St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church, Zuoying

The Zuoying St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church was founded in 1932 by Father Li An-si of the Catholic Dominican Order, serving as the Zuoying branch of the Holy Rosary Cathedral of Kaohsiung. Ten years later, with the concerted efforts of all parishioners and using limited funds, they purchased a wooden factory building. They then dismantled the timber to rebuild a small chapel with wooden walls, naming it 'St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus Church' and locating it at Peizitou, Zuoying. As Taiwanese society gradually stabilized and tourists flocked to Zuoying daily, to spread the Gospel of Christ and promote the 'Little Way' of St. Thérèse, ground was broken on Easter 1976. A statue of St. Thérèse of Lisieux was reverently erected, and the site was bestowed by Pope John Paul VI as a 'Southern Taiwan Shrine of St. Thérèse of Lisieux'. The simple white church, adorned with stained-glass windows and rose carvings, beloved by St. Thérèse of Lisieux, lends a gentle and tranquil atmosphere to this serene holy site.