Marian devotion
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In Dongfeng, within the Amis community of Tiefern or Afih, the church is consecrated to Our Lady of Lourdes. His story was linked to Father Maurice Poinsot, named in Chinese Pan Shih-kuang and remembered as the "Angel of the East of the River," who devoted almost sixty years to the faith, language and daily life of the villages of the valley.
Chinese name: The Holy Mother of East Fame.
Local name: Catholic church of Dongfeng; community of Tiefern, Amis: Afih.
Place: 51 Difen, seventh neighborhood, Dongfeng, Yuli municipality, Hualien.
Foundation: 1961.
Jurisdiction: Catholic diocese of Hualien, pastoral area of Yuli.
Communities assisted historically: Xuetian, Gaoliao, Lehe, Antong, Wanning y Fenan.
Main pastoral figure: padre Maurice Poinsot, MEP, 1932-2018.
Party holder: February 11.
Native people: friends o pangcah.
Una parroquia de Lourdes en el valle
The church directory dates the parish in 1961. Its location, east of the Xiuguluan River, made it the centre of a pastoral network that reached several rural villages. Lourdes' invocation offered those communities a spirituality of conversion, prayer and closeness to the sick.
Dongfeng does not claim to be the stage of an apparition. The image of the Virgin with Saint Bernardite and the parish name refer to Massalielle, in France, and move her message to the concrete life of the Amis community.
El padre Maurice Poinsot
Maurice Poinsot arrived from France to Taiwan in 1959, at the age of 27, as a priest of the Paris Foreign Missions. He adopted the name Pan Shih-kuang and learned Mandarin, Taiwanese, hakka and amis. His insertion was not limited to mastering vocabulary: he celebrated in the amis language and shared the lives of the villages for decades.
It was known as the "Angel of the East of the River" because its work was concentrated in the communities located to the east of the Xiuguluan. The official recognition of the Taiwan Presidency stressed that its steps spread throughout that region and that its service brought hope to the people.
Language, education and social service
Father Poinsot worked in an amis- French dictionary and in biblical materials in amis. His contribution to the preservation of the language received national educational recognition. The importance of this work is not to appropriate a culture, but to help the community pray, teach and transmit faith in its own language.
The parish was also linked to a nursery, care for the elderly and a savings cooperative called Lourdes. This initiative, popularly recalled as a "bank of the poor," sought to promote savings and respond to real needs. The sources report that the priest even provided family resources to support local works.
The spirituality of Lourdes
St. John Paul II recalled that Lourdes leads to the Immaculate Conception and the evangelical call to conversion. Water, grotto and pilgrimages are not magical objects: they refer to Christ, to the sacraments and to compassion for those who suffer.
In Dongfeng that spirituality acquired a particularly concrete expression. The attention to the language, children, the elderly and the family economy shows how Marian devotion can become service, provided that it respects the dignity and role of the community.
Verified location
The diocese confirms the direction Dongfeng, Difen, 7th neighborhood, number 51. GCatholic publishes the code 7QM388WW + 54 and OpenStreetMap focuses the building on 23.34559, 121.34535. The marker corresponds to the church of Dongfeng and not to its former dependent chapels.
To approach the community
The visitor enters a parish and a living indigenous village, not a decorated one. It is appropriate to confirm the possibility of visiting, to remain silent during the cult and to ask permission before photographing people. The Amis language and traditions must be named with respect, recognizing the community as a subject of its own history.
Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes, accompanies the Amis community of Dongfeng and all the peoples of the valley. Hold the sick, the children and the elderly; bless those who protect their tongue and serve without seeking reward. Teach us to turn devotion into fraternal care and to follow Jesus with a simple heart. Amen.
Sources consulted
- Diocese of Hualien: title, direction and related communities.
- GCatholic: foundation, jurisdiction and geolocation.
- Taiwan Presidency: Official recognition of Father Poinsot.
- Business Today Taiwan: local testimony on language and pastoral service.
- Report on the amis dictionary, liturgy and community works.
- St. John Paul II: ecclesial meaning of Lourdes.
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