aeeble

The evangelization of Wanchin began in 1861, when Spanish Dominican priest Fernando Sainz arrived in Taiwan. In 1863, the first adobe chapel was built. During this period, the chapel was repeatedly destroyed by fire and its walls collapsed in earthquakes. Not until 1869, when Fr. Francisco Herce purchased a wooded plot with support from local faithful, was the present Basilica of the Immaculate Conception erected in the style of a Spanish fortress. The materials—lime, crushed stone, kapok, fired brick, black sugar and honey—contained no steel yet produced an exceptionally solid structure. The façade is a twin-towered church resembling a Spanish bastion; between the towers rises a gable evoking a traditional “horse-back” roof, topped by a cross. A crown and the Dominican coat of arms adorn the gable. Inside, ceiling frescoes, side carvings, the rear loft, pulpit and Marian palanquin are all wood, blending Chinese and Western Gothic motifs. In 1874, Qing official Shen Baozhen, touring the south, saw the harmony among residents and believers and praised religion’s power to soften customs and erase ethnic prejudice. He petitioned the Tongzhi Emperor, who granted an imperial plaque reading “By Imperial Order” and the stone “Catholic Church,” both set above the façade; passing soldiers thereafter saluted. The basilica’s appearance evolved through several renovations: the curved “horse-back” roof became a pointed gable, the bell tower was rebuilt atop the central gable, the parapet changed from open crosses to balustrades, interior timber was replaced with reinforced concrete, the nave ceiling received traditional Chinese polychrome, and pillars were painted striking red. Tracing these alterations is to witness the eastward spread of the faith, a history of repeated persecution, destruction and rebirth. In 1984, Pope John Paul II raised the church to the rank of Minor Basilica; the same year the Ministry of the Interior listed it as Cultural Heritage No. 3, Grade 3, in Pingtung County. Wanchin Catholic Church continues its mission as a living monument.