The Globalization of Catholicism as Expressed in the Sacramental Narratives of Jiangnan Catholics from the Late Ming to Early Republican Period

Abstract

From the Late Ming to the Republican period, Chinese Catholics living in Jiangnan (present-day Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Anhui) progressively appropriated the sacramental doctrine and practices of the Church. This study examines the implementation and evolution of the sacraments of baptism, marriage, and extreme unction, and it focuses on each of them at a different moment in the process of acculturation. The latter can be analyzed in terms of both localization and globalization: on the one hand, the religiosity displayed by the grassroots communities integrated elements proper to Chinese tradition and sensitivity. On the other hand, local believers developed a consciousness of their participation in the global Church through active sacramental practice. Sacramental acculturation and identity building were mediated by a “ritual rhetoric” that provided communities with topoi through which to endow their existence with accrued meaning and blessings.

Keywords

• baptism
• Chinese Catholics
• extreme unction
• grace
• Jiangnan region
• marriage (sacrament of)