After the treaties

After the Opium Wars and the imposition of treaties, the Chinese Catholic church moved from being persecuted to being protected by foreign powers. Foreign law was implemented as foreign devotions were introduced. These were especially, but not only, French in origin given the large presence of French congregations among the newly arrived missionaries. French Catholics naturally brought devotional images with them including the Miraculous Medal and Our Lady of Lourdes. These devotions became widespread throughout the Chinese church, obscuring the previous Chinese-style images and representations.