Return of martyr’s church
03.09.2009
Nanfeng Church in China is being restored. It holds tragic Columban memories.
A recital of Mozart’s Requiem in the Vatican by the Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra made headlines around the world last year - not least in China itself. The China Daily, a Government newspaper printed in English, had several photos of the Pope congratulating the conductor of the orchestra This groundbreaking event may be indicative of a slow movement towards more normal relations between the Vatican and the Government in Beijing.
Within China itself a gradual improvement in relations between the local Catholic Church and the Government has also become discernable. One important aspect of this has been the return of thousands of Catholic churches confiscated after the Communist Revolution of 1949. Recently a Catholic church in the city of Nanfeng, in Jiangxi province, where many Columbans had worked, was returned. Before being returned it had been used as a kindergarten and divided up into several small rooms. In the sanctuary area a platform had been erected, supported on one side by the altar rails which were still visible. It was used as a play area with swings and slides.
There was a Catholic community in Nanfeng from the beginning of the 18th century. However, the late 18th and early 19th centuries were periods of persecution. Catholics moved away from the larger towns and kept away from public view in quiet country areas. At the end of the 19th century there was a surge of conversions to the Church in the area around Nanfeng, and the Catholics asked the bishop to send them a resident priest.
Then at the beginning of the 20th century the Vincentian bishop in Jiangxi, Monsignor Vic, decided to build a church again in Nanfeng. The local government officials weren’t very keen, but the priest sent to carry out the task bought a few old houses as a start.
Eventually the church, an imposing Gothic structure, was completed by Fr Dellieux in 1908, and named after St John Gabriel Perboyre, a Vincentian priest martyred in China in1840.When the priests’ house, and schools were added, Bishop Vic commented at the solemn blessing in 1909, that the whole complex was “almost too fine.”
In 1928, Columbans took over the mission of Nancheng from the Vincentians, and one of the finest churches in the area was that of Nanfeng. Fr Timothy Leonard from Limerick, Ireland who had been in China for some years, was appointed as parish priest. But these were troubled times in Jiangxi province, where Communist guerillas were fighting against the Nationalist Government. They succeeded in establishing an independent Soviet-style government under the control of the Communist party in the area around Nanfeng.
One morning in July 1929, a group of guerrillas entered the church as Fr Leonard was beginning Mass. Sensing danger, he took the hosts from the tabernacle to consume them, but the bandits seized them and scattered them over the floor. They led Fr Leonard away with a rope around his neck. A few days later he was put on trial and charged with being a foreign spy and promoting religion. After the trial, he was hacked to death. Today his grave is in a peaceful orange grove near Nanfeng. A fine Celtic cross of green marble marks his grave.
Several other Columban priests took the place of Fr Leonard over the years. Then as the Communist party applied its anti-religious policy in the late 1940s all Columban priests were expelled. The church of Nanfeng was closed down and eventually became a kindergarten until a few years ago when it was returned to the Catholic Church.
A newly ordained Chinese priest from Jiangxi province, Fr Zhang, was put in charge and he immediately began carrying out repairs. The internal partitions were removed, the roof was repaired, benches were made, and new window frames were installed. Fr Zhang, himself, with the help of a religious Sister, Yan Yun Lan, covered the windows with coloured paper to give the effect of stained glass. At present the outside of the church is undergoing renovation, and tiling the courtyard is almost complete.
A small community of Catholics has begun to meet there again for Sunday Mass and for Bible reflection. With God’s grace, the work of reconstruction may be a prelude to building up the living Church of men and women in Nanfeng.
Fr Joseph Houston has spent over 20 years working in China.
Read more stories from the September, The Far East
