One in a million
Wanjin’s status as a pilgrimage site for Taiwan’s Catholics stems from its place in the history of the Catholic mission in Taiwan.
Spanish Dominicans first came to Taiwan in 1622. They stayed briefly in the north, and built a church at Cape Santiago (since destroyed). The Dominicans came to Taiwan a second time in 1859, arriving in Takao (present-day Kaohsiung) from Xiamen. They built an adobe church there the following year and began to missionize. In 1861, Fernando Sainz and a missionary named Yang Du (“Brother Du”) trekked the more than 60 kilometers from Takao to Wanjin, where they established a missionary outpost.
Why did they choose Wanjin? Father Li Hanmin says that Wanjin had a vast hinterland, and the nearby Wugou River provided plenty of water with which to irrigate its fertile soil. In addition, the Aborigines who were already settled here provided the missionaries with a sizable population to convert. “Father Sainz had probably also received divine inspiration in his prayers, and therefore decided that this was the place.”
Father Sainz bought the land behind the present-day church in 1863, constructed a church of earth and stone, and quickly baptized more than 40 people. But the parish’s development was far from smooth over the next few years. Conflicts between ethnic Chinese and Aborigines generated ill feelings towards the church, which led to it being looted and burned. When the building was subsequently destroyed by an earthquake, the foreign missionaries soldiered on with their work in the parish. In 1869, Father Francisco Herce purchased the site of the present-day basilica to build a new church, as well as another tract of land that he then leased to parishioners at a low cost. This enabled them to farm, build homes, and improve their lives.
Now a county-level designated historic site, the basilica is built in a Spanish style, rectangular and white-walled. It has a central chapel flanked by two towers on its west-facing front, and an apse at the eastern end. Roughly eight meters tall, the basilica is about 15 meters wide and 39 meters long. Although the exterior has been renovated several times, the church’s basic structure remains unchanged.
Church records show the primary building material used was an amalgam of locally sourced crushed stone, lime, brown sugar, honey, kapok, and bricks. The builders also used wood and brick that was shipped from Fuzhou to Donggang, then transported to Wanjin by oxcart. Most of the skilled craftsmen who worked on it came from Fuzhou, Xiamen, and Penghu. The parishioners themselves provided additional volunteer labor. The church took one year to complete, and was formally put into use at the Nativity of Mary (December 18) in 1870.
Wanjin’s Madonna procession draws from Taiwan’s deity-procession tradition and pays respect to other religions. Villagers set out tables laden with food at noon, heightening the festive atmosphere.