The Shrine of Our Lady of Bliss (Zhang ke)

This well-known Marian Shrine in south-western China is located in the west suburbs of Anlongxian, Guizhou, at Zhung Ke. It is different from other Marian Shrines in that it has no church but a grotto with a large rock carving of the Holy Mother and her Son. The rock-carving portrait shows the Holy Mother sitting in the Chinese fashion of rolling clouds, with the Child Jesus in her bosom. Immediately below this portrait is the inscription of “1917.” The whole portrait is encircled by a double ring. Below the portrait are inscribed four big characters, reading from right to left, meaning “Queen of Zhung Ke,” and four of smaller type behind, meaning “Pray for us.” Due to the absence of documentary information, it is not possible to conduct any research as to how this shrine came into being. According to an oral legend from an old woman, she heard a story when she was very small. A foreign missionary priest was passing by the site of the Marian shrine when he had a vision of Mary with the Child Jesus. The woods became immediately radiant against darkness. To commemorate this event, the priest carried out stone-carving on the rock of the cave in honor of Zhung Ke, an ancient state in the times of spring and autumn period, entrusting the descendants of the Zhung Ke ancient state to the Queen of Heaven, Holy Mother of God. People in this region call this rock-carving the Zhung Ke Ancient Grotto.

There is another anecdote in connection with the fate of this wonderful shrine. On a certain day in July 1975, the production team of the district had the intention to blow up Zhung Ke grotto with explosives in order to obtain land for cultivation. A young man, named Long Bao was detailed to this job. Due to fatigue, he postponed the work for another day. That night, a Catholic, named Ms. Xiong Yuanfen, who lived at the foot of this Marian Shrine in Jianjiachong, had a dream. She saw a noble and beautiful lady come to her house and seat herself on the stone-steps in front of her house. Out of respect for this lady, she invited her into her home and brought her a stool. But this lady appeared to be in an agitated state and said: “I shall not be seated since you have already forgotten me. You have a home but tomorrow, my home will be gone....”

Next morning, the old lady related her dream to her husband, Beijihua. The couple then recalled that the production team would blow up the Marian Shrine Grotto that day. If the Marian Shrine were to be blown away, then the Holy Mother would have lost her home. They then told the villagers and Long Bao: “This is a holy place. If you blow up this shrine, you will get retribution for what you have done and great calamity will fall upon you all.” After delivery of this stinging ‘threat’, the villagers abandoned the scheme and the ancient grotto was spared.

Pilgrims from Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and the local district gather annually at this Marian Shrine, including the non-Catholics from Anlong during festival seasons.

At the foot of the Marian shrine, sits a small village settlement known as Jingjiachong. A building complex, embodying the East and West architectural features, can be seen from afar. This building was the diocesan minor seminary, St. Michael Seminary, built in 1910 by Ceheng' Parish and started operation in 1936. From the foundation of this seminary until the liberation of Anlong, over three-hundred junior seminarians made their studies there. Since the liberation, the St. Michael Seminary has been occupied by a mechanical factory until now. The seminary occupied a site of 8,300 sq. m., with some 150 rooms of varying sizes, together with a chapel. Fr. Li Limin informed us that this place would be returned to the church, and if financial resources are available, it will be renovated as a training center for biblical and catechetical studies. The Limin Secondary School is now operated by the church and the future growth of this school could be included as part of the training center.

Reference: Father. Anh Thu Tran (John the Baptist),C.S.J.B., Marian Shrines in China, Published by St. Francis Xavier Church (Chinese Community),Vancouver, BC. Canada,2009.

Address: St Francis Xavier Parish,428 Great Northern Way, Van.,BC,V5T 4S5,Canada, Tel 1-(604)254-2727, E-mail address: jbtat@yahoo.com

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