October 26, 2021 Fire Republic 230 Fog Moon Goose Day (02.05)

A long time ago, I heard that there is a Catholic church in Ronghua Mountain, the oldest in Liaodong, known as the beginning of teaching in Liaodong, and I always wanted to visit it. It finally happened yesterday.

When I woke up in the morning, I called the church over there in Dalian and asked for the number of the priest in charge of Ronghua Mountain. Although the priest didn't answer, after thinking about it, let's go and have a look. It was only early in the morning that I learned that the passenger terminal had been relocated to the high-speed rail station. I couldn't find the location on the map, so I took the bus to the passenger station after inquiring, and bought a ticket to Ronghua Mountain.

This is the first time I go to the countryside by car. Different from the city, Taipingling Ronghua Mountain is full of mountains along the way. The little guest bumped along the way for an hour before entering Ronghuashan Town.

I was worried in the car, because the Ronghuashan Catholic Church could not be found on the map, and the specific location could not be found on the Internet. I just planned to enter the town to find it slowly. After entering the town, the driver asked me where I got off. I said that I actually wanted to find the Catholic Church, but I didn't know where it was. The driver said, just get off here, go inside, where there is a cross, you are a Catholic, I am a Christian... (Why did the Protestant squat with the Christian trademark?)

I came down and followed the fork in the road. When the fork was approaching, I occasionally turned my head to the right and saw the gray spire of the church, thinking that this must be the arrival. I found the door, found that the door was closed, and no one answered the call, so I looked around for other entrances. But the church was surrounded by fields and houses, and no entrance was found.

In the end, after several tossing and turning, I contacted the priest and helped me get the nun here to open the door. The outside of the church is gray, and the overall structure looks different from the early 20th century. I think it should have been rebuilt when. (Photo from the past: Photo Album of Indus Falls - Ronghua Mountain) The gray wall is very impressive under the rolling black clouds. There is a statue of the Virgin in the courtyard.

The interior decoration of the church is very refreshing. The top of the altar is wood-paneled, and the walls are inlaid with bluestone. Nowadays, many churches follow the simple style and become a bitter image on the bare white wall, which is very ugly. This one handles it well. The hall was clean and deserted, with only one nun playing the piano.

There is a picture posted in the church. After much help and search, it should be said that Father Cui Liangye (최양업), the second native Catholic priest on the Korean peninsula, started pastoring here in Ronghua Mountain (Liaodong Chagou) in 1849. I checked the information and found that the church was built in 1860. It turns out that there was a Catholic stronghold on Ronghua Mountain so early. I don't understand Korean, and I don't understand the materials, but Father Choi Liangye should be relatively well-known in Korea.

The nun left me for dinner at noon. There is no priest in the church here, and priests from Dalian come down to deliver Mass from time to time. After eating, I didn't stay much longer, and got on a bus and left this church surrounded by mountains. Come back at the next Mass to find out.

After returning home, looking at the familiar mountains and rivers, there is a sense of peace of mind.