Marian devotion
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In Fumin, a rural village of Ruisui, the Catholic community invokes Our Lady of Liessewhose name expresses joy or joy. The parish was born in 1957 and, over decades marked by earthquakes and reconstructions, has united this devotion of French origin with the language, music and community life of the Amis people.
Chinese name: The Rich, the Holy Virgin.
International name: Church of Our Lady of Liesse.
Title feeling: Our Lady of Joy or Jubile.
Place: number 150-1, village of Fumin, municipality of Ruisui, county of Hualien.
Opening: September 1957.
Local importance: iglesia católica de Ruisui.
Jurisdiction: Catholic diocese of Hualien, decanate of Yuli.
Liturgical languages: mandarín y friends.
Community: Almost entirely indigenous, mostly amis.
Who is Our Lady of Liesse?
The advocation comes from Liesse- Notre- Dame, in the French diocese of Soissons. Since the Middle Ages, pilgrims of very different conditions have come there to venerate an image of the Virgin with the Child and to ask for liberation, comfort and joy of motherhood.
His founding story speaks of three captive knights and a young woman named Ismerie. It belongs to the medieval devotional tradition and should not be read as a modern documentary chronicle. The sure historical fact is the secular existence of the pilgrimage and the Basilica of Liesse.
The website already has a General tab of Our Lady of Liesse. This page does not repeat it: it documents exclusively how the title took root in Fumin, Taiwan.
The first Catholic church in Ruisui
Local sources place the blessing and opening of the first temple in September 1957. Father Du Ai-min received pastoral responsibility from that community, which became the first Catholic church in the municipality of Ruisui.
GCatholic confirms the year 1957, the title of Liesse, the affiliation to the diocese of Hualien and its parish status. The current diocesan directory shows that it continues to celebrate Sunday Mass and uses both mandarin and amis.
An amis community
The documentation on reconstruction indicates that almost all Fumin's faithful are indigenous. The parish life developed within an amis community, with its language, family relations, music and agricultural celebrations.
For decades, the church integrated elements of the feast of the harvest with the Catholic liturgy. This inculturation does not consist in displaying isolated symbols: it is born of the faithful themselves, who express faith from their memory and their community way of giving thanks.
Earthquakes and reconstruction
The original building endured about half a century of earthquakes and seasons. The sources describe damaged walls, damaged beams and a space that had become small for the community. In the face of the impossibility of sufficient reparation, the faithful decided to raise a greater temple.
The reconstruction required local collaboration and external assistance. This story recalls that a church is not just an architectural work: it is the fruit of the efforts of families who wish to preserve a place for the Eucharist, prayer, funerals, parties and the transmission of faith.
The joy that does not deny suffering
The name Liesse speaks of joy, but not of superficial happiness. Fumin knows the damage of earthquakes, emigration and the difficulties of rural communities. Christian joy is born from knowledge accompanied by God and sustained by others even during the trial.
Mary sings the Magnificat after getting on the way to serve Isabel. Thus, Marian joy is recognized in gratitude, service and shared hope.
Verified location
The diocese publishes the direction Fumin 150-1, Ruisui. GCatholic provides individual cartographic code 7QM3H9CF+RC, the centre of which is 23.5720625, 121.3735625. The marker identifies the parish of Fumin and not the self-named shrine of Yujing in Tainan.
To visit
The church usually celebrates Sunday Mass, but it is appropriate to confirm the schedule with the parish. It is a place of worship of an amis community: people, songs, dances and cultural celebrations should not be photographed without consent. The visitor's gratitude begins with respect for those who guard the place.
Prayer to Our Lady of Liesse of Fumin
Our Lady of Liesse, Mother of true joy, accompanies the community of Fumin. It protects the Amis people, their language, their songs and their families. Hold those who rebuild after the earthquakes, comfort those who live far from their land and make the gratitude of the harvest to become solidarity. Take us always to Jesus, the source of a joy that no one can take from us. Amen.
Sources consulted
- Diocese of Hualien: present parish, direction, time and liturgical languages.
- diocesan Directory: title and official address.
- GCatholic: translation as Liesse, year, jurisdiction and geolocation.
- Local history: opening, first parish priest, earthquakes and inculturation amis.
- Reconstruction report: structural damage and indigenous composition of the community.
- Diocese of Soissons: origin and meaning of the shrine of Liesse.
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