Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Datong

Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Datong
大同圣母圣心堂
Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 2011
Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Datong Location in Shanxi
40°05′30″N 113°18′00″E
Location	Datong, Shanxi, China
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	1889 (1889)
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Church building
Style	Neoclassical architecture
Completed	1906 (reconstruction)
Demolished	1900
Specifications
Materials	Granite
Administration
Diocese	Roman Catholic Diocese of Datong
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	大同圣母圣心堂
Traditional Chinese	大同聖母聖心堂
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dàtóng Shèngmǔ Shèngxīn Táng

Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Datong (Chinese: 大同圣母圣心堂) is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Datong, Shanxi, China.

History

Construction of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, designed by Franciscan missionaries from Italy, commenced in 1889 and was completed in 1891. It was burned by a catastrophic fire in 1900 during the Boxer Uprising, causing many casualties in the Christian community in the area. It was restored in 1906 in a neoclassical architecture style.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Datong was set up in 1922 and came under the leadership of the CICM Missionaries.

During the Cultural Revolution, the church was severely damaged by the Red Guards, while Christians were hunted by the Communists. Both bell towers collapsed. And the church was used as a workshop. It underwent two renovations, respectively in 1982 and 2006. Two 17-metre (56 ft) high bell towers were added to the church.

Further reading

• Kejia, Yan (1 January 2004). Catholic Church in China [中国天主教]. ISBN 9787508505992.
• Ping, Liu (1 August 2014). 中国天主教艺术简史 [Brief History of Chinese Catholic Art] (in Chinese). Beijing: China Fortune Press. ISBN 9787504751430.