese rule in December 1922, under control of the Republic of China
. The Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Shan-tung was renamed the Vicariate Apostolic of Yanzhoufu on December 13, 1924, and on February 22, 1925, the Apostolic Prefect
ure of Qingdao was established from its territory, with Bishop Georg Weig
, SVD, appointed prefect on March 18 of that same year. On June 14, 1928, it was elevated to a Vicariate Apostolic. When construction resumed, the original Gothic plan no longer seemed appropriate for the modern townscape of Qingdao. Father Alfred Fräbel designed the present neo-Romanesque structure, built during the tenure of Bishop Weig, who is entombed in the cathedral.
Construction began on May 5, 1931, under Brother Theophorus Kleemann, SVD, who became ill and died on September 12, 1931; Arthur Bialucha, a German architect living in Qingdao who had already completed several projects for the SVD, took over as construction superintendent. Construction was frustrated in 1933, when Adolf Hitler
came to power in Germany and prohibited the transfer of money overseas. The diocese independently shouldered the cost of finishing the cathedral. This required a number of design changes to reduce costs. The changes are evident in drawings published before completion of construction, which show the roofs of the towers as bell-shaped. However, the roofs of the completed structure were changed to spires. Construction was finished in 1934, and the cathedral was consecrated on October 28 that year.
Some sources state that St. Michael's Cathedral was originally named "St. Emil's Church".For example, chinaculture.org and travel websites (e.g. AsiaHotels) A Latin inscription over the tomb of Bishop Weig states that the cathedral was consecrated to St. Michael the Archangel in 1934. In addition, a photo taken in 1935, currently in the German Federal Archives
The photo is designated as Bundesarchiv Bild (Federal Archive Image) 137-041054, and is available online at Wikimedia Commons is labeled "St. Michaels Kirche" (St. Michael's Church), and authoritative secondary print sources make no mention of "St. Emil's Church".
, SVD was appointed Vicariate Apostolic of Qingdao, in November 1942, as Bishop Georg Weig had died the year before. That year, the Japanese placed a large sign over the main door of the cathedral that read "Under Management of the Japanese Army". On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered to Allied forces, officially ending World War II, and in September 1945, Qingdao was liberated by forces of the Kuomintang
, restoring the government of the Republic of China
. The following year, on February 18, 1946, Bishop Tien was elevated to Cardinal
, becoming the first Chinese Cardinal and to date the only SVD Cardinal. He traveled to Vatican City
to accept the honor. His Vicariate Apostolic was elevated to the Diocese of Qingdao on April 11. Upon his return on May 27, he was greeted by representatives of the government of Shandong Province, who had arranged a welcome in his honor, with the United States Marine Band
playing outside the main entrance of the cathedral. The Marine Band was attached to Naval Forces Western Pacific
, headquartered in Qingdao at the time. During the Civil War
period (1946–1949), missionaries in Shandong Province experienced growing tensions with the Communists, spurring one of them, Father Augustin Olbert, SVD to write:
Father Olbert was appointed Bishop of Qingdao two years later.
On June 2, 1949, the People's Liberation Army
entered Qingdao and both the city and Shandong Province have since been under Communist
control. Bishop Tien fled to Taiwan with the Kuomintang
government.
world' reached a peak during the ideological extremism of the Korean War
(1950–1953) when the final vestiges of the Western economic and cultural presence were eradicated." Missionary and Communist ambitions simply were irreconcilable and the wide ideological gap could not be bridged. The stage had been set for the Communists' catastrophic assault on the missionary enterprise during the Civil War period (1946–1949) and the expulsion of virtually all foreigners in the early 1950s. Foreign missionaries who were suspected of being spies were arrested. Missionary institutes funded by foreign money were closed down and all foreign missionaries expelled from China. The SVD mission was not spared this fate. In 1951, the Diocese of Qingdao's Bishop Augustin Olbert, SVD was arrested, served 22 months in prison, and was then deported to Germany in 1953. Although the cathedral was closed by the government, Bishop Olbert remained Bishop of Qingdao until his death in 1964. Native Chinese clergy were not spared the government's Marxian contempt for religion during this period. Future Bishop of Qingdao Li Mingshu was sent to prison the same year Bishop Olbert was deported, and not released from labor camps until 1968. Sweeping arrests of Chinese bishops, priests, sisters and laity did not begin, however, until 1955. Afterwards, the Catholic resistance movement, encountering mass arrests and sentences to forced labor, was forced underground. Professor Jean-Paul Wiest, Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society wrote: "The witness of Bishop Gong Pinmei of Shanghai and many others who chose jail, labor camps, and even death for the sake of their faith and their loyalty to the pope would sustain countless people in the years ahead."
