Going to Mass in Shanghai

Greetings Loyal Reader(s),

I've just returned from a 2 week stint in the Orient, & since blogs are frequently blocked there, I have not been able to post anything. Previously, I gave my experience of going to an English-language Mass in Shanghai at St. Peter's church (here). This time I give my impressions from a very different worship experience.


Shanghai's Catholic Cathedral of St. Ignatius is a beautiful, red brick, neo-gothic church that was built about a hundred years ago (though there seems to have been a Jesuit-run church on the site since the 1600's when the land was granted to the Church by a local nobelman & convert to Catholicism), but was almost completely razed during the "cultural revolution." It's been rebuilt to some degree, but it still needs a lot of work. There is an on-going project led by a Jesuit artist to replace all the stained-glass windows that were knocked out by the revolutionaries with new ones in a more modern Chinese style. The rose windows are in place - with the Sacred & Immaculate Hearts facing each other across the transcept - & about half of the others in the nave. They are lovely, but some of the designs are a little abstract to my eyes. Still, the splashes of color that illuminate the building's interior is a preaching of the Gospel all its own. There is also some beautiful artwork on display, especially in the side chapels: paintings, statues, relief carvings, & other ornamentation that are either escaped the revolution or were more recent additions.

The cathedral's very good choir & pipe organ were in full use during the 7:30am liturgy I attended. The Ordinaries (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, etc.) are sung in hauntingly beautful Chinese melodies, although some of the chants & hymns begin with something familiar from an old Latin hymn - like the beginning of Credo III - but then depart into their own styles & melodies, as Chinese language typically expresses the same thought in a much shorter phrase. Not only the choir, but everyone I could observe sang & sang loudly! Since attendance was probably about 1,000 people, you can imagine the sound resonating throughout the nave & surely even spilling out into the nearby streets. Many older Chinese Catholics have really suffered hardship for the Faith & they seem genuinely grateful just to have the opportunity to come to Mass.

Compared to the English-language Mass, where about half those in attendance were Westerners, I only saw 4 at this liturgy, including me. Most in attendance were just regular working Chinese folks, & there was no element of "canned for tourists" on display. What was a bit conspicuous by its absence was the presence of children. There were some young mothers with babies in attendance, & a group of children bring up the gifts, but there still seemed to be a dearth of young folks for a community of this size. I observed the same care & attention that the priests gave to the liturgy's rubrics that I noticed at the English-language Mass at St. Peter's in November.

There was no heat in the building, so it was as cold or colder inside than outside, which was around freezing that early in the morning. I got a strong sense that this was how going to church must have been before modern times. Everyone still bundled up in their heavy coats, scarves, mittens, & caps. Plenty of destitute & crippled line up outside of the gates to the church grounds, I suppose because they know that Christians are generous. If a beggar can't get help at a Catholic church, then I'd say we've lost the plot somewhere. I always give them something. I noticed one young man sitting there with both of his hands & forearms missing - something I could easily imagining happening in the extremely unsafe working conditions I've observed in Chinese factories & worshops. His little beggar's cup had a few coins in it, & he looked up in amazement & gratitude at me as I dropped a 100 RMB note in it - about $15. I just wanted to let him know somehow that I still recognized him as a person - someone as valuable & worthy of respect as I was, probably more.

The following Sunday I went back to the cathedral for the 7:30am Mass to find that the bishop himself was there! I suspect he may have been an auxilary due to his relatively youthful appearance. The day's Gospel was of the wedding at Cana, a "manifestation" of Jesus as God, which in the old calendar is traditionally coupled with the appearance of the Magi & the Lord's baptism all on the Epiphany. The bishop spoke at length in Chinese on the role of Mary in the Church & in the life of Christians. Of course I could not understand the homily, but I noticed that the names Maria & Jesus were frequently coupled together. It seemed to me that the Chinese are culturally prone to a kind ritualism that leads to magic & that the bishop's word helped to put things in proper perspective: Mary as the mother & intercessor that always leads us to the Son. The choir was really on the ball for this celebration, as tends to happen when the bishop shows up. Interestingly, these was no collection during the Offertory at either Mass, the reason I imagine is that this church receives its revenue from the government, being a state-approved church. Hopefully, this situation between the Vatican & the Chinese government will be resolved one day soon (see the Pope's 2007 Letter to the Faithful in China).

A renovation of the church building's exterior began since the previous week's visit, no doubt as part of a general overhaul of the city underway for the 2010 World Expo being held in Shanghai this year. Putting on the best face to the outside world, no doubt. Still, the Church is alive & well in China, despite all its difficulties past & present. Its future challenge, as China continues its meteoric rise, is to call a people intoxicated by thoughts of wealth, power, & pleasure to a humble & self-sacrificing faith rooted in genuine love: of God, of neighbor, & of self. Perhaps in this way, China will become a kind of mirror in which the West can find its way back to Faith.

I was delighted by my experience of worshipping with the Catholic faithful of Shanghai's cathedral, & hope that I can return again sometime.