The Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau ( pt, 1=Diocese de Macau; ) is an exempt (i.e. an immediate subject of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

and not part of any

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...

)

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language onc ...

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, in contrast with the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong (; la, Dioecesis Sciiamchiamensis) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church. The diocese takes its name from the see city, the metropolitan area where the bishop resides. The Roman Catholic Diocese o ...

, which is, ''de jure'', part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Guangdong. The territory of the Diocese of Macau encompasses

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

, a special administrative region of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. In theory, a part of Guangdong province also belongs to the diocese, but in practice, the diocese is limited to Macau. Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

is the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady. Its

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

s are

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...

and

Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church. ...

, and its motto is ''Scientia et Virtus'' (Knowledge and Virtue). Stephen Lee Bun-sang is the current bishop and the third Chinese bishop of the diocese.

History

It was established on January 23, 1576, by the edict of

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...

, on vast territory split off from

Roman Catholic Diocese of Malacca Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

. It originally covered

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and the

Malay archipelago The Malay Archipelago (Indonesian/Malay: , tgl, Kapuluang Malay) is the archipelago between mainland Indochina and Australia. It has also been called the " Malay world," "Nusantara", "East Indies", Indo-Australian Archipelago, Spices Archipe ...

, with the exception of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. From its founding, the diocese was a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

of the Archdiocese (soon Patriarchate) of Goa, in

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...

. It gradually lost most of its territory, in and around continental China: * on February 19, 1588, to establish the

Diocese of Funai The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oita ( la, Oitaen(sis), ja, カトリック大分教区) is a suffragan Latin diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archbishopric of Nagasaki in southern Japan. Its cathedral episcopal see is t ...

(Japan) * on September 9, 1659,

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

issued the Papal Bull ''Super cathedram principis apostolorum'' to establish and define the jurisdiction of the Apostolic Vicariate of Tonkin (Northern Vietnam,

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

and five adjacent provinces of southern China:

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

Huguang Huguang was a province of China during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. It was founded by the Yuan dynasty in 1274. During the Yuan dynasty it included the areas of modern Hubei south of the Yangtze river, Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi. During the Ming ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

), the

Apostolic Vicariate of Cochinchina Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles * Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

(Central Vietnam and five provinces of southeastern China:

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

), and

Apostolic Vicariate of Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in Eastern China. The city ...

(including five adjacent provinces:

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and Tartary). *In 1696, Pope Innocent XII returned the provinces of

and

, and the island of

to its authority. * on April 22, 1841, to establish the then- Apostolic Prefecture of Hong Kong * on May 10, 1848, to establish the then- Apostolic Vicariate of Guangdong-Guangxi including

* on April 9, 1940, to establish the

Diocese of Díli In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

(on

Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is East Timor–Indonesia border, divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western p ...

) It was made exempt in 1975, following

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

's loss of sovereignty over

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, its former Metropolitan. It now only administers

alone, the last regions outside Macau under its administration were the parishes of

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

(re-united with the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore The Archdiocese of Singapore (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Singaporensis'') is an exempt archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. Its territory includes all that is under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Singapore. Its current ...

c. 1972) and St. Peter's Church in

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

(now as part of

Roman Catholic Diocese of Malacca-Johor Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

), which separated from the Diocese of Macau in 1981.

Bishops

Dioceses and Apostolic Vicariates in China 1696

Bishops of Macau

Diego Núñez de Figueroa Diego Núñez de Figueroa (Latin: ''Didacus Nunnez Figueira'') was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop-Elect of Macau (1576–1578). Biography On 26 Jan 1576, Diego Núñez de Figueroa was appointed during the papacy of Pope Gregory ...

(1576–1578); rejected appointment, never consecrated **

Melchior Carneiro Belchior Carneiro Leitão, often known as Melchior Carneiro (1516 – 19 August 1583) was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary bishop. He was one of the first Jesuit bishops. Life He entered the Society of Jesus on 25 April 1543 and was appointed ...