By late 1957, due to the prior expulsion of foreign clergy and the subsequent imprisonment of Chinese clergy, 120 out of 145 dioceses and prefectures apostolic were without ordinaries. The Diocese of Qingdao went without an ordinary
until the state-run Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association
consecrated and appointed Bishop Paul Han Xirang, OFM without papal sanction in 1988.
The cathedral was badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution
which lasted from 1966 to 1971. During this time St. Michael's Cathedral was defaced by the Red Guards
. The crosses topping the twin steeples
were removed by the Red Guards, with two men falling to their deaths during the removal. An account of the cathedral's defacement is translated as follows:
The original crosses were rescued by local Catholics and buried in the hills. The 2400-pipe organ destroyed by the Red Guards had been one of the two largest in Asia.
declared the Cultural Revolution "an appalling catastrophe" and "the most severe setback to [the] socialist cause since [1949]." The Chinese government's condemnation of the Cultural Revolution culminated in the Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China, adopted by the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. This stated that "Comrade Mao Zedong was a great Marxist and a great proletarian revolutionary, strategist and theorist. It is true that he made gross mistakes during the "cultural revolution", but, if we judge his activities as a whole, his contributions to the Chinese revolution far outweigh his mistakes. His merits are primary and his errors secondary."
The change in prevailing political views was favorable to St. Michael's Cathedral; the Chinese government funded the cathedral's restoration efforts. New crosses were manufactured for the cathedral's restoration, and "after several years of repair, [the cathedral] was re-opened in April 1981" for religious services. In May 1999 the church was opened to the general public, allowing entry when mass
or other services are not being celebrated. In 2005, city workers repairing water pipes accidentally found the original crosses buried on Longshan Road, not far from the cathedral. They are currently stored in the north transept
. The cathedral has been listed on the register of Provincial Historic Buildings by the government of Shandong Province since 1992.
The change in prevailing political views also allowed for rapprochement with Chinese clergy formerly imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution. In 1985 Li Mingshu was allowed an official post teaching at the seminary of Jinan. In 1994 he was transferred to the service of the Diocese of Qingdao, and was appointed the Bishop of Qingdao in 2000. Upon his consecration as Bishop, he took the name "Joseph".
in plan, having a nave flanked by a lower single aisle on either side, crossed by a transept, and with a semi-circular apse projecting at the east end.
The cathedral is 65.9 metres (216.2 ft) long and the transept is 37.6 metres (123.4 ft) wide, with an exterior height of 18 metres (59.1 ft). The towers are 56 metres (183.7 ft) in height, and have Rhenish helm spires, each topped by a 4.5 metres (14.8 ft) cross. One tower contains a single large bell, and the other three smaller bells.
The west front rises to a balustrade between the towers at 30 metres (98.4 ft). It has three portals, with a rose window
above the central one. The building materials are reinforced concrete and granite, and the roofs are red tiles.
In his book, German Architecture in China, Warner Torsten writes of the cathedral:
and arch
es of a Classical revival style. Above the 12 metres (39.4 ft) high nave and transept is an unvaulted coffered ceiling
. Narrow vaults over the two aisles are so much lower than the nave that they function like ambulatories
. The nave can hold 1,000 people. The baptismal font
and statues have captions in English and Chinese.
The nave extends into a high vaulted apse
(pictured right) at the east end. The aisles on either side of the nave are continued around the apse, making an ambulatory. Seven chandeliers are suspended from the ceiling over the main aisle. Beneath the chancel arch stands the high altar, under an ornate baldachin
. The ciborium
over the high altar bears the Latin words Venite Adoremus Dominum, "Come adore the Lord." Within the sanctuary stands a second, portable, altar, upon which most masses are celebrated.
According to Lonely Planet
, "The interior is splendid, with white walls, gold piping … and a marvellously painted apse."
The mural
painted on the dome of the apse (pictured right) depicts Jesus seated on a cloud, red and golden rays radiating out of his golden halo
. God the Father
, pictured as a white-bearded man with triangular halo, looks down from a cloud above Jesus. A dove with a white halo, representing the Holy Spirit
, flies just below God, wings outstretched, completing the Trinity
. Above Jesus fly four cherubim. Seated to Jesus' right is Mary, his mother, and to his left Saint John the Baptist
. On the same cloud as Jesus, three angels flank on each side. Slightly below Jesus, Mary, and John, two more flanking angels are depicted kneeling on their own clouds and swinging censer
s. Under the entire scene, a banner displays Gloria in Excelsis Deo
.
