Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Chengdu

{{Infobox church

| name = Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Chengdu

| other name = Ping'anqiao Catholic Church

| image = Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Chengdu.png

| imagesize = 250px

| caption = The cathedral in 2013

| location = 25 Xihuamen Street, Qingyang District, Chengdu, Sichuan

| country = China

| coordinates = {{Coord|30|39|59|N|104|03|34|E|type:landmark_region:CN|display=inline,title}}

| denomination = Roman Catholic

| founded date = 1897

| founder = Jacques-Victor-Marius Rouchouse

| dedication = Immaculate Conception

| past bishop = Jacques-Victor-Marius Rouchouse
Henri-Marie-Ernest-Désiré Pinault

| status = Cathedral

| functional status = Active

| style = Byzantine Revival;
Renaissance Revival;
traditional Sichuanese style

| groundbreaking = 1897

| completed date = 1904

| archdiocese = Chongqing

| diocese = Chengdu

| bishop = Joseph Tang Yuange

| priest =

}}

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, commonly referred to as Ping'anqiao Catholic Church, is the Roman Catholic cathedral of the Diocese of Chengdu, situated on Xihuamen Street, Qingyang District, in Sichuan's capital city of Chengdu.{{cite web |url=https://chengdu-expat.com/places/pinganqiao-catholic-church/ |title=Ping'anqiao Catholic Church |author= |date= |website=chengdu-expat.com |access-date=November 20, 2022 |archive-date=November 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120024101/https://chengdu-expat.com/places/pinganqiao-catholic-church/ |url-status=live }} It has been subjected to the control of the state-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association since 1957.

Description

The construction of the cathedral started in 1897, under the supervision of Jacques-Victor-Marius Rouchouse, a French missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society and the first bishop of the Diocese of Chengdu, who was appointed to supervise the work by Bishop Marie-Julien Dunand. It was not completed until 1904.{{cite web |url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_9612236 |title=中西合璧的代表性建筑——天主教成都教区主教公署 |trans-title=A representative building of the combination of Chinese and Western architectural styles: the Episcopal See of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chengdu |last=Wang |first=Anming |date=October 18, 2020 |website=thepaper.cn |language=zh-hans |access-date=November 20, 2022 |archive-date=November 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120024102/https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_9612236 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.ucanews.com/directory/dioceses/china-chengdu/255 |title=Diocese of Chengdu |author= |date= |website=ucanews.com |access-date=November 20, 2022 |archive-date=November 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120024107/https://www.ucanews.com/directory/dioceses/china-chengdu/255 |url-status=live }} The English political economist Audrey Donnithorne was baptized at this cathedral after converting from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism in 1943.{{cite news |last=Wang |first=Teresa |date=June 10, 2020 |title=四川：天主教南充教区为董育德教授举行隆重追思弥撒 |trans-title=Sichuan: Solemn Memorial Mass for Professor Audrey Donnithorne Held in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nanchong |url=https://www.xinde.org/show/48811 |language=zh-hans |work=Faith Weekly |location=Shijiazhuang |access-date=November 23, 2022 |archive-date=November 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118055716/https://www.xinde.org/show/48811 |url-status=live }}

The buildings, including the cathedral, the Bishop's Office, and the Episcopal Residence, cover an area of 16,566.3 square meters and have a usable area of 8,508.5 square meters. Built in a cruciform design with a façade of neo-Byzantine style, the cathedral and its surrounding buildings constitute the Chinese character "{{lang|zh-hant|悚}}" meaning "fear", representing "The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord" (Proverbs 9:10). The right part of the character means "rule", which represents the function of this building as a cathedral, as Jesus said in the Gospel: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 18:18).{{cite magazine |author=Doris |date=January 2020 |title=平安橋天主堂─東方建築與西方宗教的魔幻交融 |trans-title=Ping'anqiao Catholic Church: The Magical Fusion of Eastern Architecture and Western Religion |url=https://www.orchina.net/article/1611 |language=zh-hant |magazine=旅讀中國 [OR China] |location=Taipei |publisher=Cheer Link Development Limited Taiwan Branch |access-date=November 20, 2022 |archive-date=November 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118075522/https://www.orchina.net/article/1611 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://mzzj.chengdu.gov.cn/mzjywb/c145787/2018-08/26/content_52c74d91d3294efe99fc3ccbf004c8b7.shtml |title=Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Chengdu |author= |date=August 26, 2018 |website=mzzj.chengdu.gov.cn |access-date=November 20, 2022 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}