St Joseph Catheral
St Joseph Catheral
4
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
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4.0
154 reviews
Excellent
63
Very good
60
Average
27
Poor
4
Terrible
0
Zarza's Travels
Auckland, New Zealand1,000 contributions
Nov 2021 • Solo
Was keen to go inside this cathedral, so much so it was the first place I visited on my trip to Tianjin. It is on a back road behind a row of big name shops. It was closed when I arrived, and seemingly had very limited opening hours so I didn't manage to go inside which is a shame. A beautiful exterior none the less.
Written 20 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KodoDrummer
Buenos Aires, Argentina70,581 contributions
Nov 2018 • Friends
St Joseph’s Cathedral (aka, Xikai Church) has both a very beautiful façade and interior. On the outside, I like the colour pattern of the brickwork. The church was originally built over the 1913 to 1916 period and required significant rebuilding in the 1980s to repair and replace parts destroyed in 1966 by the Red Guards and the Tangshan earthquake of 1976. I like the light pastel colours (possibly because I am partial to blue) of the interior. They make for a bright church on the inside. At the far end from the altar, there is a beautiful organ.
Written 7 December 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Amanda B
Beijing14 contributions
Apr 2013 • Couples
This church was amazing. If I lived in Tianjin, I'd absolutely attend services here. I didn't actually get to attend mass because I couldn't find accurate info about the times, so here they are: They have mass Monday-Saturday at 6 am and 7:30 am, although I can't tell you what language they're in. Sunday mass is as follows:
6, 7:30, 10
11:30 am in English
15:00, 19:00
The church was open for viewing and was incredible. There are many beggars here though, which was sad to see. The church can be seen from the main road where the taxi dropped us off and was not difficult to find at all.
6, 7:30, 10
11:30 am in English
15:00, 19:00
The church was open for viewing and was incredible. There are many beggars here though, which was sad to see. The church can be seen from the main road where the taxi dropped us off and was not difficult to find at all.
Written 9 April 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrew A
Tianjin, China2 contributions
July 2015 • Family
I'am one of the the parishioner in this church. Our expat community of Christians is thriving and growing! Every week our parish celebrates the mass in English at 11:30 am. All denominations and nationalities welcome.
Written 22 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AussieNarelle
La Jolla, CA293 contributions
Mar 2012 • Business
I was amazed to find this church at the end of the plaza. I try and get to a church service in the city where I am staying on a Sunday. I expected teh church service to be in Chinese, but ended up in an English speaking church service and there were many people in attendance. I would worhsip at a service in this church again in the future.
Written 8 June 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lilijp03
Beijing, China248 contributions
Feb 2018 • Solo
Little has been done to the Church over it's 105 year history, so it is still looks original with it's decorations and blue / gold paintwork, not to mention lack of heating in winter. Lovely original glass gas lights inside which I haven't seen lit on my two visits there. Kneeling boards well padded. Visitors are not allowed to take photos inside and the Chinese tourists visiting during Mass time are told to kneel, take off hats and show respect from church going members who monitor the church.
Written 30 March 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
zcemp13
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia409 contributions
Nov 2015 • Solo
One of the things I like doing when I travel is attending mass in a different country and I am not soo ambitious, so I would go for the English Mass.
Now, it's November in China and the weather was just cold and slightly wet. It rained before I arrived, so I could see that the floor was wet. I got out from Isetan (used the subway 1st time in Tianjin) and the easiest way for me to navigate is always to get out onto the street and get my bearings right. I got out, as normal, but couldn't really get my directions right. I was short of time already, so wasting time was not an option. So I asked around in my basic Mandarin and got walking towards a direction. I believed I understood the guy correctly, so I turned and looked to the left. Gosh, there St. Joseph was standing sturdily, squashed in between buildings. He reminded me of Westminster Cathedral in London, near Victoria St. The church is sort of set deep and off the main street, so if you don't stand directly opposite he, you won't be able to see it type of thing. Anyways, I crossed the busy street and walked towards the church.
