First Ricci exhibition center opens

May 15, 2012: China’s first exhibition center dedicated to Father Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) has opened on Sunday in Zhaoqing, the place where the Italian missionary first set foot on the mainland.

Acting director of the Paris Ricci Institute, officials from the Guangdong provincial cultural bureau and Zhaoqing city attended the opening ceremony. The new Matteo Ricci Cultural Exchange Exhibition Center details the life of the Jesuit priest, known as Li Madou to Chinese people, through an array of exhibits and written accounts.

The center is located near the ruins of the first church and Jesuit house that Fr Ricci and his confrere Fr Michele Ruggieri were allowed to build after they arrived in China in 1583. The church, called “Xianhua Temple” out of respect for Buddhist custom, was dedicated to the Blessed Mother.

Father Gabriel Li Jiafang of Jiangmen, who attended the inaugural ceremony, hoped the exhibition, which is designed to boost tourism, would make more people aware of the missionary and the Catholic faith. “The local Church has provided historical material such as books and written records for the Ricci exhibition center which is managed by the city museum. A replica of a Ricci statue owned by the parish is also erected there,” the pastor of Zhaoqing’s Immaculate Conception Church said.

Other exhibits include Fr Ricci’s writings, items of clothing, scientific instruments and astronomical data, to help visitors understand his background, his six years in Zhaoqing (until 1589) and his contribution to cultural exchanges between East and West.