Churches in Macau

I had done buildings in the busy commercial Central and a little of the fascinating beauty of light reflections upon water lily ponds: the artificial and the natural. About time that I do something different. I went to Macau again. I wanted to explore a little the remnants of a very different culture: that of the Mediterranean and in respect of another different realm, that of the human spirit.

According to a tourist pamphlet, some of the first buildings put up by the Portuguese in Macau when they arrived in 1557 were churches. They were built by the friars of various religious orders like the Dominicans, Augustinians or Jesuits from either Spain or Portugal. One of the controversies resulting in the expulsion of the some of the priests from Macau was the so-called "Controversy of Rites"in the 18th century whereby the Jesuits permitted the Chinese to worship their ancestors against the express prohibitions of Rome.

The first church I visited was the old St. Dominic Church (Largo de S Domingo) built by the Dominicans in the 1590s. It was right opposite to the old Municipal Office and Library and has very characteristic yellow walls with green shuttered windows fitted with white stucco molding of mock column. . In 1707, the Dominicans followed the Pope's in the so-called "Rites Controversy" and opposed the local bishop and were thus excommunicated. They pelted the soldiers carrying out the excommunication order with stones for three days and in the 1834, the whole order was suppressed. It was restored in 1997 and re-opened to the public with its first to and second floors as a museum of paintings and sculptures and liturgical ornaments of the Catholic Church in Asia.  I was lucky, the cross on top of the church appeared between the a break in the clouds at the moment I shot the photo!                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                   

The beautiful interior of the Cathedral. You find the logo right beneath a picture of the Holy Mother of God with baby Jesus in her hands above the altar whilst above them, you find a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

                                 A closer view of the altar


                 

An even closer view of the altar. On the left you'll find what is probably a figure of St. Dominic, the founder of the order and at the right, probably another figure of the Virgin Mary.

                            
                  The simple yet elegant Coat of Arms of the Dominican Order at the roof of the Cathedral?


                 

                   One of the many beautiful chandeliers in cast iron and crystals.
                               

                 

At the side close to the green colored barred windows, you find a Gothic style wooden "confessional" where Catholics used to go to "confess" their sins to a priest to obtain exculpation or forgiveness for their sins after doing the relevant "penance".e.g saying certain prayers and doing certain good works as ordered. .


                 

The corridor at the side of the Church, where you find 19th century cast iron lamps.

                 

                  All windows, window-bars and doors are painted green.

                

The fences separating the church from the street outside, again painted in green.

Sunlight streaming in through one of the narrower barred spaces between columns.

                      A closer view of one of the separation bars.

Another church I visited was the St. Augustine Church (Largo de Santo Agostinho) in the street a little further uphill from behind the Municipal Library. It was first built by the Spanish Ausgustians friars in 1856 and was taken over by the Portuguese three years later but the existing church was rebuilt in 1814. A statue of the Jesus Christ during his Passion was said to have been stolen and then mysteriously re-appeared. Therefore there is a celebration of this event every year during the first Sunday of Lent when the statue is taken to the local Cathedral for one evening and is then carried through the streets where Stations of the Cross are set up to enable faithfuls to remind them of the sufferings of Jesus Christ during the week of Passion before his death. But when the Augustinians were expelled in 1712, the Passos (Passion) procession was canceled.

The shuttered wooden and window-like latticed panels behind the main entrance to keep the busybodies out but the light in.

A beautiful overhanging chandelier suspended from the roof at one side of the church.


            

Unlike the windows at the St. Dominic Church, the window frames here are painted white.

Painted glass windows panes in red, blue and yellow above one of the arched doors.

A green door with window panes in blue, white and red and green

A close up of one the the blue, green, red doors


                 

From one of the windows facing the narrow street outside, we can see part of another seminary and church opposite, the St. Joseph's Seminary and Church (Ingleha y Seminario da São José )built by the Jesuits and opened in 1758. But it was closed on the day of my visit. Otherwise, I could have taken a another peep of its interior!


                 

St. Joseph's Seminary and Church through another window.



                

   

The famous statue of the suffering Christ.


                

     


No visit to Macau will be complete without a visit to the Ruins of the St. Paul's Cathedral (São Paulo) where all that is left is its façade and the steps leading up to it. It was first built in 1602 next to the Jesuit's College of St. Paul. The facade was built by some Japanese Christian exiles between 1620 and 1627 but when the Jesuits were expelled. the college was used as a military barracks. The cathedral was burnt down in a fire in 1835 but left behind its facade..  


A view of the facade of the Sao Paulo.

                

A stork monument in cast iron in front of the Cathedral above a woman and a man. What is that supposed to signify?

There were many other beautiful churches of course, like the Chapel of Our Lady Guia (on Guia Hill)  Chapel of our Lady of Penha (on Penha Hill)  the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier, (on Coloane)  the Chapel of St. James at the Barra Fort (Sao Tiago da Barra) , The Chapel of St. Michael at the Catholic Cemetery, the Chapel of Our Lady of Fatima (on Taipa), the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows (on Coloane)  and the St. Anthony's Church (Santo Antonio). But I really did not have time to do them all. Perhaps in my next trip?