So the mass and everything else was fairly normal. The statues in the church were a bit scary looking, lost a bit of the gentleness that I am normally accustomed to, and it's relatively dark with not great microphone/audio system. A mixed of white and yellow light confused me a bit, but nevertheless, an enjoyable and peaceful English mass. Mostly foreigners as part of the parishioners and servers, but I could see the entire celebration did depend on a few active volunteers/servers. So perhaps, they should try to induct more people to help out.
The hymns were slow and needed sprucing up to bring the crowd into worshiping. The church audio system required updating as well. Could hardly hear half way down from the altar. But I guess every church has their own problems, so maybe they are working on it and again, I have never felt refreshed and filled up after mass.
I enjoyed the hot chocolate for charity in the cold and the cold shoulders that locals "warmed" me up ... hahahaha ... but those who decided to take a leak, the toilet is really open. (smile)
So the MOST interesting part of this Church ISSSS ... that it's not recognized by the Pope. Not sure why (haven't gotten round time to check the history) but didn't manage to identify anything different from the churches I visited. So that's intriguing for me.
...
Now, it's November in China and the weather was just cold and slightly wet. It rained before I arrived, so I could see that the floor was wet. I got out from Isetan (used the subway 1st time in Tianjin) and the easiest way for me to navigate is always to get out onto the street and get my bearings right. I got out, as normal, but couldn't really get my directions right. I was short of time already, so wasting time was not an option. So I asked around in my basic Mandarin and got walking towards a direction. I believed I understood the guy correctly, so I turned and looked to the left. Gosh, there St. Joseph was standing sturdily, squashed in between buildings. He reminded me of Westminster Cathedral in London, near Victoria St. The church is sort of set deep and off the main street, so if you don't stand directly opposite he, you won't be able to see it type of thing. Anyways, I crossed the busy street and walked towards the church.
So the mass and everything else was fairly normal. The statues in the church were a bit scary looking, lost a bit of the gentleness that I am normally accustomed to, and it's relatively dark with not great microphone/audio system. A mixed of white and yellow light confused me a bit, but nevertheless, an enjoyable and peaceful English mass. Mostly foreigners as part of the parishioners and servers, but I could see the entire celebration did depend on a few active volunteers/servers. So perhaps, they should try to induct more people to help out.
The hymns were slow and needed sprucing up to bring the crowd into worshiping. The church audio system required updating as well. Could hardly hear half way down from the altar. But I guess every church has their own problems, so maybe they are working on it and again, I have never felt refreshed and filled up after mass.
I enjoyed the hot chocolate for charity in the cold and the cold shoulders that locals "warmed" me up ... hahahaha ... but those who decided to take a leak, the toilet is really open. (smile)
So the MOST interesting part of this Church ISSSS ... that it's not recognized by the Pope. Not sure why (haven't gotten round time to check the history) but didn't manage to identify anything different from the churches I visited. So that's intriguing for me.
...
Written 13 March 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Catherine494932
Paris, France114 contributions
Apr 2014 • Friends
Went there on a Sunday with some friends. Was pleasantly surprised to see how well attended it was. Beautiful well preserved building, it is a mystery how this and so many other 'western ' style buildings survived the Cultural Revolution. The times of the services are written outside in both English and chinese, as well as requests for visitor behaviour, all of which was ignored by locals. I have visited many functioning religious buildings across the world, but was disappointed to find one where requests for respect were ignored. The priest there: American, was friendly and knowledgeable about the building and generously took time to speak with a casual visitor. There is a quiet dignity absent from other religious sites in China.
Written 11 November 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Montreal_native
Edmonton, Canada1,558 contributions
Apr 2013 • Couples
Went inside to take a look and it is a beautiful church which was built by the French. Not sure how old it is but its definitely worth a look on the inside since it was very well preserved and very elaborate.
Written 22 April 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Douglas de Quadros
Porto Alegre, RS32 contributions
Feb 2019 • Couples
A beautiful church in the centre of downtown built by the French in then XIX century.
They held masses everyday in Chinese at 6am and 7h30am and in English on Sundays at 11h30am.
They held masses everyday in Chinese at 6am and 7h30am and in English on Sundays at 11h30am.
Written 24 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
When are your services in english tomorrow (Easter)?
Written 4 April 2015
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