In 2006, the construction and installation of a massive 12 by 12 m (39.4 by 39.4 ft) Jäger & Brommer pipe organ (pictured at left) was commissioned for St. Michael's Cathedral at a cost of 700,000 euros, to be ready in time for the 2008 Olympics. The pipe organ sits upon the choir loft over the west front entrance.
The north transept contains three large murals featuring Jesus Christ: Jesus washing St. Peter's feet, the Sacred Heart
, and the Pietà
. The north transept contains the tombs of two bishops. One is of the first Vicar Apostolic of the Vicariate Apostolic of Qingdao, Bishop Georg Weig, SVD
who supervised the construction of the cathedral. Bishop Weig's tombstone shows obvious signs of defacement, being chipped around the edges, and with broken stonework at its base. The other tomb contains part of the ashes of Bishop of Qingdao Paul Han Xirang, OFM
, the rest having been buried in his hometown, Han Village, Yucheng County
, Shandong Province.
The south transept also contains three large murals: the Holy child
praying, St. Thérèse of Lisieux
(patroness of missions), and the Nativity
. The north and south arms of the transept each contain two altars.
Qingdao
' also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.It borders Yantai to the...
(also known as Tsingtao), Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
Province, China and is the seat of the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Qingdao. It is located in the oldest part of Qingdao, at 15 Zhejiang Road, on the east side of Zhongshan Road in Shinan District
Shinan District
Shinan District is a district of Qingdao in the Chinese province of Shandong. It has an area of and had approximately 527,000 inhabitants as of 2007. Shinan is located in coastal hilled terrain, and has a temperate monsoon climate. Common features include moderate temperatures, moist air,...
. Built by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
missionaries, the cathedral stands at the top of a hill in the center of the old German-built part of the city. It is the largest example of Romanesque Revival architecture in the province, resembling a German cathedral of the 12th century.
St. Michael's Cathedral is the product of a strong German presence in Shandong Province in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the mid-19th century the European powers forcibly opened China to foreign trade. The Divine Word Missionaries
Divine Word Missionaries
The Society of the Divine Word , popularly called the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a missionary religious congregation in the Latin Church, one of the 23 sui iuris churches which make up the Catholic Church. As of 2006 it consisted of 6,102 members composed...
built a church in the Jiaozhou Bay concession
Jiaozhou Bay concession
The Kiautschou Bay concession was a German colonial concession in Imperial China which existed from 1898 to 1914. It had an area of 552 km², it was located around Jiaozhou Bay on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula, which lay in the imperial province of Shandong in northern China.Jiaozhou...
in Shandong in 1902, and in 1934 erected the cathedral, which remained nominally under their administration until 1964. In 1942 it came under the control of the Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
, returning to Chinese control when the Japanese left Qingdao in 1945. In the early 1950s, all foreign missionaries, including the Bishop of Qingdao, were either imprisoned or expelled from China, and during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
(1966–1976) the cathedral was defaced and abandoned. In 1981, it was repaired by the government and reopened for services, and in 1992 it was listed as a Provincial Historic Building by the government of Shandong Province.
History
After China's defeat in the First Opium WarFirst Opium War
The First Anglo-Chinese War , known popularly as the First Opium War or simply the Opium War, was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice...
, the country was forcibly opened to foreign trade by a number of treaties collectively referred to as the Unequal Treaties
Unequal Treaties
“Unequal treaty” is a term used in specific reference to a number of treaties imposed by Western powers, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, on Qing Dynasty China and late Tokugawa Japan...
. Following the Treaty of Nanjing (1842), the British established the first treaty ports
Treaty ports
The treaty ports was the name given to the port cities in China, Japan, and Korea that were opened to foreign trade by the Unequal Treaties.-Chinese treaty ports:...
. Following China's concession
Concession (territory)
In international law, a concession is a territory within a country that is administered by an entity other than the state which holds sovereignty over it. This is usually a colonizing power, or at least mandated by one, as in the case of colonial chartered companies.Usually, it is conceded, that...
to the British Empire, other foreign powers including France, the United States, Portugal, Germany, Japan, and Russia won concessions as well. Foreigners, who were centered in foreign sections of the cities, enjoyed legal extraterritoriality
Extraterritoriality
Extraterritoriality is the state of being exempt from the jurisdiction of local law, usually as the result of diplomatic negotiations. Extraterritoriality can also be applied to physical places, such as military bases of foreign countries, or offices of the United Nations...
as stipulated in the Unequal Treaties. Foreign clubs, racecourses, and churches were established in major treaty ports. Some of these port areas were directly leased by foreign powers, such as the concessions in China
Concessions in China
Concessions in China were a group of concession territories within China that were governed and occupied by foreign powers. They are frequently associated with colonialism. Most had extraterritoriality and were enclaves inside key cities that were treaty ports. Other than other minor...
