Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral, Hsinchu Audio Guide

Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral, Hsinchu

   Welcome to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral, Hsinchu, known in Chinese as 聖母聖心主教座堂. You are standing at one of the city's best-loved landmarks, at the corner where Zhongzheng Road meets Beida Road in Hsinchu City's North District. The address is number 156 on Zhongzheng Road. This corner gives the building its everyday nickname. Locals call it Beida Church, or simply Beida Hall, after the road it sits on. It is the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Hsinchu, which means it is the bishop's cathedral. It is also called the mother church of the Catholic churches across the four counties and cities of Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli. Over the next few minutes we will look at how this site came to be, what makes its Gothic-style interior feel so airy and bright, and the life of the cathedral as a living place of worship. It is an easy story to enjoy while you look up at the façade.

2. 02

   Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral, Hsinchu: A Corner Four Years in the Making

   The story starts in 1952. On the first of November that year, Father Fei Jishi was given charge of the Hsinchu area. He was to look after a growing number of Jesuits arriving from the mission in China. They needed a proper residence and a church, and finding one was not easy. Over the following years their base moved six times, from one house to another. Then came four years of hard negotiation. In the end the community bought a plot of land at the crossing of two main avenues, the very corner you are standing at. On the eighth of September 1957, the papal envoy to China, Cardinal Riberi, performed the foundation ceremony for the planned church. A contractor surnamed Gu built two large buildings of 800 ping each at the same time. A ping is a traditional Taiwanese unit of floor area. Construction is also dated to the sixteenth of October 1957, the Feast of Christ the King. Either way, 1957 is the year this landmark was born.

3. 03

   Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral, Hsinchu: A Gothic Cross Under the Sky

   The cathedral is built in a Gothic-inspired style, and it has a hidden trick. The main hall and its projecting side wings, called transepts, are laid out so that from the air the whole building looks like an enormous cross. Step inside and look up. The roof has no crossbeams holding it up. Instead, crossing vaults arch overhead like the keel of a ship turned upside down. That structure leaves the interior open, bright and spacious. Sunlight pours through the stained glass windows, which fill the hall with colour and a sense of grandeur. The numbers are impressive too. The grounds cover 1,400 ping, the interior rises to about 45 feet, and the seating area can hold around a thousand people. The church also has a story linked to China. Its planner, Father Fei Jishi, had earlier led the church in Yangzhou, and the Hsinchu building resembles the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral there.

4. 04

   Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral, Hsinchu: A Living Mother Church

   This is not a museum piece. It has been the centre of Catholic life in Hsinchu for generations. Deacons and priests have been ordained here, and sisters from many religious orders have taken their first and final vows within these walls. Bishop Liu Xiantang and Bishop Liu Dangui were both installed here as well. One later bishop of Hsinchu, Bishop Li Kemian, served at this very church before leading the diocese. He worked here first as assistant pastor and then as pastor, and in 2006 he was appointed bishop. Right next door stands the Catholic Diocese of Hsinchu Center, at number 156-1 Zhongzheng Road, which houses the bishop's office. The building's standing is recognized beyond the church too. In 2001 the national cultural authority of the time included it among Taiwan's One Hundred Historic Buildings. It is described as the first-choice historic building of Hsinchu City.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Before you move on, take one more look at the corner itself. Imagine the years of searching, six moves and long negotiations, that ended with this plot at the meeting point of two main roads. Then lift your eyes to the cross-shaped design and think about the bright, beam-free vault inside. If you would like to experience the interior as a place of worship, the diocese lists a regular Mass schedule for the cathedral. Weekday Masses are held in the morning at seven. On Sundays there are Masses at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and on Saturday evening at eight. Times can change, so it is worth checking with the parish beforehand. Notice, too, how the building's story reaches back to Yangzhou. Whether you walk around the outside or step in quietly, see if you can spot the cross shape in the layout and the way light moves through the colored glass.