The Story of St. Ignatius Cathedral Shanghai
Today is November 8, 2025, and I’m here in Xujiahui, Shanghai. Behind me stands one of the city’s most famous landmarks —St. Ignatius Cathedral. Let’s follow this video to look back at the historical events behind this magnificent church. Much of the timeline comes from Wikipedia sources.
The story of St. Ignatius Cathedral dates back to the 1840s, during the reign of Emperor Daoguang of the Qing dynasty — the same period as the First Opium War between China and Britain.
That war began as Europe’s industrial powers sought to expand markets and resources,
driving both capitalist expansion and colonial ambitions.
It was in this context that the Jesuit missionaries of the Catholic Church
returned to China and chose Xujiahui in Shanghai as their missionary center.
The mission effort lasted about eleven years, and by 1851, the first St. Ignatius Church was completed — one of the earliest Western-style Catholic churches in East Asia.
In 1906, the new cathedral was designed by British architect William Doyle and built under the direction of French Jesuits in the Neo-Gothic style. The present red-brick cathedral was completed in 1910, hailed as the “Largest Cathedral in the Far East,” able to hold up to 3,000 worshippers.
By 1919, the main altar was shipped from Paris — a white marble masterpiece carved by French artisans,featuring statues of Jesus and angels.
In 1932, during the January 28 Incident,Japanese forces bombarded Shanghai,
damaging parts of the cathedral. Masses were suspended, and the church endured years of war and turmoil.
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the Catholic Church in Shanghai was reorganized, and in 1960, the cathedral became the seat of the Shanghai Diocese,
transferring from the old Dongjiadu Church.
A second wave of destruction came during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976).
The spires were torn down, the stained-glass windows smashed, and the statues of Christ destroyed. The church was closed and turned into a grain warehouse.
Religious freedom returned in 1978, and the cathedral reopened for worship. During the 1980s, restoration began — the towers and roof were rebuilt, and the interior redecorated.
In 1989, the cathedral was listed as a Shanghai Cultural Heritage Site, and between 2000 and 2003, major restoration restored its Gothic stained glass and added modern lighting.
In 2016, to celebrate the cathedral’s centenary, new stained-glass windows were created
featuring Chinese elements — lotus flowers, bamboo leaves, and Chinese-script Bible verses — a “Gothic rebirth in Chinese style.“
Today, St. Ignatius Cathedral stands as a masterpiece of Neo-Gothic architecture, with twin towers rising 57 meters high, a cross-shaped nave, and red brick walls trimmed with granite.
Its vaulted ceiling reaches 30 meters, symbolizing a passage to heaven. The bronze bells once again ring across Xujiahui —known as “the Voice of God in Shanghai.”
Around the cathedral once stood seminaries and schools that later evolved into Guangqi High School and Xuhui High School. Nearby, the Jesuits also built an observatory and a library —
today’s Xujiahui Library continues that legacy.
St. Ignatius Cathedral remains one of the most influential Catholic centers in China. It symbolizes not just faith, but also the encounter between Chinese and Western culture.
Through war, silence, and rebirth, this cathedral has witnessed a century of Shanghai’s spiritual and cultural evolution.