Who knew such a thing existed? I certainly didn't. A friend mentioned to me that there was a Catholic church inside gucheng (old town), so I went looking for it. It was really quite stunning. As it turns out, it's actually a cathedral, with its own bishop and everything. The building was built in 1929, the region was made an apostolic prefecture in 1931, and then the diocese was established in 1948.
If it weren't for the cross, it would look pretty much just like a temple from the outside, although the inside was decorated with wooden carvings of biblical scenes, the virgin Mary, and the words "God is Love".
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| "天主是爱, God is Love" |
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| Looking from the cathedral west towards the Cangshan Mountains. |
I think that's absolutely the most beautiful cathedral I've ever seen. Sorry St. Paul's, Notre Dame, etc.. The beautiful calligraphy reminds me of a mosque. It's not fair how much more beautiful the word of God is in China and Muslim countries! I'm surprised the entirety of Dali isn't Catholic given how stunning their PoW is.
ReplyDeleteThat is so beautiful. So glad you took the time to take some photos to share with us!
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