SHANGHAI (UCAN): Two 19th-century churches in the Diocese of Shanghai were reclaimed and rededicated. On March 15, Bishop Joseph Shen Bin re-consecrated St. Joseph Church in Beitaowan, Baoshan district and on March 16 he re-consecrated St. Joseph Church in Tianma, in Songjiang district, on March 16 according to Fides.
At the church in Beitaowan, he administered the confirmation to 17 parishioners, while in Tainman, confirmation was administered to over 200 people
The Tianma church was built in 1850 and the bishop wished for it to become “a welcoming house of faith for all so that we can walk together towards holiness under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”
“Since the visible temple has been rebuilt, we must now also make the interior temple of our heart more spiritually alive,” the bishop told the gathering on the second Sunday of Lent.
The church in Beitaowan was built in 1650 during the Qing dynasty and rebuilt around 1875. Local Catholics also built a primary school attached to the church in 1949.
