Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau explained

Jurisdiction:	Diocese
Macau
Latin:	Dioecesis Macaonensis
Local:	天主教澳門教區
Territory:	Macau (special administrative region of the PRC)
Area Km2:	30
Population:	582,000
Population As Of:	2013
Catholics:	29,611
Catholics Percent:	5.1
Denomination:	Catholic Church
Sui Iuris Church:	Latin Church
Rite:	Roman Rite
Cathedral:	Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady
Bishop:	Stephen Lee Bun-sang
Vicar General:	Father Pedro Chung

The Diocese of Macau (Portuguese: 1='''Diocese de Macau''';) is a Latin Church exempt ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church,^[1] in contrast with the Diocese of Hong Kong, which is, de jure, part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Guangdong.

The territory of the Diocese of Macau encompasses Macau, a special administrative region of China. In theory, a part of Guangdong province also belongs to the diocese,

Its cathedral is the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady.

Its patron saints are Francis Xavier and Catherine of Siena, and its motto is Scientia et Virtus (Knowledge and Virtue).

Stephen Lee Bun-sang is the current bishop and the third ethnically Chinese bishop of the diocese.^[2]

History

It was established on January 23, 1576, by the edict of Pope Gregory XIII, on vast territory split off from Roman Catholic Diocese of Malacca. It originally covered China, Japan, Vietnam and the Malay Archipelago, with the exception of the Philippines. From its founding, the diocese was a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese (soon Patriarchate) of Goa, in Portuguese India.

It gradually lost most of its territory, in and around continental China:

on February 19, 1588, to establish the Diocese of Funai (Japan)
on September 9, 1659, Pope Alexander VII issued the papal bull Super cathedram principis apostolorum to establish and define the jurisdiction of the Apostolic Vicariate of Tonkin (Northern Vietnam, Laos and five adjacent provinces of southern China: Yunnan, Guizhou, Huguang, Sichuan, Guangxi), the Apostolic Vicariate of Cochinchina (Central Vietnam and five provinces of southeastern China: Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hainan), and Apostolic Vicariate of Nanjing (including five adjacent provinces: Beijing, Shanxi, Shandong, Korea and Tartary).^[3] ^[4]
In 1696, Pope Innocent XII returned the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi, and the island of Hainan to its authority.^[5]
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 Hainan^[6]
on April 9, 1940, to establish the Diocese of Díli (on Timor)

It was made exempt in 1975, following Portugal's loss of sovereignty over Goa, its former metropolitan.

It now only administers Macau alone, the last regions outside Macau under its administration were the parishes of Saint Joseph in Singapore (re-united with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore c. 1972) and St. Peter's Church in Malacca (now as part of Roman Catholic Diocese of Malacca-Johor), which separated from the Diocese of Macau in 1981.

Bishops

Bishops of Macau

Diego Núñez de Figueroa (1576–1578); rejected appointment, never consecrated
- Melchior Carneiro (1576–1581), administrator
Leonardo Fernandes de Sá, O.Cist. (1578–1597), arrived at Macau in 1581
- Father Manuel de Aguiar (1597–1599), administrator^[7]
- Father Miguel dos Santos, O.S.A. (1599–1607), administrator^[7]
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^[8] ^[9]
- Diogo Correia Valente (1623–1633), administrator^[8] ^[9]

from 1641 to 1668, no bishops were named due to the Portuguese Restoration War between Spain and Portugal^[9]

Father Bento de Christo (1640–1642), administrator^[9]

Father Francisco de S. Thomaz, named by Peter II of Portugal in 1669 but not confirmed by the Pope^[9]

Father Giovanni Filippo de Marini (also Filippe de Marino) (1671–1677), administrator^[9]
João de Casal (1690–1735)
Eugénio de Trigueiros, O.E.S.A. (1735–1740), appointed Archbishop of Goa
Hilário de Santa Rosa, O.F.M. (1740–1752)
Bartolomeu Manoel Mendes dos Reis (1753–1773), appointed Bishop of Mariana
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 Archbishop of Goa
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
Manuel Bernardo de Sousa Enes (1874–1883), appointed Bishop of Bragança e Miranda and later Bishop of Portalegre
António Joaquim de Medeiros (1884–1897)
José Manuel de Carvalho (1897–1902), appointed Bishop of Angra
(鮑理諾) (1902–1918)
José da Costa Nunes (1920–1940), appointed Archbishop of Goa and Daman (elevated to Cardinal 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 (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 and one on Taipa island):
- Cathedral Parish
- St. Lazarus
- St. Anthony
- St. Lawrence
- Our Lady of Fátima
- 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 island):
- St. Francis Xavier, Coloane

Schools

See also: Macau Catholic Schools Association. 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)^[10]

Colégio Diocesano de São José 5 - Nossa Senhora de Fátima (not in Macau's tuition-free school network)^[11]

Escola de São Paulo - Nossa Senhora de Fátima^[12]

Preschool through junior high school

Escola do Santíssimo Rosário - Santo António^[13] (Closed^[14])

Preschool and primary school

Escola Dom João Paulino - Taipa^[15]

Escola Madalena de Canossa - Nossa Senhora de Fátima^[16]

Escola de Santa Teresa do Menino Jesus - Nossa Senhora de Fátima^[17]

There are other Catholic schools in Macau which are operated by Catholic orders.

