Sheshan basilica

Sheshan basilica with observatory

The Sheshan Basilica , officially the National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady of Sheshan (Chinese: 佘山進教之佑聖母大殿; Pinyin: Sheshan Jinjiao zhī yòu shèngmǔ Dadian), also known as the Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians , is a major Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Shanghai , China . In the sanctuary, the Blessed Virgin Mary is venerated under the title Mary, Help of Christians as the patroness of the basilica. The common name refers to its location on the western tip of Sheshan Hill, which is 35 kilometers from the center in the western Songjiang district of the greater Shanghai area .

history

The first church on Sheshan Hill was built in 1866. During the Taiping Uprising , Jesuits had previously bought a plot of land on the southern slopes of the hill on which an abandoned Buddhist monastery stood, which was demolished. A small building was built next to the church as a living space for the missionaries and a small chapel. At the top of the hill where a Maitreya hall had stood, a small pavilion with a statue of the Madonna was built.

In June 1870, riots in Tianjin sparked church fires. The Jesuits prayed at the statue of the Madonna and promised to build a church in her honor as protection for her. Then began the construction of the church, which was completed two years later. This first church was built as a cruciform church and integrated features of Chinese and Western architecture. A veranda was laid out in front of the door with ten pillars. Eight stone lions were placed in front of the church. In 1894 several outbuildings were added. These included a chapel halfway up the hill, a shrine to the Sacred Heart, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph. A Way of the Cross with 14 stations was set up on the way to the church .

In 1925, the existing church was felt to be inadequate and lagged far behind other churches in Shanghai in terms of size and ornamentation. The church was demolished and rebuilt. Because the Portuguese priest and architect Ye Zhaochang was very strict about the quality of the construction, the project took ten years until the church was completed and consecrated in 1935.

Already in 1942 Pope Pius XII. the church the title of a minor basilica . In 1946 the Holy See crowned the statue of Our Lady of Zose at the top of the tower.

The basilica was badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution . The church's stained glass windows, carvings along Via Dolorosa, the statue on the bell tower and various other works of iconography were destroyed.

In the 1950s, the Bishop of Shanghai, Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei , was arrested and imprisoned for more than 30 years. The Chinese government placed the basilica under the control of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association , whose bishops were not recognized by the Vatican according to the papal encyclical Ad Apostolorum principis .

After the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, the damage was gradually repaired. The statue was initially replaced with a simple iron cross. A replacement statue was put up in 2000.

On May 24, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI. announced that he wrote a special prayer for Our Lady of Sheshan .

building

Interior of the basilica

The basic shape of the church is a Latin cross in the style of a basilica . The nave is 56 m long, 25 m wide with a vault height of 16.5 meters. The church can accommodate 3000 visitors. The altar at the eastern end is made of marble with gold and jade inlays. The exterior of the church is mainly made of granite, part of the roof is covered with colored glazed tiles in the Chinese style.

The bell tower is on the southeast corner. It is 38 meters high. At the top of the bell tower is a 4.8 meter tall bronze Madonna and Child ("Our Lady of Zose").

The 14 stations of the cross were set up at the hairpin bends of the serpentine path up the hill to the church. On the middle level there are two chapels in an open square, one dedicated to the veneration of the Sacred Heart and the other to the Virgin Mary.

Below the basilica is the Sheshan Seminary (佘山修院, Pinyin Shéshān Xiūyuàn ), founded in 1982, where a six-year priestly training takes place. Since 1990, a three-year basic training at the branch office of the seminary attached to the Tailaiqiao Church (泰来桥天主堂) in the Yangpu district has been necessary. Then the priest candidates study philosophy in Sheshan for 2 years and theology for 4 years. From 1982 to 2011, the Sheshan Seminary accepted a total of 682 students, 357 of whom were ordained priests. The Sheshan Observatory of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory is also located on Sheshan Hill . As the largest facility in East Asia, it was originally built and operated by the Jesuits.

Pilgrimage

In 1874 Pope Pius IX declared. that the believers who make pilgrimages to the basilica in May , the month of Mary , would receive a perfect indulgence . Since then, pilgrims from all over China have been coming to the pilgrimage this month , especially on the Feast of Mary, Help Christians on May 24th. They usually go the way of the cross to the basilica, pray the rosary and attend mass. Since traditionally many of the Catholics around Shanghai were fishermen and came by boat, boat trips are still very common in the area of the pilgrimage.