, effectively removing them from the control of local governments.
German presence in Qingdao
In the early 1890s, the German Empire had been considering occupying Jiaozhou BayJiaozhou Bay
The Jiaozhou Bay is a sea gulf located in Qingdao Prefecture of Shandong Province. It was a German colonial concession from 1898 until 1914....
("Jiaozhou" is romanized as Kiaochow, Kiauchau or Kiao-Chau in English and Kiautschou in German) for building its first naval base in East Asia in order to expand into the interior of Shandong. In 1891 the Qing government
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
decided to make Qingdao (commonly spelled "Tsingtao") defensible against naval attack and began to improve the existing fortifications of the town. German naval officials observed and reported on this Chinese activity during a formal survey of Jiaozhou Bay in May 1897. In November 1897, the German Navy seized Jiaozhou Bay under the pretext of ensuring that reparations were paid for the murder of two German Catholic missionaries in the province. In the spring of 1898, the German government signed a treaty that allowed the Germans to lease an area of 540 square km for 99 years, to construct a railway to Jinan
Jinan
Jinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...
, the capital of Shandong province, and to exploit coalfields along the railroad.
The Jiaozhou Bay concession
Jiaozhou Bay concession
The Kiautschou Bay concession was a German colonial concession in Imperial China which existed from 1898 to 1914. It had an area of 552 km², it was located around Jiaozhou Bay on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula, which lay in the imperial province of Shandong in northern China.Jiaozhou...
, as it became known, existed from 1898 to 1914. With an area of 552 km² (136,402 acre; 213.1 sq mi), it was located in the imperial province of Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
(alternatively romanized as Shantung or Shan-tung) on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula in northern China. Qingdao was its administrative center. According to Dr. Wilhelm Matzat, of the University of Bonn, "The so-called Marktstrasse (Market street) was nothing more than the old main street of the Chinese village of Tsingtao, and the buildings lining it were the former homes of fishermen and farmers. Having sold their property, they resettled their homes and fields in the villages further east." On gaining control of the area, the Germans outfitted the impoverished fishing village of Tsingtao with wide streets, solid housing areas, government buildings, electrification throughout, a sewer system and a safe drinking water supply. The buildings were built in a European style. The area had the highest density of schools and per capita student enrollment in all of China; primary, secondary and vocational schools were funded by the Imperial German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
treasury and Protestant and Roman Catholic missions.
The cathedral was built by the Divine Word Missionaries
Divine Word Missionaries
The Society of the Divine Word , popularly called the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a missionary religious congregation in the Latin Church, one of the 23 sui iuris churches which make up the Catholic Church. As of 2006 it consisted of 6,102 members composed...
(abbreviated "SVD," from their Latin name: Societas Verbi Divini), the first German Catholic missionary society. The order was founded in 1875 "for the propagation of the Catholic religion among pagan nations," at Steyl (today in the Limburg Province
Limburg (Netherlands)
Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...
of the Netherlands), by German Catholic priests fleeing the Kulturkampf
Kulturkampf
The German term refers to German policies in relation to secularity and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, enacted from 1871 to 1878 by the Prime Minister of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck. The Kulturkampf did not extend to the other German states such as Bavaria...
. The society's first mission was established in 1882 in southern Shantung, a district of more than 10 million people, which contained 158 Catholics. At the time, the area was part of the Apostolic Vicariate
Apostolic vicariate
An apostolic vicariate is a form of territorial jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church established in missionary regions and countries that do not have a diocese. It is essentially provisional, though it may last for a century or more...
of Shantung, managed by Italian Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
s, who were tasked with rebuilding the earlier Catholic mission work. However, the mission work proceeded slowly, due to insufficient personnel and resources. The southern half of the province, in particular, had been all but neglected. Consequently, it was transferred to the SVD on December 2, 1885, and became the Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Shan-tung. The new Vicariate Apostolic was headquartered in Yanzhou
Yanzhou
Yanzhou is a county-level city of Jining, in the southwest of Shandong province, People's Republic of China.-Administration:The County-level city of Yanzhou administers 10 township-level divisions.-Transportation:*Beijing-Shanghai Railway...
