History

Catholics have worshipped on this corner of 三民路 in central Taichung since 1915. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is the cathedral church of the Catholic Diocese of Taichung, and the third church to stand on the plot a Spanish friar bought here in 1914. Mass is offered every day, in Mandarin, Taiwanese and English.

Three churches, one plot

1915 · 天主聖教. In 1914 Fr Manuel Prat OP (馬守仁神父), a Dominican and then parish priest of 羅厝 in Changhua, came to Taichung, bought land in the middle of the town and put up a small bamboo house as a mission station. He travelled back and forth from 羅厝 — no easy journey then — and 羅厝 sent women catechists, the 姑婆, to teach the first two families who asked to learn. In 1915 a two-storey building went up in its place: a temporary chapel downstairs, the priest’s rooms above. The first baptisms followed in 1916, and in February that year Fr Angel Rodriguez OP (洪羅烈神父) became the first priest to live here. He preached daily for months; within four months a hundred people were preparing for baptism.

1919 · 耶穌聖心堂. The little chapel could not hold them. A second church was built in red brick, Gothic, laid out in the shape of the character 山 — the church in the middle, the priest’s rooms above the front, catechism halls to either side, and rooms above for the catechists. It was dedicated to the Sacred Heart, and the statue of the Sacred Heart inside was the gift of a Spanish woman of Valladolid. It served the parish from 1919 until 1956.

1958 · 耶穌救主堂. By the 1950s the congregation had outgrown that church too. Brother Albert Staubli MM (雅聞道修士) drew the design, and building began in 1957 under Fr James T. Manning MM (萬民寧神父). Brother Staubli chose every brick and had each one soaked for a full day in an iron drum before it was laid, so that all were alike — which is why the shell has held so well.

The church was finished in 1958 and consecrated by Msgr William F. Kupfer MM (蔡文興監牧), then Prefect Apostolic, who placed it under Christ the Saviour, 耶穌救主, and made it the cathedral. Above the doors is the Ascension, carved by the Taiwanese sculptor 陳夏雨. The holy water stoup is built into the wall — Brother Staubli’s idea, so that anyone coming in is cleansed from the moment they make the sign of the cross.

The Dominicans, 1914–1950

Seven Dominican friars served here, and 1,055 people were baptised in their time.

Fr Francisco Giner OP (高熙能神父) stayed nearly twenty years, from 1923 — the longest of any of them. On 19 March 1927, at the Taichung church, he published the first Catholic hymnal in Taiwanese, the music printed with the words beneath in romanised Taiwanese.

Fr José Arregui OP (陳若瑟神父) came in 1937 and formed a western band, which played at weddings and funerals for anyone who asked, Catholic or not. When the Pacific War began on 8 December 1941 he and three parishioners were arrested by the Japanese police and held until 26 December. Foreign priests across Taiwan were confined or imprisoned in those years for fear they were spies.

The last Dominican, Fr Marcelino Delgado OP (馬西略神父), was farewelled by the parish on 7 October 1951.

Maryknoll, 1950–2003

In August 1950 Rome carved the Taichung Prefecture out of Kaohsiung and entrusted it to the Maryknoll Fathers of the United States. On 26 January 1951 Pius XII named Fr William F. Kupfer MM, then forty-two, its first Prefect. He was born in Brooklyn in 1909, ordained in 1933, and had spent fourteen years in Wuzhou before coming to Taiwan. In April 1962 the prefecture became a diocese and John XXIII made him the first Bishop of Taichung.

Six Maryknollers served the parish, and 6,044 people were baptised in their time. The 1960s were the busiest years the parish has known: more than four thousand parishioners, four lay catechists, and about a hundred baptisms each Christmas and Easter.

Fr John B. Keaney MM (紀道明神父) arrived in 1967 and stayed thirty-six years, the longest of anyone — pastor to three generations of the same families. The parish’s credit union, its parish council, its lay Dominicans and three of its choirs began under him. Before he retired to the United States in 2003 he spent his life savings on the empty land behind the church, for the parish to build on one day.

On 11 November 1987 a delegation from the Archdiocese of Daegu enshrined a relic of the Korean martyr 聖李尹一 in the cathedral.

Diocesan clergy, 2003 to now

Since 2003 the cathedral has been served by priests of the diocese: 劉徵祥神父 from 2003, 徐世昭神父 from 2008, who broke ground for the activity centre, and 劉連玉神父 from 2014, who finished it and refurbished the church. 黃清富神父 has been parish priest since October 2020 — the seventeenth since 1916.

From December 2014 the parish spent a full year keeping its centenary: a themed Mass every month with former priests returning to preside, carols and lamp-lighting, retreats and concerts, a hundred people praying a hundred rosaries, a hundred couples renewing their marriage vows, and a closing Mass and love feast. The 110th anniversary was kept on 8 November 2025. The new 共融室 was blessed on 4 April 2023.

The parish today

About 700 households and 1,300 parishioners, serving 中區 and 西區.

Four choirs — 救主, 道明, 聖心, and since 2023 a parents-and-children choir. Three praesidia of the Legion of Mary, the oldest founded in May 1962. A parish council, lay Dominicans, a scripture class, a catechumenate for those enquiring about the faith, eight Sunday-school classes and a youth group. Sisters of two congregations have served here since 1957.

Everyone is welcome at every Mass.

From the parish archive

Parish priests

Founder of the mission: Fr Manuel Prat OP (馬守仁神父), 1914 to 1916

1. Fr Angel Rodriguez OP (洪羅烈神父), 1916 to 1919

2. Fr Buenaventura Gordaliza OP (吳達查神父), 1919 to 1923

3. Fr Francisco Giner OP (高熙能神父), 1923 to 1937

4. Fr José Arregui OP (陳若瑟神父), 1937 to 1942

5. Fr Constantino Montero OP (戴剛德神父), 1942 to 1946

6. Fr Felix Sanchez OP (山繼慈神父), 1946 to 1950

7. Fr Marcelino Delgado OP (馬西略神父), 1950 to 1951

8. Fr John J. Sullivan MM (善理文神父), 1951 to 1953

9. Fr Mo Sheng-Tsai MM (莫盛才神父), 1954 to 1956

10. Fr James T. Manning MM (萬民寧神父), 1957 to 1959

11. Fr John P. McKernan MM (康健神父), 1959 to 1965

12. Fr Eugene M. Murray MM (曾顯道神父), 1965 to 1967

13. Fr John B. Keaney MM (紀道明神父), 1967 to 2003

14. Fr Liu Cheng-Hsiang (劉徵祥神父), 2003 to 2008

15. Fr Hsu Shih-Chao (徐世昭神父), 2008 to 2014

16. Fr Liu Lien-Yu (劉連玉神父), 2014 to 2020

17. Fr Huang Ching-Fu (黃清富神父), since October 2020

Nos. 1 to 7 were Dominicans, nos. 8 to 13 Maryknoll missioners, and nos. 14 to 17 priests of the Diocese of Taichung. Source: the parish history, 2023 edition.