Cathedral of the Angels, Xichang

27°53′52″N 102°15′56″E / 27.89778°N 102.26561°E / 27.89778; 102.26561LocationSanya Street, Xichang, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, SichuanCountryChinaDenominationRoman CatholicHistoryStatusCathedralFounded1908Founder(s)Jean de Guébriant [fr]DedicationAngels in ChristianityPast bishop(s)Jean de Guébriant
Joseph Bourgain [fr]
Stanislas Baudry [fr]ArchitectureFunctional statusActiveStyleTraditional Sichuanese with ancient Roman elementsGroundbreaking1908Completed1912AdministrationArchdioceseChongqingDioceseNingyuanClergyBishop(s)John Lei Jiapei^[1]

The Cathedral of the Angels^[a] is the Roman Catholic cathedral of the Diocese of Ningyuan, situated on Sanya Street, Xichang (formerly known as Ningyuan), capital of Nosu-inhabited Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern Sichuan. It has been subjected to the control of the state-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association since 1957.

Description

Roman Catholicism was introduced into Ningyuan, land of the Nosu tribes, in the 18th century. The French missionary Jean de Guébriant [fr] was put in charge of the evangelistic work in this region by Paris Foreign Missions Society since 1903.^[3] Under Guébriant's supervision, construction of the Cathedral of the Angels started in 1908. The structure consisted of the cathedral, a bell tower, a courtyard and episcopal residence. It was not completed until 1912. The architectural form was inspired by ancient Roman architecture, blended with conspicuous traditional style developed in Sichuan, as visible on the "flying cornices" on the top of the cathedral's façade, which are distinct from those found in other provinces of China.^[4]

The bell tower was built on the east side of the cathedral with a cross on the top, which originally housed a bell cast in France. The bell tower was destroyed in 1968 during the sociopolitical purge movement of Cultural Revolution.^[4]

Gallery

• 
  Detail of the cathedral circa 1920
• 
  The cathedral complex circa 1920
• 
  The episcopal residence in 1913

See also

• Catholic Church in Sichuan
• St. Joseph's Cathedral, Chongqing
• Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Chengdu

Notes

References