Dongjiadu Catholic Church

Dongjiadu Catholic Church

Dongjiadu Catholic Church is a protected cultural heritage site of Shanghai.

When it comes to churches in Shanghai, most people would first think of the famous Xujiahui Catholic Church. As a typical example of a church built in the Western architectural style in China, its soaring Gothic twin spires leave an indelible impression. As the largest church in Shanghai and also the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Shanghai, and further due to its location in a major commercial center, Xujiahui Catholic Church has attracted countless admiring gazes.

However, looking back and quietly exploring the roots of Catholicism's history in Shanghai, especially after the city’s opening as a port, we learn that the oldest surviving Catholic church is likely Dongjiadu Catholic Church—now tucked away among the vast expanses of gray low-rise houses in Nanshi. Located at the intersection of today’s Dongjiadu Road and Wanyu Street, this old brick-and-wood church appears somewhat reserved and modest, hemmed in by nearby factories.

Situated on the edge of the old walled city during the late Qing Dynasty, Dongjiadu Catholic Church was built in 1847 and took six years to complete. Its external appearance shows a distinctly Spanish influence—probably because the designer was a Spanish priest who was also influenced by his father, a court artist. The architectural style is categorized as Baroque from the Renaissance period. Classic Baroque architecture pursues dynamism, favoring lavish decorations, sculptures, and strong colors, with fluid and varied lines. But Dongjiadu Catholic Church exhibits a somewhat unexpectedly simple decorative style, for reasons that remain unclear.

The main façade of the church is divided into three sections. The lower section is divided into three bays by four pairs of Ionic columns—creating three entrances. Between the paired columns near the entrance, there is a brick Chinese-style couplet, while the outermost pair of columns frame a niche. The middle section features a large round clock embedded in the center of the wall, flanked by two bell towers at either end, housing copper bells said to be originals from a century and a half ago. The upper gable is styled with classic Baroque volutes, with the central panel inscribed with the bold characters “天主堂” (Catholic Church); atop it stands an iron cross nearly four meters tall and weighing around a ton. The interior of the nave features a vaulted ceiling rather than a dome, adorned with blue-green caisson patterns. The thick pillars inside, roughly four meters in circumference, include one that contains a staircase leading to the choir loft. The choir loft is a mezzanine above the entrance, directly facing the altar in the distance and offering a clear view of the exquisite high-relief carvings on the upper walls. These carvings, embodying a blend of Chinese and Western elements, depict highly Sinicized motifs such as lotus flowers, cranes, gourds, swords, and double coins.

Dongjiadu Catholic Church once served as the cathedral of the Catholic Jiangnan Diocese in the last century. Its status as the missionary center was only supplanted after the completion of Xujiahui Catholic Church in the early 20th century. The distinctly different architectural characteristics of the two churches—the former a fusion of Chinese and Western styles, the latter fully Westernized—also reflect, to some extent, the varying mindsets and postures of Catholicism in its early and later phases in China. This brings to mind the painstaking efforts made by the Jesuit missionaries who came to China in bridging the cultural gap between China and the West—

As early as 1557, Alessandro Valignano, then the observer of the Jesuit Mission in the East Indies, set a groundbreaking new direction for missionary work in the East—the policy of “cultural adaptation”: he required missionaries going to China to first become Chinese in manner. Although Valignano himself never came to China, his ideas proved prescient and ultimately effective—his followers Michele Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci, especially the latter, played significant roles. Not only did Ricci enter China, but he also reached the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty at the time. He lived in Beijing for ten years, dedicating himself to preaching Catholic doctrine and spreading Western scientific knowledge to the imperial court officials, and successfully gained acceptance among a considerable group of literati—Xu Guangqi was baptized by him. He was far more fortunate than another missionary who would also leave a mark in the history of Western missionary work in China—that is, the first missionary to China associated with Dongjiadu Catholic Church, Francis Xavier. The church was originally named after him—St. Francis Xavier Church. Francis Xavier came to China in 1551 but, unable to enter Guangdong, became stranded on Shangchuan Island in what is now Taishan City for

four months before dying there.