, Shandong and headed by Bishop Johann Baptist von Anzer
Johann Baptist von Anzer
Johann Baptist Anzer, later von Anzer, SVD was a member of the Society of the Divine Word, popularly known as the Divine Word Missionaries, and Catholic bishop of the German Mission to China in Shandong Province....
, SVD, who led it until November 24, 1903. By 1907, the mission numbered 35,378 Catholics and 36,367 catechumen
Catechumen
In ecclesiology, a catechumen , “‘down’” + ἠχή , “‘sound’”) is one receiving instruction from a catechist in the principles of the Christian religion with a view to baptism...
s, and by 1924, 106,000 Catholics and 44,000 catechumens. The SVD's presence in Qingdao was first recorded when the mission purchased land there in 1899 and began building a mission hall.
Design and construction
In autumn 1898 Bishop von Anzer had Father Franz BartelsFather Franz Bartels Chinese name was Bai Mingde, as per: Several sources mention him by his Chinese name only. appointed as pastor in Qingdao. Bishop von Anzer also commissioned Bartels with planning and constructing the Catholic mission. Bartels initially stayed in a house that was part of a TaoistTaoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
temple. Adjacent to his house he had a provisional chapel built which served as a place of worship/service for the European inhabitants of Qingdao until 1902 when a mission hall with a chapel was built. Major Kopka von Lossow, commander of the Third Sea Battalion which was stationed in Qingdao, ordered about a hundred of his men to attend services every Sunday.
On a hill chosen by Bishop von Anzer, Father Bartels purchased some land on Qufu Road, having a printing house and the SVD mission hall erected in 1902. The mission hall was converted to a schoolDexian Primary School, on Dexian road. in 1922, and was operating as of May 2010.
The Holy Ghost Convent was also built on the same hill, occupied by Franciscan sisters who worked as nurses and teachers.
The cathedral's original architect (commissioned by Bishop Augustin Henninghaus) designed a three-aisled Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church, but the World War I conquest of Qingdao by the Japanese on November 16, 1914, put an end to the cathedral plans. The city reverted to Chinese rule in December 1922, under control of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
. The Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Shan-tung was renamed the Vicariate Apostolic of Yanzhoufu on December 13, 1924, and on February 22, 1925, the Apostolic Prefect
Apostolic prefect
An apostolic prefect is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a missionary area where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese....
ure of Qingdao was established from its territory, with Bishop Georg Weig
Georg Weig
Georg Weig, SVD was a German prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Apostolic Prefecture of Qingdao and Vicar Apostolic of the Apostolic Vicariate of Qingdao. Bishop Weig's Chinese name was Wei Changlu. St...
, SVD, appointed prefect on March 18 of that same year. On June 14, 1928, it was elevated to a Vicariate Apostolic. When construction resumed, the original Gothic plan no longer seemed appropriate for the modern townscape of Qingdao. Father Alfred Fräbel designed the present neo-Romanesque structure, built during the tenure of Bishop Weig, who is entombed in the cathedral.
Construction began on May 5, 1931, under Brother Theophorus Kleemann, SVD, who became ill and died on September 12, 1931; Arthur Bialucha, a German architect living in Qingdao who had already completed several projects for the SVD, took over as construction superintendent. Construction was frustrated in 1933, when Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
came to power in Germany and prohibited the transfer of money overseas. The diocese independently shouldered the cost of finishing the cathedral. This required a number of design changes to reduce costs. The changes are evident in drawings published before completion of construction, which show the roofs of the towers as bell-shaped. However, the roofs of the completed structure were changed to spires. Construction was finished in 1934, and the cathedral was consecrated on October 28 that year.
Some sources state that St. Michael's Cathedral was originally named "St. Emil's Church".For example, chinaculture.org and travel websites (e.g. AsiaHotels) A Latin inscription over the tomb of Bishop Weig states that the cathedral was consecrated to St. Michael the Archangel in 1934. In addition, a photo taken in 1935, currently in the German Federal Archives
German Federal Archives
The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv are the National Archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952....
The photo is designated as Bundesarchiv Bild (Federal Archive Image) 137-041054, and is available online at Wikimedia Commons is labeled "St. Michaels Kirche" (St. Michael's Church), and authoritative secondary print sources make no mention of "St. Emil's Church".
1938–1949: occupation, liberation, and civil war
The Japanese reoccupied Qingdao in January 1938. Bishop Thomas Tien Ken-sinThomas Tien Ken-sin
Thomas Tien Ken-sin, SVD was a Chinese Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and chair of Fu Jen Catholic University...
