Saint Joseph's Church, Wuxi

The Saint Joseph's Church, Wuxi (Chinese: 无锡圣约瑟堂), locally known as Saint Joseph's Church, Sanliqiao, is a Roman Catholic church located in Beitang District of Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.

Saint Joseph's Church, Wuxi
无锡圣约瑟堂
Saint Joseph's Church, Wuxi in 2011
Saint Joseph's Church, Wuxi Location in Jiangsu
31°35′23″N 120°17′11″E
Location	Beitang District, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	1640 (1640)
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Church building
Completed	1892 (reconstruction)
Specifications
Floor area	3,000-square-metre (32,000 sq ft)
Materials	Granite
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	无锡圣约瑟堂
Traditional Chinese	無錫聖約瑟堂
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wúxī Shèngyuēsè Táng
Saint Joseph's Church, Sanliqiao
Simplified Chinese	三里桥圣约瑟堂
Traditional Chinese	三里橋聖約瑟堂
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sānlǐqiáo Shèngyuēsè Táng

History

The original church dates back to 1640, in the late Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

The church became dilapidated for neglect after the Chinese Rites controversy during the ruling of Yongzheng Emperor (1722–1735) of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). In 1853, French missionaries Staislas Clavelin (葛必达) and Murice Sentinier (桑理爵) refurbished and redecorated the church when they came to Wuxi to preach. Soon after, it was devastated by the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864). Murice Sentinier restored the church again in 1864. In 1872, Adrien Languillat built a new building for the church. In 1891, a disastrous fire consumed the new church. And it was rebuilt by missionary Albert Tschepe (彭安多) in 1892.

In 1966, the Cultural Revolution broke out, the bell tower was removed and the church was used as warehouse. It was officially reopened to the public on 25 December 1980. The church was inscribed as a municipal cultural relic preservation organ in 1994 and a provincial cultural relic preservation organ in 2006, respectively. On 20 March 2006, a 62-metre (203 ft) high bell tower was put into use.

Gallery

Statue of Jesus

Interior of the church

Frontal view of the church