{"id":373,"date":"2014-08-11T04:09:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-11T04:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=373"},"modified":"2014-12-22T19:21:40","modified_gmt":"2014-12-22T19:21:40","slug":"rev-paul-ubinger-returns-to-pittsburgh-after-two-years-in-chinese-captivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/08\/11\/rev-paul-ubinger-returns-to-pittsburgh-after-two-years-in-chinese-captivity\/","title":{"rendered":"Rev. Paul Ubinger returns to Pittsburgh after two years in Chinese captivity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

May 24, 1953:<\/strong>\u00a0Stories of emotional returns to Pittsburgh are abundant in the Post-Gazette archives. So are images capturing those moments of reunion and the faces that once lost hope of seeing one another. The pictures depict embraces, which before seemed so unlikely, and expressions that glow with a newfound belief that miracles happen and that the worst fears are past. These photographs inspire a response: a smile, a quiet cheer or maybe even a tear.<\/p>\n

A story and images of The Rev. Paul Ubinger\u2019s return are examples.<\/p>\n

Father Ubinger was a Pittsburgh priest who, for almost 30 years, served as a missionary in China. In 1950, the Iron Curtain rang down and the Chinese government captured and jailed him in Uanling, Honan Province, where he was stationed. Father Ubinger\u2019s arrest was a deliberate step by Chinese Communists to discredit priesthood and show their stance against U.S. missionaries in their country.<\/p>\n

Very little was known about The Rev. Ubinger\u2019s condition in jail at the time. Two years later, when he was finally released, he described his time in captivity as \u201ctwo years in he-l-l\u201d and detailed the torture and unfair trials he had been subjected to.<\/p>\n

Father Ubinger was not the only one who suffered through those days, although he may have suffered the most. He did live to see the day of his release. One of his closest relatives and a soulmate, Miss Magdalene Ubinger, did not. She had never gotten a chance to witness her nephew\u2019s return.\u201dLast word Miss Magdalene Ubinger heard from her missionary-nephew in China was an Easter greeting,\u201d her obituary read a year before Rev. Ubinger\u2019s release,\u201damong her last prayers was a plea for the safe-keeping of the captive priest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miss Ubinger helped her nephew through when he made his career choice. A prominent educator for almost 50 years, she served as his mentor and followed with pride Father Ubinger\u2019s work in China. He helped operate a Christian school there and, according to one of the relatives, \u201cthe correspondence between the pair read like a schoolmaster\u2019s holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a photo in the Ubinger file in the PG archives showing Father Ubinger with his aunt Magdalene \u2014 the one before the tragic imprisonment. Magdalene was not there with the family greeting with enthusiasm Rev. Ubinger upon arrival in Pittsburgh. Being there was her only wish that was not meant to come true.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Father Ubinger was a Pittsburgh priest who, for almost 30 years, served as a missionary in China. <\/p>\n

Look at the picturesRev. Paul Ubinger returns to Pittsburgh after two years in Chinese captivity<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[948],"tags":[961,980,1036],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/tumblr_na25zhJoNb1rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C1004&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8451,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/04\/04\/students-hear-first-hand-accounts-of-the-turbulent-days-after-mlks-murder\/","url_meta":{"origin":373,"position":0},"title":"Students hear first-hand accounts of the turbulent days after MLK’s murder","date":"April 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe students can see themselves as scholars\"","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/web.20180404_MLK_Proctor.jpg?fit=1200%2C907&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":279,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/09\/08\/pittsburgh-the-quiet-city-of-the-1950s\/","url_meta":{"origin":373,"position":1},"title":"Pittsburgh, the quiet city of the 1950s?","date":"September 8, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"How were nearly 700,000 people able to find moments of quiet and solitude amidst the din?","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/tumblr_nbg2t0JjLI1rr5swxo5_r1_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C893&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9358,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2019\/01\/21\/mlk-martin-luther-king-jr-legacy-in-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":373,"position":2},"title":"Remembering MLK’s impact in Pittsburgh","date":"January 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Trying to research the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s early visits to Pittsburgh is a challenge. The source where you'd expect to find quotes and photos -- newspapers -- hardly covered the civil rights leader on his first few trips to the city. The Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Press wrote short\u2026","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/9d400kqn.jpg?fit=1200%2C778&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2125,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/01\/21\/the-rev-dr-martin-luther-king-in-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":373,"position":3},"title":"The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King in Pittsburgh","date":"January 21, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"\u201cEverybody can be great. Because anybody can serve.\"","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/tumblr_mgwfidQtv11rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C695&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":954,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/02\/14\/final-moments-of-forbes-field\/","url_meta":{"origin":373,"position":4},"title":"Final moments of Forbes Field","date":"February 14, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Instead of demolition, the question was asked \u201cWhy not open it up for kids to play ball?\u201d","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/tumblr_n0yi05o5031rr5swxo7_1280.jpg?fit=1000%2C788&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8917,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/06\/21\/jonny-gammage-couldnt-breathe\/","url_meta":{"origin":373,"position":5},"title":"Jonny Gammage couldn’t breathe","date":"June 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"On Tuesday, an East Pittsburgh police officer killed an unarmed black teenager. The policeman, who has recently been identified as Officer Michael Rosfeld, shot 17-year-old Antwon Rose after he \u201cbolted\u201d from a car during a traffic stop, Allegheny County police Superintendent Coleman McDonough said Wednesday. A witness captured the incident\u2026","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/img008-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C844&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3861,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373\/revisions\/3861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}