Showing posts with label xavier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label xavier. Show all posts

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Kagoshima Cathedral


I did post on this topic many years ago, but as my older posts no longer have photos I thought I would post a revised version. Located in downtown Kagoshima, the cathedral was built in 1999 to celebrate the 450 year anniversary of the arrival in Kagoshima of Francis Xavier in 1549


A church was built here in 1909 but was destroyed during WWII. A new church was built in 1949 to celebrate the 400th anniversary. Some stones from this church were used to build a memorial to St. Francis Xavier located across the street from the cathedral.


The exterior is quite striking, but the interior is sublime, being flooded with colored light from the stained glass windows. It also has a nice pipe organ, something quite rare in Japan.


It is a catholic church, but all are welcome for services on Sundays. For the rest of the week the church is open to visitors with no entry fee.


Sunday, November 10, 2013

St. Francis Xavier Memorial Church Kagoshima


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The St. Francis Xavier Memorial Church is the cathedral of Kagoshima and is located in downtown Kagoshima. It was opened in 1999 to mark the 450th anniversary of his arrival in Japan. It replaced an earlier church built to mark the 400th anniversary.

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Just across the street is a memorial buiot using stones from an earlier church.

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Unusual for japan it has a nice big pipe organ.

My hotel was only 2 minutes away so I was able to revisit late on a sunny afternoon to take advantage of the light streaming in through the stained glass.

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I quite enjoy visiting churches in Japan because they are not all that common.

I think this one is my favorite in terms of the interior.

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My favorite church exterior would have to be the Xavier Memorial Church in Yamaguchi.

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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

St. Xavier Memorial Church

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The St. Xavier memorial Church is located in Yamaguchi City. It was built in 1998 to replace an earlier church that "mysteriously" burnt down in 1991.

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It was designed by the Italian architect Rugieri, and is constructed of marble and concrete.

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St. Francis Xavier spent 6 months in Yamaguchi in 1550 as the guest of the local daimyo and it is said it was the happiest 6 months of his life.

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The church bells can be heard all over downtown Yamaguchi, and they made me realize how much I miss the sound of church bells. Much nicer than the piped muzac spouting from the PA's in every other Japanese town.

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There is a small Christian museum in the basement of the church with a small entrance fee. Entrance to the church itself is free.

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