St Paul's Church, Xinkaihe

St Paul’s Church in Xinhe town (新河镇, Xīnhé Zhèn) is called Xinkaihe Church (新开河保禄堂, Xīnkāihé Bǎolù Táng) in the gazetteer. It is the old Catholic station of Chongming, and it is older than the buildings now in use.

Where did Chongming’s Catholic history begin?

The Shanghai Religion Gazetteer says that in 1639 the Italian Jesuit Francesco Brancati (潘国光, Pān Guóguāng) and Xu Qiyuan founded the first Catholic station on the island here, in the Xu family house. The Qing prohibition later cut off the mission. A visitor’s note taken from the information board says the island’s first Catholic was a Buddhist monk who met an Italian missionary in 1637; this does not match the gazetteer’s year and should be checked.

How did the present church take shape?

The gazetteer gives three stages: a church built in 1865 (the fourth year of the Tongzhi reign), an enlargement in 1869, and a rebuilding in 1902 by a Chinese priest, Zhu Fangji (朱方济, Zhū Fāngjì). The church once served as the centre of Catholic affairs on Chongming and as the seat of the dean. The church reopened in December 1981, soon after the island’s other main church, Dagongsuo, held its first Mass.

What to look for

Check the information board in front of the church for the local telling of the history, and compare it with the dates above. The building mainly reflects the rebuilding of 1902, the work of a Chinese priest.