- Longtien Church in Luyue Township, Taitung County, closed after parishioners moved away
- A local Indigenous association renovated it as a museum of Catholic history
- The priests’ dormitory became a backpacker hostel
- Hostel income supports the museum and youth programmes
A disused Catholic church in Taitung County, Taiwan, has been turned into a museum, with its priests’ dormitory converted into a backpacker hostel, the Taipei Times reported on October 13, 2015.
Longtien Church in Luyue Township stands across the street from the Longtien Community Center. It closed after parishioners moved away from the area. The Taitung St Catherine Aborigine Development Association renovated the building into a museum of local Catholic history.
Exhibits include a portable printing press used by Father Gert in the 1950s for pamphlets and letters, an antique gramophone that belonged to Father Ke and was used in his Rosary Kindergarten, restored church benches and a memorial space for parish priests. When renovation began, “the site was filled with weeds taller than people,” said parishioner Hung Chiu-mei. The museum opens on Fridays and Saturdays, and income from the hostel supports the museum and youth community programmes.
The project turned an abandoned church into a building that earns some income towards its upkeep.
Jamaica has closed and underused churches in rural districts where members have moved to towns or overseas. Longtien shows that a disused church can be reused in a way that honours its history and earns income, for example as a heritage space with guest accommodation in a former manse. For churches in tourist areas, this could be a practical alternative to selling or letting a building decay.
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