Saint Dominic's Church (; ) is a late 16th-century Baroque-style church that serves within the Cathedral Parish of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau The Diocese of Macau (; ) is a Latin Church exempt ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church, in contrast with the Diocese of Hong Kong, which is, ''de jure'', part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Guangdong. The territory o ...

. It is in the peninsular part of the city at the ''Largo de São Domingos'', near the

Leal Senado Building The Leal Senado Building was the seat of Portuguese Macau's government ( Legislative Assembly of Macau and Municipal Council of Macau). It is located at one end of the Senado Square in São Lourenço, Macau, China. It currently houses Maca ...

. It was finished in 1587 and overseen by three Spanish Dominican priests. Due to renovations and reconstruction, the current structure dates from the early 17th century. The church is one of the classified immovable properties of Macau. It is one of 29 sites forming the

Historic Centre of Macau The Historic Centre of Macao (, ) is a collection of over twenty locations that witness the unique assimilation and co-existence of Chinese and Portuguese cultures in Macau, a former Portuguese colony. It represents the architectural legacies of ...

, a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

History

The church was established in 1587 by three

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Dominican priests who arrived from

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It was the scene of violence in 1644, when a Spanish officer—loyal to the

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

and opposing the colony's determination to stay allegiant with

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

after the dissolution of the

Iberian Union The Iberian Union is a historiographical term used to describe the period in which the Habsburg Spain, Monarchy of Spain under Habsburg dynasty, until then the personal union of the crowns of Crown of Castile, Castile and Crown of Aragon, Aragon ...

—entered the church in order to seek refuge from an angry mob. He was promptly murdered at the foot of the altar while

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was being celebrated. Sixty-three years later, in 1707, the Dominicans supported the Pope's stance with regards to the Chinese Rites controversy. This was in opposition and defiance to the view of the

Bishop of Macau Portuguese Jesuit priest Melchior Miguel Carniero Leitão was appointed Titular Bishop of Nicaea Pope Gregory XIII issued an edict for the establishment of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau, where Leitão served—he was appointed the firs ...

, who subsequently excommunicated them. When soldiers were sent to the church in order to uphold this ruling, the friars responded by closing the church for three days and throwing rocks to repel them. The first

Portuguese-language Portuguese ( or ) is a Western Romance language of the Indo-European language family originating from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the official language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tom ...

newspaper in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

—''A Abelha da China'' (The China Bee)—was published at St. Dominic's on September 12, 1822. The church closed down in 1834 when

monastic orders Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

were dissolved and

expropriated Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

to the government, who then converted it into barracks, a stable and an office for public works. However, it later reopened and was given many works of

sacred art Religious art is a visual representation of religious ideologies and their relationship with humans. Sacred art directly relates to religious art in the sense that its purpose is for worship and religious practices. According to one set of definit ...

from other religious orders dissolved back in Portugal. The church underwent renovation in 1997 and a museum was added alongside the church.

Architecture

The church of St. Dominic was built in a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style and is noted for its mixture of European and local Macanese features in its design. This is demonstrated in the church's use of Chinese-style roof tiles and doors made of

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

. The church's

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

features a statue of the

Madonna and Child In Christian art, a Madonna () is a religious depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a singular form or sometimes accompanied by the Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word ...

as the centrepiece and is flanked by wood and ivory-carved statues of several saints.

Museum

The Treasure of Sacred Art Museum was established as part of the 1997 renovation and is located inside the church's

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

. It contains approximately 300 religious works of art and artifacts.

References

External links

St. Dominic's Church Museum – Treasure of Sacred Art
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Dominic's Church (Macau) Roman Catholic churches in Macau Historic Centre of Macau World Heritage Sites in China Christianity in Macau 1587 establishments in China 1587 establishments in the Portuguese Empire 16th-century establishments in Macau Religious organizations established in the 1580s 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in China Roman Catholic churches completed in 1587 Portuguese colonial architecture in China Classified immovable properties

History

Architecture

Museum

See also

References

External links