Re: Re: reorganisation and destruction of irish catholic churches

A more recent view of the Cathedral of Peking, China

“The largest church in China,” in brick and cast iron Gothic, with an elaborate grey marble facade, and built in 1890 by the French mission. The church was formerly the centre of a great complex of schools, orphanages and hospitals. The building has a tall, wide nave with side aisles, octagonal transepts and a huge sanctuary. There are many chandeliers, plus large, painted stations of the cross, old stained glass and the remains of old wall decoration. You could be in suburban Paris. The Patriotic Church re-occupied the building at the end of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), and the church was restored in 1985. It now claims to house eight bishops and stands in spacious and beautiful grounds planted with big old pine and oak trees and with two Chinese pavilions. The magnificent facade of 1900 dates from after the Boxer Rebellion, when the cathedral compound, filled with converts fleeing the rebels, was besieged. Many people were killed here in the fighting before they were rescued by the Allied troops, led by British Indian soldiers.