, SVD was appointed Vicariate Apostolic of Qingdao, in November 1942, as Bishop Georg Weig had died the year before. That year, the Japanese placed a large sign over the main door of the cathedral that read "Under Management of the Japanese Army". On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered to Allied forces, officially ending World War II, and in September 1945, Qingdao was liberated by forces of the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
, restoring the government of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
. The following year, on February 18, 1946, Bishop Tien was elevated to Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
, becoming the first Chinese Cardinal and to date the only SVD Cardinal. He traveled to Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
to accept the honor. His Vicariate Apostolic was elevated to the Diocese of Qingdao on April 11. Upon his return on May 27, he was greeted by representatives of the government of Shandong Province, who had arranged a welcome in his honor, with the United States Marine Band
United States Marine Band
The United States Marine Band is the premier band of the United States Marine Corps. Established by act of Congress on July 11, 1798, it is the oldest of the United States military bands and the oldest professional musical organization in the United States...
playing outside the main entrance of the cathedral. The Marine Band was attached to Naval Forces Western Pacific
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
, headquartered in Qingdao at the time. During the Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
period (1946–1949), missionaries in Shandong Province experienced growing tensions with the Communists, spurring one of them, Father Augustin Olbert, SVD to write:
Father Olbert was appointed Bishop of Qingdao two years later.
On June 2, 1949, the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
entered Qingdao and both the city and Shandong Province have since been under Communist
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
control. Bishop Tien fled to Taiwan with the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
government.
1949–1976: Under Mao
Soon after the Communists assumed control, a combination of assertive nationalism and socialist ideology led to the eradication of the Western presence in China, including Western culture and products. "The denunciation of anything Western as 'capitalist,' 'bourgeois' and representative of the 'imperialistImperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
world' reached a peak during the ideological extremism of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
(1950–1953) when the final vestiges of the Western economic and cultural presence were eradicated." Missionary and Communist ambitions simply were irreconcilable and the wide ideological gap could not be bridged. The stage had been set for the Communists' catastrophic assault on the missionary enterprise during the Civil War period (1946–1949) and the expulsion of virtually all foreigners in the early 1950s. Foreign missionaries who were suspected of being spies were arrested. Missionary institutes funded by foreign money were closed down and all foreign missionaries expelled from China. The SVD mission was not spared this fate. In 1951, the Diocese of Qingdao's Bishop Augustin Olbert, SVD was arrested, served 22 months in prison, and was then deported to Germany in 1953. Although the cathedral was closed by the government, Bishop Olbert remained Bishop of Qingdao until his death in 1964. Native Chinese clergy were not spared the government's Marxian contempt for religion during this period. Future Bishop of Qingdao Li Mingshu was sent to prison the same year Bishop Olbert was deported, and not released from labor camps until 1968. Sweeping arrests of Chinese bishops, priests, sisters and laity did not begin, however, until 1955. Afterwards, the Catholic resistance movement, encountering mass arrests and sentences to forced labor, was forced underground. Professor Jean-Paul Wiest, Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society wrote: "The witness of Bishop Gong Pinmei of Shanghai and many others who chose jail, labor camps, and even death for the sake of their faith and their loyalty to the pope would sustain countless people in the years ahead."
By late 1957, due to the prior expulsion of foreign clergy and the subsequent imprisonment of Chinese clergy, 120 out of 145 dioceses and prefectures apostolic were without ordinaries. The Diocese of Qingdao went without an ordinary
Ordinary
In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...
until the state-run Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association
Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association
The Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association , abbreviated CPA, CPCA, or CCPA, is an association of people, established in 1957 by the People's Republic of China's Religious Affairs Bureau to exercise state supervision over mainland China's Catholics...
consecrated and appointed Bishop Paul Han Xirang, OFM without papal sanction in 1988.
The cathedral was badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
which lasted from 1966 to 1971. During this time St. Michael's Cathedral was defaced by the Red Guards
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
. The crosses topping the twin steeples
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
were removed by the Red Guards, with two men falling to their deaths during the removal. An account of the cathedral's defacement is translated as follows:
The original crosses were rescued by local Catholics and buried in the hills. The 2400-pipe organ destroyed by the Red Guards had been one of the two largest in Asia.
