St. Lawrence's Church (; ) is one of the oldest churches in

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, China. It is located on Rua de São Lourenço, opposite

Instituto Salesiano Instituto Salesiano (or IS, Instituto Salesiano da Imaculada Conceição, ) is a Catholic elementary school through secondary school in São Lourenço (St. Lawrence's Parish), Macau. The school is one of the oldest educational institutions found ...

. The church was first built before 1560 by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

. It was later rebuilt in 1846. The present church is a neoclassical structure with a yellow exterior. The interior of the church is decorated with ornate pillars and chandeliers. Aside from it being a place of worship for

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

in Macau, St. Lawrence's Church is also a popular tourist destination.

References

Religious organizations established in the 1550s Roman Catholic churches completed in 1560 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in China 1560 establishments in China 1560 establishments in the Portuguese Empire Portuguese colonial architecture in China Classified immovable properties {{asia-RC-church-stub 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Macau

See also

References