Thousands of Catholics joined a parade to honor a 130-year-old statue of the Virgin Mary from Pingtung County’s Wanchin (萬金) Basilica that arrived in Taipei yesterday on a tour around the country to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the second coming of Catholicism.
After saying prayers and shooting firecrackers, the thousands of Catholics escorting the sedan carrying the statue of the Virgin Mary from the basilica started their parade in the afternoon while singing hymns and holding roses and banners.
The Wanchin Basilica, built in the 19th century by Spanish Dominican clergy, is one of the oldest churches in the country and is considered the most sacred church by Taiwanese Catholics.
PHOTO: LU CHUN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
“We’re holding the tour to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the [second] coming of Catholicism in Taiwan,” said Augustine Hsu (許德訓), secretary-general of the Office of the Archbishop of Taipei.
The Dominican Order first established churches in Taiwan when the Spanish occupied part of northern Taiwan in the 17th century. However, the Spanish left the island after less than 20 years following their defeat by the Dutch.
It wasn’t until 1859 that the Catholic Church reached Taiwan again.
“The tour of the Immaculate Conception started [in September last year] from Wanchin Village, the place from which Catholicism spread throughout the country,” Hsu said. “After the Immaculate Conception’s arrival today, she will stay in the Taipei Archdiocese for two months before moving on to Hualien and Taitung and then returning to Pingtung.”
Everyone in the parade was excited about the event.
“We’re very happy to be here today,” said Tang Ning (唐寧), a sophomore at National Tsing Hua University who grew up in a Catholic family. “We want to speak out loud about our love for our faith.”
A few of them brought guitars, drums and electric keyboards to play music on a small truck in the parade, while dozens of other young people sang and danced along.
A young Italian priest, Paolo Costa, got on the truck and sang a popular Mandarin love song — I’m Willing (我願意) — but rather than singing about love for a person, he was singing about his love for God.
While most people in the parade were from Taipei, the eight-member team that escorted the statue from Wanchin had participated in the entire tour.
Escort team captain, Pan Chen-hung (潘振宏), shared some interesting stories from along the tour.
“In Tainan, we invited local temples to join our parade, so we actually had a procession of two religions at the same time — it was quite a sight,” Pan said, smiling.
He also mentioned that in Lunbei Township (崙背), Yunlin County, locals set up tables along the way and burned incense to pay respect to the Virgin Mary.
“Some village chiefs announced our arrival when we passed through their villages and without knowing exactly what was going on, the villagers decided to pay respect to the Virgin Mary in their own way,” Pan said. “They set up tables with sacrifices and burned incense as we marched past.”
The procession finished at the Sacred Heart Girl’s High School next to the Cathedral of Taipei and a ceremony was performed to pray for the well-being of Taiwan and all Taiwanese.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and