Restoration
The Chinese government subsequently repudiated the Cultural Revolution. A major document presented at the September 1979 Fourth Plenum of the Eleventh National Party Congress Central Committee, gave a "preliminary assessment" of the entire 30-year period of Communist rule. At the plenum, party Vice Chairman Ye JianyingYe Jianying
Ye Jianying was a Chinese communist general and the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1978 to 1983.-Biography:...
declared the Cultural Revolution "an appalling catastrophe" and "the most severe setback to [the] socialist cause since [1949]." The Chinese government's condemnation of the Cultural Revolution culminated in the Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China, adopted by the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. This stated that "Comrade Mao Zedong was a great Marxist and a great proletarian revolutionary, strategist and theorist. It is true that he made gross mistakes during the "cultural revolution", but, if we judge his activities as a whole, his contributions to the Chinese revolution far outweigh his mistakes. His merits are primary and his errors secondary."
The change in prevailing political views was favorable to St. Michael's Cathedral; the Chinese government funded the cathedral's restoration efforts. New crosses were manufactured for the cathedral's restoration, and "after several years of repair, [the cathedral] was re-opened in April 1981" for religious services. In May 1999 the church was opened to the general public, allowing entry when mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
or other services are not being celebrated. In 2005, city workers repairing water pipes accidentally found the original crosses buried on Longshan Road, not far from the cathedral. They are currently stored in the north transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
. The cathedral has been listed on the register of Provincial Historic Buildings by the government of Shandong Province since 1992.
The change in prevailing political views also allowed for rapprochement with Chinese clergy formerly imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution. In 1985 Li Mingshu was allowed an official post teaching at the seminary of Jinan. In 1994 he was transferred to the service of the Diocese of Qingdao, and was appointed the Bishop of Qingdao in 2000. Upon his consecration as Bishop, he took the name "Joseph".
Exterior and plan
The cathedral stands atop a hill in the center of what was the original settlement of the city of Qingdao, at 15 Zhejiang Road (formerly Bremen Strasse) on the east side of Zhongshan Road in Shinan District. The church is built in the historic style of German Romanesque. It is cruciformCruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
in plan, having a nave flanked by a lower single aisle on either side, crossed by a transept, and with a semi-circular apse projecting at the east end.
The cathedral is 65.9 metres (216.2 ft) long and the transept is 37.6 metres (123.4 ft) wide, with an exterior height of 18 metres (59.1 ft). The towers are 56 metres (183.7 ft) in height, and have Rhenish helm spires, each topped by a 4.5 metres (14.8 ft) cross. One tower contains a single large bell, and the other three smaller bells.
The west front rises to a balustrade between the towers at 30 metres (98.4 ft). It has three portals, with a rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
above the central one. The building materials are reinforced concrete and granite, and the roofs are red tiles.
In his book, German Architecture in China, Warner Torsten writes of the cathedral:
Interior
The total floor area of St. Michael's Cathedral is 2740 square metres (29,493.1 sq ft). While the exterior of the cathedral is neo-Romanesque, the interior has piersPier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
and arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es of a Classical revival style. Above the 12 metres (39.4 ft) high nave and transept is an unvaulted coffered ceiling
Coffer
A coffer in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault...
. Narrow vaults over the two aisles are so much lower than the nave that they function like ambulatories
Ambulatory
The ambulatory is the covered passage around a cloister. The term is sometimes applied to the procession way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar....
. The nave can hold 1,000 people. The baptismal font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
and statues have captions in English and Chinese.
The nave extends into a high vaulted apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
(pictured right) at the east end. The aisles on either side of the nave are continued around the apse, making an ambulatory. Seven chandeliers are suspended from the ceiling over the main aisle. Beneath the chancel arch stands the high altar, under an ornate baldachin
Baldachin
A baldachin, or baldaquin , is a canopy of state over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over high altars in cathedrals, where such a structure is more correctly called a ciborium when it is...
. The ciborium
Ciborium (architecture)
In ecclesiastical architecture, a ciborium is a canopy or covering supported by columns, freestanding in the sanctuary, that stands over and covers the altar in a basilica or other church. It may also be known by the more general term of baldachin, though ciborium is often considered more correct...
over the high altar bears the Latin words Venite Adoremus Dominum, "Come adore the Lord." Within the sanctuary stands a second, portable, altar, upon which most masses are celebrated.
According to Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011...
, "The interior is splendid, with white walls, gold piping … and a marvellously painted apse."
The mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
painted on the dome of the apse (pictured right) depicts Jesus seated on a cloud, red and golden rays radiating out of his golden halo
Halo (religious iconography)
A halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
. God the Father
God the Father
God the Father is a gendered title given to God in many monotheistic religions, particularly patriarchal, Abrahamic ones. In Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, life-giver, law-giver, and protector...
