In terms of missionary work in Taiwan, the Catholic Church was ahead of all other non-native religions. As early as 1626, in the waning years of the Ming dynasty, Spanish clergy arrived in Tanshui and Keelung. However, by the end of the Japanese occupation, there were only 12 clergy and nuns and 8000 believers.
天主教到台灣傳教，其實是台灣所有外來宗教中的第一名，早在西元一六二六年的明朝末年，就有西班牙的天主教神父到台灣淡水、基隆一帶宣教，不過，經過日據時代，到光復初期，台灣只有十二位神職人員和八千名教友，為數甚微。