Our Lady of Lourdes of Senyong - To be the hands and feet of Christ in Mulinaga

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In Mulinaga, an administrative Paiwan community called Senyong, the church is dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. A fire destroyed the old temple in 1998. The material reconstruction and interpretation that the faithful gave to the recovered objects made that loss a commitment: to be the hands and feet of Christ for others.

A church consecrated in 1960

The National Cultural Memory attributes the initial construction to Father Otto Hurni of the Missionary Society of Bethlehem. The temple was completed in 1960 and was consecrated the 9 October by Monsignor André-Jean Vérineux, then responsible for the ecclesial jurisdiction of Hualien.

GCatholic confirms the same year and classifies Senyong as a church dependent on the parish of Dawu. The community is located in Daren, within Paiwan territory, and retains its own name Mulinaga next to the Chinese administrative name.

The fire and the memory of the faithful

In 1998 a fire, locally remembered as a result of an electric failure, destroyed the church. The nearby houses did not burn and partially preserved liturgical objects appeared among the remains. The crucifix lost hands and feet, but kept the head and torso; other testimonies remember the chalice and elements of the sacrary.

The faithful interpreted those remains as a sign that strengthened their faith. A formulation transmitted by visitors expresses the commitment to become themselves in the hands and feet that would continue the work of Christ.

Rebuild together

After the fire, the faithful gathered funds to raise a new church in the same place. The aid also came from other Catholic communities. The reconstructed temple incorporates visual elements related to the Paiwan culture and continues to be a venue for Mulinaga.

The reconstruction was not only to replace walls. The community reinterpreted a traumatic loss as a call to service. That response - organizing, providing resources and maintaining prayer - is a verifiable historical fact, regardless of how each person values the episode of the fire.

A community that conserves its language

A public register in 2023 includes the church of Senyong among the projects supported to promote indigenous languages in religious communities. The data confirms recent community activity and a desire to use one's own language in ecclesial life.

The Paiwan language is not a folklore ornament for ceremonies. It carries memory, relationships and ways of understanding the world. His presence in songs, prayer and formation contributes to the fact that the faithful do not have to abandon their identity to express faith.

Lourdes: prayer, conversion and care of the sick

Between February and July 1858, Bernadette Soubirous stated that he had found in the Grotto of Massabielle a Lady who called for prayer and penance and presented herself as the Immaculate Conception. The Church recognized the apparitions after an investigation, and Lourdes became a place especially close to the sick and pilgrims.

Devotion does not promise automatic physical healing. Benedict XVI taught in Lourdes that Mary leads to hope founded on Christ and that presence together with the sick is a concrete form of love. Medical care, accessibility, company and respect should never be replaced by guilt or false promises.

In Senyong, Our Lady of Lourdes can help to contemplate the wounds without hiding them. The damaged crucifix does not turn suffering into a spectacle: it recalls a faith that seeks to respond to pain through real bodies and hands at the service of others.

Verified location

GCatholic publishes Senyong Village 118 address and territorial code 7QJ27VJ8+W2. The individual chart sheet with the full name of the temple sets the building in 22.2823924, 120.8649383. Name, address, code and position within Mulinaga converge in the same enclosure.

To visit

It is a community church, not a canon sanctuary with continuous opening. It is appropriate to consult the parish of Dawu before moving. Permission should be requested to photograph the crucifix, the Paiwan elements, people or celebrations and to respect any area reserved by the community.

Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes of Senyong

Our Lady of Lourdes, accompanies Mulinaga and the entire people of Paiwan. It comforts the sick, strengthens their families and blesses those who serve with their hands and steps. Help us not to seek wonders to avoid our responsibilities, but to follow Jesus with humble faith, competent care and persevering love. Keep the language, memory and hope of this community. Amen.

Sources consulted

• National Cultural Memory: foundation, consecration, fire and reconstruction.
• GCatholic: title, direction, year and pastoral dependence.
• Diocese of Hualien: Senyong within the network of Dawu.
• Public registration: project to promote indigenous language in Senyong.
• Benedict XVI in Lourdes: Cross, hope and closeness of Mary.
• Sanctuary of Lourdes: events and message of 1858.

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