(1576–1581), administrator *

Leonardo Fernandes de Sá Leonardo Fernandes de Sá, O. Cist. was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Macau (1578–1597). Biography Leonardo Fernandes de Sá was born in Cartaxo, Portugal. He was ordained in the Order of Cistercians. On 27 Oct 1578 he w ...

, O.Cist. (1578–1597), arrived at Macau in 1581 **Father Manuel de Aguiar (1597–1599), administrator **Father Miguel dos Santos, O.S.A. (1599–1607), administrator * João de Abrantes a Pietate, O.P. (1604–1623), resigned and returned to Europe in 1615, resignation accepted in 1623 **Father Antonio de Rosario (1615–1623), ''de facto'' administrator **

Diogo Correia Valente Diogo Correia Valente, S.J. (Latin: ''Didacus Valente'', Spanish: ''Diego Carreia Valente'') was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Funay (1618–1633). ''(in Latin)'' Biography Diogo Correia Valente was born in 1567 in Lisbon, Po ...

(1623–1633), administrator ''from 1641 to 1668, no bishops were named due to the

Portuguese Restoration War The Portuguese Restoration War ( pt, Guerra da Restauração) was the war between History of Portugal (1640–1777), Portugal and Habsburg Spain, Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon (1668), ...

between Spain and Portugal'' :*Father Bento de Christo (1640–1642), administrator :*Father Francisco de S. Thomaz, named by

Peter II of Portugal ''Dom'' Pedro II (Peter II; 26 April 1648 – 9 December 1706), nicknamed "the Pacific", was King of Portugal from 1683 until his death, previously serving as regent for his brother Afonso VI from 1668 until his own accession. He was the fifth a ...

in 1669 but not confirmed by the Pope :*Father Giovanni Filippo de Marini (also Filippe de Marino) (1671–1677), administrator *

João de Casal João de Casal, O.S.A. (Latin: ''Joannes do Casal'') was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Macau (1690–1735). ''(in Latin)'' Biography João de Casal was born in Castelo de Vide, province of Alentejo, Portugal in 1641. He w ...

(1690–1735) * Eugénio de Trigueiros,

O.E.S.A. The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...

(1735–1740), appointed

Archbishop of Goa The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Goa and Daman ( la, Archidioecesis Goanae et Damanensis, gom, Gõy ani Damanv Mha-Dhormprant, pt, Arquidiocese de Goa e Damão) encompasses the Goa state and the Damaon territory in the Konkan r ...

* Hilário de Santa Rosa, O.F.M. (1740–1752) * Bartolomeu Manoel Mendes dos Reis (1753–1773), appointed

Bishop of Mariana The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mariana ( la, Archidioecesis Marianensis, pt, Arquidiocese de Mariana) is an archdiocese based in the city of Mariana in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. History On 6 December 1745 the Diocese of Mariana wa ...

* Alexandre da Silva Pedrosa Guimarães (1773–1789) * Marcelino José da Silva (1789–1802) * Manuel de Santo Galdino, O.F.M. (1802–1804), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop and later

* Francisco Chachim, O.F.M. Disc. (1804–1828) * Nicolaus Rodrigues Pereira de Borja, C.M. (1843–1845) * Jerónimo José de Mata, C.M. (1845–1862) * Pereira Botelho do Amaral e Pimentel (1866–1871), appointed

Bishop of Angra The Roman Catholic diocese of Angra ( pt, Diocese de Angra, la, Dioecesis Angrensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese comprising the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The see is located in Angra do Heroísmo, in the Terceira island. The current O ...

* Manuel Bernardo de Sousa Enes (1874–1883), appointed Bishop of Bragança e Miranda and later

Bishop of Portalegre The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portalegre–Castelo Branco ( la, Dioecesis Portalegrensis–Castri Albi) has carried this name since 1956, when the historical diocese of Portalegre was renamed. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Lisbon. Histo ...

* António Joaquim de Medeiros (1884–1897) * José Manuel de Carvalho (1897–1902), appointed

* João Paulino de Azevedo e Castro (1902–1918) *

José da Costa Nunes ''Dom (title), Dom'' José da Costa Nunes ( zh, 高若瑟, 15 March 1880 – 29 November 1976) was a Portugal, Portuguese Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop (Catholic Church), Bishop of Portugues ...