External links

22.1936°N 113.542°W

Notes and References

News: Macau marks 440th anniversary. 17 January 2016. 16 January 2019. Sunday Examiner. Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong. https://web.archive.org/web/20190116200701/http://sundayex.catholic.org.hk/node/2617. live. 16 January 2019.
Morgan, S. (2021), ‘Em Procissão Solene a Deus Orando, para os Batéis Viemos Caminhando’—The Long Ebb-Tide of Catholic Public Piety in the Former-Portuguese Enclave of Macao, "In 2016, the third Chinese Bishop of Macao was appointed. Stephen Lee Bun-sang is a convert to Catholicism and a native of Hong Kong."
Web site: Super Cathedram Principis Apostolorum - Establishing the Catholic Mission in Vietnam September 8, 1659 [Bull] - Pope Alexander VII - 1659 ]. Papal Encyclicals Online. 9 September 1659. Latin.
Book: History of the Church: The church in the age of absolutism and enlightenment. 305 . Northwestern University. 1981. 9780824500108.
Book: Brown, Steart J.. The Cambridge History of Christianity: Volume 7, Enlightenment, Reawakening and Revolution 1660-1815. 459 . Cambridge University Press. December 7, 2006. 9780521816052. China was divided into three padroado dioceses with limited territory: the diocese of Beijing included the provinces of Zhili and Shandong as well as the territory of Liaodung in Manchuria; the diocese of Nanjing consisted of Anhui, Jiangsu, and Henan; and the diocese of Macao included Guangdong, Guangxi, and the island of Hainan.
Book: Couling, Samuel . The Encyclopedia Sinica. 589–590 . Literature House, Ltd. 1964. B00796PBNY.
Book: Manuel, Teixeira. Bispos e governadores do Bispado de Macau. 1940. Portuguese. O Depois da morte de D. Leonardo, governou a Diocese o P. Manuel de Aguiar e, logo a seguir, Frei Miguel dos Santos. 88 .
Book: Cultures of Conflict Resolution in Early Modern Europe. 170 . Taylor & Francis. May 2017. 9781134802647.
Book: Fernandes, Abriel. Macau e sua diocese: Bispos e governadores do Bispado Macau. 7. 1886. Portuguese.
"Colégio Diocesano de São José." Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (Macau). Retrieved on April 9, 2017. "Endereço : Rua da Sé, no.19" - Chinese profile: "學校地址: 大堂街十九號"
" Colégio Diocesano de São José 5." Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (Macau). Retrieved on April 9, 2017. "Endereço : Rua Central de Toi San, no. 253" - Chinese profile: "學校地址: 台山中街253號"
"Escola São Paulo." Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (Macau). Retrieved on April 9, 2017. "Endereço : Rampa dos Cavaleiros, nos.12-14" - Chinese profile: "學校地址: 黑沙灣斜坡12-14號"
" Escola do Santíssimo Rosário." Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (Macau). Retrieved on April 9, 2017. "Endereço : Largo da Companhia, No. 14, Macau" Chinese profile: "學校地址: 老人院前地14號"
News: Escola do Santíssimo Rosário to close in 2017. O Clarim. 2016-06-17. 2017-04-09. 2017-04-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20170408163844/http://www.oclarim.com.mo/en/2016/06/17/escola-do-santissimo-rosario-to-close-in-2017/. dead.
"Escola Dom João Paulino." Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (Macau). Retrieved on April 9, 2017. "Endereço : Avenida de Carlos da Maia, s/n, Taipa" - Chinese profile: "學校地址: 嘉路士米耶大馬路"
"Escola Madalena de Canossa." Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (Macau). Retrieved on April 9, 2017. "Endereço : Rua do Comandante João Belo Fai Chi Kei, no.28" - Chinese profile: "學校地址: 筷子基俾若翰街28號"
"Escola de Santa Teresa do Menino Jesus." Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (Macau). Retrieved on April 9, 2017. "Endereço : Avenida Conselheiro Borja, no.592" - Chinese profile: "學校地址: 青洲大馬路592號"