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Saint Joseph's Church, Wuxi

Coordinates: 31°35′23″N 120°17′11″E / 31.58972°N 120.28639°E / 31.58972; 120.28639
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Saint Joseph's Church, Wuxi
无锡圣约瑟堂
Saint Joseph's Church, Wuxi in 2011
Saint Joseph's Church, Wuxi is located in Jiangsu
Saint Joseph's Church, Wuxi
Saint Joseph's Church, Wuxi
Location in Jiangsu
31°35′23″N 120°17′11″E / 31.58972°N 120.28639°E / 31.58972; 120.28639
LocationBeitang District, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
DenominationRoman Catholic
History
StatusParish church
Founded1640 (1640)
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural typeChurch building
Completed1892 (reconstruction)
Specifications
Floor area3,000-square-metre (32,000 sq ft)
MaterialsGranite
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese无锡圣约瑟堂
Traditional Chinese無錫聖約瑟堂
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWúxī Shèngyuēsè Táng
Saint Joseph's Church, Sanliqiao
Simplified Chinese三里桥圣约瑟堂
Traditional Chinese三里橋聖約瑟堂
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSānlǐqiáo Shèngyuēsè Táng

The Saint Joseph's Church, Wuxi (Chinese: 无锡圣约瑟堂), locally known as Saint Joseph's Church, Sanliqiao, is a Roman Catholic church located in Beitang District of Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.

History

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The original church dates back to 1640, in the late Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

The church became dilapidated for neglect after the Chinese Rites controversy during the ruling of Yongzheng Emperor (1722–1735) of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). In 1853, French missionaries Staislas Clavelin (葛必达) and Murice Sentinier (桑理爵) refurbished and redecorated the church when they came to Wuxi to preach.[1] Soon after, it was devastated by the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864). Murice Sentinier restored the church again in 1864. In 1872, Adrien Languillat built a new building for the church. In 1891, a disastrous fire consumed the new church. And it was rebuilt by missionary Albert Tschepe (彭安多) in 1892.

In 1966, the Cultural Revolution broke out, the bell tower was removed and the church was used as warehouse. It was officially reopened to the public on 25 December 1980. The church was inscribed as a municipal cultural relic preservation organ in 1994 and a provincial cultural relic preservation organ in 2006, respectively. On 20 March 2006, a 62-metre (203 ft) high bell tower was put into use.

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Statue of Jesus
Interior of the church
Frontal view of the church

References

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  1. ^ 传教士眼中的太平天国:从瑕疵基督徒到异端疯子. sina (in Chinese). 13 January 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2021.