Our Lady of the Annunciation of Chunjih - The Yes of Mary among the Amis people

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In Chunjih, a rural community in the Huatung Valley, the church of Our Lady of the Annunciation remember the moment when Mary took the word of God with a free and confident yes. Founded in 1953, it was also a meeting center with the Amis people: the mission learned its language, collected its vocabulary and gave space to its songs and forms of expression.

The mystery that gives name to the church

The Annunciation recounts the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary in Nazareth. In the face of a call that goes beyond what I could understand, she asks, listens and finally answers: "Be done in me according to your word." His consent opens the door to the Incarnation of the Son of God.

John Paul II presented this fiat not as a passive acceptance, but as a full reception of the divine will and source of new energy to proclaim Christ and serve life. The church of Chunjih puts this mystery in the heart of a community that also had to listen, respond and express faith within its own culture.

A missionary foundation of 1953

The official inventory of places of worship in Hualien County dates to the foundation of the church in 1953. That same year Father René Louage of the Paris Foreign Missions arrived in the area. After visiting other territories he chose Chunjih as a base, from which he also attended neighbouring populations such as Ruisui and Dewu.

The expansion of that mission helped to form three main Catholic centers in the Yuli area: Our Lady of the Rosary in Yuli, Our Lady of the Annunciation in Chunjih and Our Lady of Lourdes in Dongfeng. Each church has its own title, community and location, although they share a historical root.

Louis Pourrias and a long presence in Chunjih

Father Louis Pourrias arrived in Taiwan in 1956. He first worked in Futian and, in 1970, was assigned to Chunjih, where he developed the longest period of his ministry. The Taiwanese museum sources remember the affection with which the community preserved its memory.

His work was not limited to translating religious formulas. He collected amis vocabulary, collaborated in dictionaries, prepared liturgical songs and materials in the local language and participated in the adaptation of biblical texts. It also promoted Christmas activities in which traditional songs and community creativity could take a visible place.

Faith and culture

The Amis people have an oral, musical and community tradition of great wealth. The history of Chunjih shows a stage in which some missionaries understood that announcing the Gospel required hearing that inheritance and learning the language of those who received it. Preserving words and melodies was a concrete way to respect an identity threatened by social changes.

However, it should be avoided to present this work as if the amis culture had been the work of the missionaries. The language, the songs and the memory belong to the people themselves. The priests collaborated in their documentation and ecclesial use; the true transmitters were and remain the families, elders, singers, catechists and the faithful amis.

The network of small communities

The directory of the diocese of Hualien currently links to this parish the communities of Dewu, Songpu, Gongqian, Fuyin and Tailin. The dispersion of villages explains the importance of chapels and those who maintain prayer when a priest cannot come.

This network makes visible a Church made up not only of buildings, but also of journeys, visits, catechists and families. Mary's yes is extended in small answers: to teach a prayer, to care for a chapel, to accompany a greater one or to keep a language alive in the celebration.

Verified location

The diocesan directory and the county's official inventory match in the direction 184 Shennong, Chunjih. The international ecclesiastical record provides the individual cartographic code 7QM3F94V+3W, the centre of which is 23.4551875, 121.3948125. The marker points to the temple and not the generic center of Yuli.

To visit

It is an active rural parish, not a tourist attraction. The hours should be confirmed in advance and action should be taken with particular respect during the liturgy or community meetings. Indigenous people, ceremonies and cultural expressions should not be photographed or disseminated without permission.

Prayer to Our Lady of the Annunciation of Chunjih

Our Lady of the Annunciation, a woman of listening and Mother of the Word, accompanies the community of Chunjih. Teach us to respond to God with freedom and trust. It protects the Amis people, their tongue, their songs and the memory of their elders. He blesses priests, catechists and families who support the small communities of the valley. May our yes, together with yours, make Jesus present among those who need hope most. Amen.

Sources consulted

• Diocese of Hualien: name, address and related communities.
• Hualien County Government: Official inventory and date of foundation.
• National Museum of Natural Sciences: Chunjih, the missionaries and the amis language.
• National Museum of Natural Sciences: regional history of the Yuli mission.
• GCatholic: Temple jurisdiction, foundation and mapping code.
• St. John Paul II: spiritual meaning of the fiat of Mary in the Annunciation.

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