Cathedral of Our Lady of China Audio Guide

Our Lady Queen of China Cathedral: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Our Lady Queen of China Cathedral

   Picture a Catholic cathedral with a red façade, green window tiles and the sweep of a Chinese palace. That is what you are looking at on Kaishan Road in Tainan. Locals know it as 中華聖母主教座堂, and in English it is Our Lady Queen of China Cathedral. It stands diagonally across from the Koxinga Shrine, so you can take in both buildings in one glance. This is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Tainan, the seat of the diocese's bishop. It is dedicated to Our Lady Queen of China, a title for the Virgin Mary that is closely tied to Chinese Catholic devotion. Passersby who do not look closely sometimes mistake it for a traditional temple, which is part of the charm. Tainan is the right city for such a building. It was founded as a settlement in 1624 during the Dutch era, and it served as the island's capital for more than 200 years. Over the next few minutes we will look at how the cathedral came to be, what its design is trying to say, and the small details inside and outside that reward a slow visit.

2. 02

   Our Lady Queen of China Cathedral: A Bishop's Vision

   The story begins with Bishop Lo Kuang, who in 1961 became the first bishop of the newly formed Diocese of Tainan. A diocese needs a cathedral, and he set about creating one on Kaishan Road. One account says he bought the former residence of a past Tainan mayor, Ye Tinggui, and rebuilt it. The diocese's own history records that construction began in 1963, across from the Koxinga Shrine. The timeline is quick. The foundation stone was laid on the thirty-first of May in 1963, and building work began in the middle of August. The site covers 340 ping, a traditional Taiwanese unit of land area. On the nineteenth of March in 1964 the new church was finished, and the papal representative to the Republic of China blessed and named it. The choice of style was deliberate. Bishop Lo saw Tainan as a city that stood for Chinese culture, and he wanted a church that spoke to its neighbors in a familiar architectural language. The aim, as it has been described, was dialogue, and through it, understanding and trust. The cathedral is often described as the first Catholic church in Taiwan to adopt Chinese-style architecture.

3. 03

   East Meets West in Our Lady Queen of China Cathedral

   Look first at the exterior: a red front, green window tiles, and a red board standing before the main door bearing the characters for reverent respect. It all reads as palace architecture, close in feeling to a traditional temple. Step inside, though, and the floor plan follows a Roman church. That pairing of Chinese outside and Western layout inside is what people mean when they call the building both East and West. Above, the ceiling rises to a caisson-style crown, a decorative device from Chinese architecture. The surrounding walls carry painted patterns that draw the eye to the main space. It also lets in natural light and gives the hall its solemn atmosphere. On the central wall is the focal point, a mosaic of Our Lady made from colored stone and tile. It was made by Brother Leo, a German Franciscan from Xinying. Descriptions of the image say her clothing and posture were modeled on portraits of Empress Dowager Cixi, and that the infant Jesus in her arms wears Chinese upturned cloud shoes. Even a quick look shows how the figures have been dressed in Chinese style.

4. 04

   Our Lady Queen of China Cathedral: Devotion and Community

   The title Our Lady Queen of China looks back to the Boxer Uprising of 1900. Believers hold that the Virgin Mary appeared in China at that time, and the cathedral was conceived as a memorial to that devotion. Outside, on the left, you will find a small pavilion garden with a bronze standing statue of Our Lady. It was sculpted in Chinese artistic style by Professor Ma Dianfei, a Shanghai-born artist who taught architecture in Tainan at the school that later became National Cheng Kung University. The statue was unveiled on the eighth of September in 1976. Cardinal Yu Pin presided over the blessing, and bishops from across the island attended. The church has also been a living parish. In the late 1960s a priest here founded a choir and a Chinese music ensemble and published hymn collections. In 1978 a new priest kept the doors open all day, with candles burning, and made friends with the neighbors. In 2006 a priest finished a roof repair that ended years of leaks, and in 2010 a nearby site was acquired for parking and activities. Each Christmas the cathedral still holds a crowded midnight Mass.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Before you move on, take one more look at the entrance. Above the door hangs a coat of arms. It belongs to the bishop who holds the seat, and it is a small reminder that this is a cathedral, not simply a parish church, and that the person who leads the diocese is attached to this building. Then turn around. The Koxinga Shrine is right across the road, and Tainan's old temples, shrines and streets are close by. This cathedral belongs in that conversation, and you can judge for yourself how well it fits in. As you go, notice how many Chinese details you can spot in the roof, the gate, the colors and the images, and where Western forms still show through. It is the kind of place that rewards a second look.