St. Peter's Church (Chongqing South Road)

St. Peter’s Church (圣伯多禄堂, Shèng Bóduōlù Táng) is a working Catholic church at 270 Chongqing South Road, a short walk from Xintiandi. It is the diocese’s centre for English-language Mass, and it is also a rebuilt church: the building you see dates from 1996, not the 1930s.

The story starts with Aurora University (震旦大学), a Jesuit-run school. When it moved to the Rue Dubail site in 1908, it had only a small chapel. As more students became Catholics, the university began a larger church on 8 October 1933 and finished it the next year. It was named for Aurora’s patron, St Peter Canisius, and was later renamed for the apostle Peter. English Wikipedia describes it as Byzantine in style, with a central dome and five chapels.

The church became a public parish after the fighting of 1937. Wealthy Catholics from Hongkou and Dongjiadu moved into the concessions and settled nearby, and the congregation grew from a few hundred to about 3,000 by 1941.

It was closed in the Cultural Revolution and, from 1971, used as the Luwan District cultural centre. Worship resumed in part of the building in 1984. In 1995 the old church was demolished to make way for the North-South Elevated Road, and a new one was built slightly to the west in the original style. It opened on 21 July 1996. English Wikipedia describes the new building as modern, with colourful stained-glass windows and the church itself on the third floor.

Since 26 May 2002 the diocese’s English Mass has been held here, and French, Korean and German Masses are offered at set times. No official timetable was found, so check before you go.