Wanchin Basilica of the Immaculate Conception

The Wanchin Church, officially Wanchin Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (traditional Chinese: 萬金聖母聖殿; simplified Chinese: 万金圣母圣殿; pinyin: Wànjīn Shèngmǔ Shèngdiàn), is a Basilica church in Wanjin Village, Wanluan Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan.[1] It's also the first basilica church in Taiwan.

Wanchin Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
萬金聖母聖殿
22°35′42.2″N 120°36′40.5″E
LocationWanluan, Pingtung County, Taiwan
DenominationCatholic Church
Architecture
Architectural typechurch
StyleSpanish
CompletedMay 1863 (original building)
1870 (current building)

History

Qing Dynasty

The Parish in Wanchin was established by priest Fernando Sainz, who was affiliated with the Dominican Order.[2] The church was originally constructed as a simple mud church in May 1863. On 13 October 1865, the church was heavily destroyed by an earthquake. It was then rebuilt with a bigger size and completed on 8 December 1870 when it was inaugurated.[3]

Republic of China

The church underwent renovation in the 1950s and 1960s by different missionaries.[4] On 20 July 1984, the church was conferred the title of basilica by Pope John Paul II, making it the first church in Taiwan to receive such title. In 1991, the Immaculate Conception Dominican Residence was built on the church ground. In 1994, an activity center was also built within the church area.[5]

On 3 August 2016, the church was vandalized when a mentally ill man set a fire to a wooden statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary inside the building.[6]

Architecture

The current building of the church was built with Spanish fortress architecture.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Wanchin Basilica stands as tribute to faith - Taiwan Info".
  2. Crook, Steven (26 February 2021). "Highways & Byways: A Catholic outpost in Pingtung County". Taipei Times. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  3. "Where the secular meets the sacred: Taiwan's church buildings". Taiwan News. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  4. Liao, George (28 November 2018). "Tourist hopspot in southern Taiwan: Wanchin Basilica". Taiwan News. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  5. 英文歷史.
  6. "Police arrest suspect in fire at historic church".
  7. "WanChin Catholic Church". 1 January 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Catholic Church of Wanchin.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.