One of the oldest Catholic cathedrals in China burned down

One of the oldest Catholic churches in China is the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary of the Semi sorrows in Ninbo (Zhejiang Province) was destroyed by a fire. To extinguish the flame that arose late at night and destroyed the roof and the entire interior, the help was needed more than 50 fire brigades.

According to one of the employees of the parish, fire could erupt in the altar. The causes of its occurrence are not reported. Only the bell tower and several buildings nearby survived, reports the portal "Sedmitsa.Ru" with reference to the information of the Austrian Catholic information agency .

The Cathedral of the Virgin Mary Seven sorrows in the Jianbay area is one of the symbols of Ninbo. Initially, the church on this place was built in 1713, during the Qing dynasty. The temple was rebuilt several times, until in 1872 he acquired the form that remained until the last fire. The choice of architecture in the style of neo -Gothic Cathedral is owed to French missionaries.

The Catholic Church in Ninbo, along with Protestant, suffered from recent repressions by the state in the province of Zhejiang. Crosses were dismantled from two temples. Another temple received an order to remove the cross. The old cathedral had much less chance of falling under the anti -religious campaign of the Chinese authorities. He was “defended” by a long history and past ties with the Communist Party. The temple, which at one time served as a place of gathering of revolutionaries, was then declared a national monument under the protection of the state. The cathedral was damaged during the cultural revolution when used as a warehouse. He was returned to the community in 1980.