Church
Our Lady of Victory Church, Zhabei
闸北胜利之后堂zhá běi shèng lì zhī hòu táng
Salesian priests built Our Lady of Victory in 1947 to mark the war's end; closed in 1960, it reopened in 1995 and was rebuilt in 2012-13.
Directory and photographs supplied by 中二halo君. Photographs used with permission. · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
- Built
- 2012–2013
- Architect
- Not recorded
- Style
- Not recorded
- Heritage listing
- Not recorded
- Status
- Visitor access not yet confirmed
- Then in
- Chinese territory throughout; outside the foreign settlements
The red-brick gabled front of Our Lady of Victory Church, with a cross, round window and arched door.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · BilibiliWhat you're looking at
- The tablet by the door with the founding and reopening dates
- The date of the first Mass in the rebuilt church: 11 May 2013
The nave looking toward the altar, under a white pitched ceiling with painted Stations and red banners on the walls.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
The two-storey brick side building with a triangular porch marked with the Chinese characters for 'Catholic Church'.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
A stone plaque set in the brick wall with a dated Chinese inscription on the church's building history.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
The church front seen at the end of a street, with the lane and traffic in the foreground.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
A large painting of the Resurrection on the side wall, with a smaller painted panel beside it.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
A sculpted Pieta placed on a draped bier beside the pews.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
A large framed painting of the Virgin and Child surrounded by angels hangs on a side wall.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
The interior from the entrance, with a painted ceiling panel and stained-glass windows by the altar.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · BilibiliThe story
Our Lady of Victory Church (闸北胜利之后堂, Zháběi Shènglì Zhī Hòu Táng), at 289 Yuyingtang Road, takes its name from the end of the Second World War. The church was built, closed, reopened and rebuilt over the following seventy years.
Who built a church in Zhabei, and why?
The Zhabei District Gazetteer says Bishop Hui Jiliang (惠济良, Huì Jìliáng) asked the Salesians of Don Bosco to build it at the corner of Zhongxing Road and Yuyingtang Road. The Italian Fr Shuai Yihua (帅意华, Shuài Yìhuá) was the first priest. It opened in March 1947 and was named Our Lady of Victory because it came after the victory in the war. Next door the Salesians opened a primary school, the Yide School (一德小学), in February 1947 at 273 Yuyingtang Road. The district took it over in 1953.
How did it survive?
On weekdays only a dozen or so people came; on Sundays and feast days about two hundred. After 1949 Chinese priests took over, and three or four hundred worshippers still came. A typhoon damaged the church in 1956, and the government helped to repair it. Attendance then dropped sharply and the church was closed in 1960. The buildings went to a street nursery and later to a factory.
When did it come back?
Restoration began at the end of 1991, and the church took the name Zhabei Catholic Church (闸北天主堂). A reopening Mass was held in January 1995. In September 1998 the church was enlarged to hold 250 people, and in June 2002 it became a parish church with Fr Gao Yanghong (高养宏, Gāo Yǎnghóng) as its first parish priest. Between 1995 and 2005, 173 people were baptised there.
The tablet by the door records the latest chapter: rebuilding began on 3 December 2012, the feast of St Francis Xavier, and finished on 25 April 2013, the feast of St Mark. The first Mass in the new church was on 11 May 2013.
What to look for
Look for the tablet beside the entrance. It lists the founding in February 1947, the reopening in January 1995 and the three dates of the 2012-13 rebuilding. The gazetteer’s March 1947 opening differs by a month from the tablet’s February start; the tablet says “begun”, not “opened”.
Signs at the church, in full (1)
The wording of plaques and notices as photographed. Timetables and rules may have changed since.
Zhabei Catholic Church: Foundation and Reopening Inscription
闸北天主堂：建堂与复堂碑 · see the photo
Our translation of the Chinese
Zhabei Catholic Church
Construction first began in February AD 1947
Church reopened in January AD 1995
Rebuilding began on 3 December AD 2012,
the Feast of St Francis Xavier
Completed on 25 April AD 2013,
the Feast of St Mark the Evangelist
First Mass celebrated on 11 May AD 2013,
a feast of Our Lady
Our Lady of Victory, pray for us
Catholic Diocese of Shanghai
25 April 2013
Chinese text
闸北天主堂
公元1947年2月始建
公元1995年1月复堂
公元2012年12月3日
圣方济各沙勿略庆日翻建
公元2013年4月25日
圣马尔谷圣史庆日竣工
公元2013年5月11日
圣母庆日首祭弥撒
胜利之后圣母为我等祈
天主教上海教区
2013年4月25日
How to visit
- Status
- Visitor access not yet confirmed
- Opening times and prices not yet confirmed; check before you go.
- Nearest metro
- Metro directions will be added after a site visit.Plan a metro journey here →
Chinese address — show this to a taxi driver
育婴堂路289号
289 Yuyingtang Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai
Amap (高德地图) works best in mainland China; Apple Maps on iPhone. Both open in the app when it is installed.
The map position is approximate; the entrance has not been checked.
Nearby
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No other places on the site are within a 20-minute walk yet.
Sources
- 1.Zhabei District Gazetteer, Catholicism (闸北区志 · 第四节 天主教), Shanghai Local Chronicles Office — 二、主要教堂和附属事业gazetteer
- 2.Zhabei District Gazetteer 1994-2005, Catholicism (闸北区志(1994-2005) · 第四节 天主教), Shanghai Local Chronicles Office — 一、活动场所gazetteer
- 3.Photographs of Shanghai churches and their signs, by 中二halo君 (上海教堂实拍照片（中二halo君）), 中二halo君, 中二halo君, 2026 — sign photographed at the churchfieldwork