, pictured as a white-bearded man with triangular halo, looks down from a cloud above Jesus. A dove with a white halo, representing the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
, flies just below God, wings outstretched, completing the Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
. Above Jesus fly four cherubim. Seated to Jesus' right is Mary, his mother, and to his left Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
. On the same cloud as Jesus, three angels flank on each side. Slightly below Jesus, Mary, and John, two more flanking angels are depicted kneeling on their own clouds and swinging censer
Censer
Censers are any type of vessels made for burning incense. These vessels vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction. They may consist of simple earthenware bowls or fire pots to intricately carved silver or gold vessels, small table top objects a few centimetres tall to as many as...
s. Under the entire scene, a banner displays Gloria in Excelsis Deo
Gloria in Excelsis Deo
"Gloria in excelsis Deo" is the title and beginning of a hymn known also as the Greater Doxology and the Angelic Hymn. The name is often abbreviated to Gloria in Excelsis or simply Gloria.It is an example of the psalmi idiotici "Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest")...
.
In 2006, the construction and installation of a massive 12 by 12 m (39.4 by 39.4 ft) Jäger & Brommer pipe organ (pictured at left) was commissioned for St. Michael's Cathedral at a cost of 700,000 euros, to be ready in time for the 2008 Olympics. The pipe organ sits upon the choir loft over the west front entrance.
The north transept contains three large murals featuring Jesus Christ: Jesus washing St. Peter's feet, the Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart
The Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....
, and the Pietà
Pietà
The Pietà is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture. As such, it is a particular form of the Lamentation of Christ, a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the Life of Christ...
. The north transept contains the tombs of two bishops. One is of the first Vicar Apostolic of the Vicariate Apostolic of Qingdao, Bishop Georg Weig, SVD
Divine Word Missionaries
The Society of the Divine Word , popularly called the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a missionary religious congregation in the Latin Church, one of the 23 sui iuris churches which make up the Catholic Church. As of 2006 it consisted of 6,102 members composed...
who supervised the construction of the cathedral. Bishop Weig's tombstone shows obvious signs of defacement, being chipped around the edges, and with broken stonework at its base. The other tomb contains part of the ashes of Bishop of Qingdao Paul Han Xirang, OFM
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
, the rest having been buried in his hometown, Han Village, Yucheng County
Yucheng County
Yucheng County is a county located in the east of Henan province, People's Republic of China in Shangqiu city, with a population of approximately 1.08 million and an aera of ....
, Shandong Province.
The south transept also contains three large murals: the Holy child
Child Jesus
The Child Jesus represents Jesus from his Nativity to age 12. At 13 he was considered to be adult, in accordance with the Jewish custom of his time, and that of most Christian cultures until recent centuries.The Child Jesus is frequently depicted in art, from around the third or fourth century...
praying, St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Thérèse de Lisieux
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux , or Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, was a French Carmelite nun...
(patroness of missions), and the Nativity
Nativity of Jesus in art
The Nativity of Jesus has been a major subject of Christian art since the 4th century. The artistic depictions of the Nativity or birth of Jesus, celebrated at Christmas, are based on the narratives in the Bible, in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and further elaborated by written, oral and...
. The north and south arms of the transept each contain two altars.
Services
The church is active and as of 2008 more than 10,000 Catholics in Qingdao attend services there. According to December 2009 and January 2010 church bulletins, mass is celebrated daily by Bishop Li Mingshu at 6 am, with additional masses on Sunday and festivals on Easter and Christmas. Services are held in Korean and Chinese, with one Korean and several Chinese priests on site.Ordinaries
Below is a list of bishops who have reigned from St. Michael's Cathedral, since its consecration in 1934.- Georg WeigGeorg WeigGeorg Weig, SVD was a German prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Apostolic Prefecture of Qingdao and Vicar Apostolic of the Apostolic Vicariate of Qingdao. Bishop Weig's Chinese name was Wei Changlu. St...
, SVD † (Appointed 1925 – Died 1941) - Thomas Tien Ken-sinThomas Tien Ken-sinThomas Tien Ken-sin, SVD was a Chinese Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and chair of Fu Jen Catholic University...
(Tienchensing), SVD † (Appointed 1942 – 1946 Appointed Archbishop of PekingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
) - Faustino M. Tissot, SX † (Appointed 1946 – Resigned 1947)
- Augustin Olbert, SVD † (Appointed 1948 – Arrested 1951, Imprisoned Until 1953, then deported to Germany. Died 18 Nov 1964)
- Paul Han Xirang, OFM † (Appointed 1988 – Died 1992)Note: Consecrated as bishop and appointed without papal mandate.
- Joseph Li Mingshu (Appointed 2000)