ASIA/CHINA - Local authorities announce the reconstruction of the old church in Bai Lu, built by Foreign Missions Priests of Paris 100 years ago and later destroyed by the earthquake in 8-seconds’ time

Peng Zhou (Agenzia Fides) – According to the official government site of China, Xinhuanet, the Supervisory Department for Archeological Sites in Si Chuan has announced that it “will reconstruct (on the original site) the old Catholic seminary in the southwest of China, also known as the famous church of Bai Lu, built by the Foreign Missions of Parish (MEP) in 1908, exactly 100 years ago.”
The church of Bai Lu, being three stories high, took up 18,000 meters squared, in the city of Peng Zhou, near the epicenter of the earthquake that took place on May 12 and that severely damaged various Catholic buildings in the Diocese of Cheng Du, the capital of the Si Chuan province. During the earthquake, the church was leveled in 8 seconds. At that very moment, there was a couple of newly-weds taking pictures, and thus the moment of the Church’s fall has been captured in photo and the images have circled the world, causing emotion among Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
After the earthquake, the population used the large square in front of the Church to set up tents for the homeless. The local authorities ordered that room be made for collecting the wreckage from the Church (windows, furniture, decorative pieces...) and placed a guard on duty day and night to guarantee “the original materials and style of the original construction,” according to the Vice-Director of the Museum in Peng Zhou. She also mentioned that “the church is not only an important witness to the development of Catholicism in southwestern China, but also to the incalculable values it holds from an archeological and cultural perspective, blending Roman and Gothic styles. The experts who have traveled from Beijing to Cheng Du are already onsite, working to examine and safeguard the reconstruction.”
According to statistics that are still incomplete, hundreds of churches, temples, and mosques were completely destroyed in the earthquake. “The reconstruction requires a long time and an accurate plan,” said the head of the Religious Affairs Office in the province of Si Chuan. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 24/6/2008)