(1920–1940), appointed Archbishop of Goa and Daman (elevated to

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

in 1962) * João de Deus Ramalho, S.J. (1942–1953) * Policarpo da Costa Vaz (1954–1960), appointed Bishop of Guarda * Paulo José Tavares (1961–1973) *

Arquimínio Rodrigues da Costa Arquimínio Rodrigues da Costa (8 July 1924 – 12 September 2016) was a Portuguese prelate of the Catholic Church. He was bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau, Diocese of Macau from 1976 to 1988. Life Arquimínio Rodrigues da Costa, a ...

(1976–1988) * Domingos Lam Ka-tseung (1988–2003) * José Lai Hung-seng (2003–2016) * Stephen Lee Bun-sang (2016–present)

Coadjutor Bishops

* José Lai Hung-seng (2001–2003) * Domingos Lam Ka Tseung (1987–1988) * Jerónimo José de Mata, C.M. (1844–1845) * Eugénio Trigueiros, O.S.A. (1725–1735)

Parishes

The Diocese is divided in: * six parishes (five in

Macau Peninsula The Macau Peninsula is the most populous and historical part of Macau. It has an area of () and is geographically connected to Guangdong Province at the northeast through an isthmus wide. The peninsula, together with downtown Zhuhai, sits o ...

and one on

Taipa Taipa ( zh, t=氹仔, ; pt, Taipa, ) was a former island in Macau, presently united with the island of Coloane by reclaimed land known as Cotai. Administratively, the boundaries of the traditional civil parish Freguesia de Nossa Senhora do Ca ...

island): **

Cathedral Parish A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

** St. Lazarus ** St. Anthony **

St. Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roma ...

Our Lady of Fátima Our Lady of Fátima ( pt, Nossa Senhora de Fátima, ); formally known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Fátima) is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus, based on the Marian apparitions reported in 1917 by three shepherd children at the Cov ...

**Church of Our Lady of Carmel, Taipa * two quasi-parishes, both on Macau Peninsula: **St. Francis Xavier, Mong Há **St. Joseph, Iao Hon * one mission (on

Coloane Coloane (Cantonese: Lou Wan) is a former island in Macau that is united with the island of Taipa by an area of reclaimed land known as Cotai. It is located at the southern part of Macau. Administratively, the boundaries of the traditional civil pa ...

island): ** St. Francis Xavier, Coloane

Schools

The following schools are directly operated by the diocese: ; Preschool through secondary school: :* Colégio Diocesano de São José - Sé (not in Macau's tuition-free school network) :* Colégio Diocesano de São José 5 - Nossa Senhora de Fátima (not in Macau's tuition-free school network) :* Escola de São Paulo - Nossa Senhora de Fátima ; Preschool through junior high school :* Escola do Santíssimo Rosário -

Santo António Santo António (Portuguese for Saint Anthony), also known as Santo António do Príncipe, is the main settlement of the island of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe. It lies on the north east coast. It is the capital of the Autonomous Regio ...

(Closed) ; Preschool and primary school :* Escola Dom João Paulino -

:* Escola Madalena de Canossa - Nossa Senhora de Fátima :* Escola de Santa Teresa do Menino Jesus - Nossa Senhora de FátimaEscola de Santa Teresa do Menino Jesus
"

Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (Macau) Education and Youth Affairs Bureau ( pt, Direcção dos Serviços de Educação e Juventude or DSEJ; ) was the education agency of Macau. It merged with the Higher Education Bureau, becoming the Education and Youth Development Bureau, in 2021. ...

. Retrieved on April 9, 2017. "Endereço : Avenida Conselheiro Borja, no.592"
Chinese profile
"學校地址: 青洲大馬路592號" There are other Catholic schools in Macau which are operated by

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

orders.

References

External links

Diocese de Macau

*
UCAN Diocese profile
{{coord, 22.1936, N, 113.5420, E, source:wikidata, display=title

1576 establishments in China 1576 establishments in the Portuguese Empire 16th-century establishments in Macau Religious organizations established in the 1570s