The St. Ignatius Cathedral of Shanghai
By admin on 2014-12-29

The St. Ignatius Cathedral of Shanghai (圣依纳爵主教座堂), also referred to as Xujiahui Cathedral (徐家汇天主教堂), is a Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral, located on Puxi Road, in the Xujiahui district of Shanghai, China. The cathedral is attended by over 2000 people every Sunday.

Designed by English architect William Doyle, and built by French Jesuits between 1905 and 1910, it is said to have once been known as "the grandest cathedral in the Far East." It can accommodate 2,500 worshippers at the same time.

There are two Gothic towers of 60 meters high, and the principal part of the church is at the center. The church has a discal embossment in the middle part of the building. The roof is covered with plumbaginous tiles. And the church is decorated with many sculptures of the Holy Son and the God. The church has a heart-shaped arch, which is full of catholic atmosphere. In the hall there are 64 carved circular columns, which are connected with the arches at the top. There are ambulatories on the top of both sides. The arch of the hall is high. On the altar far from the door stands the sculpture of Mary holding the Baby Jesus and looking down the whole hall. There is an Our Lady of Lourdes small altar behind the main altar. The famous religion painting The Last Supper hangs on the back wall. With colored glasses enchased, the windows of the church look delicate and fine. A garden is in front of the church.

In 1989, the first-ever Chinese language Mass was celebrated in St. Ignatius by order of Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian. The celebrants were Father Thomas Law of Hong Kong, Father Joseph Zen of Hong Kong (later named bishop and Cardinal of Hong Kong), and Father Edward Malatesta of San Francisco.

The building's restoration is continuing. In 2002, Wo Ye, a Beijing-born artist, and Father Thomas Lucas, a Jesuit from the University of San Francisco, began a five year project to replace the cathedral's stained glass windows. The new windows incorporate Chinese characters and iconography, and they are expected to be finished in time for the 2010 World's Fair in Shanghai.