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 first bishop of Macau, a position he occupied till 1581.
No bishop of the diocese had been appointed archbishop or cardinal until Eugénio de Trigueiros and José da Costa Nunes were appointed as archbishops, following a re-designation by the Pope.
All Catholic bishops are appointed by the Pope, and are considered to be messengers (successors of the Apostles) as defined in the catechism of the Catholic Church;.[1] [2]
The Bishop of Macau is appointed as the spokesman of the Pope. He is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Macau, which he administers on behalf of the Pope. He is also responsible for the pastoral and charitable work that is carried out within the Diocese.[3]
Initially, the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Macau included China, Japan, Hong Kong, the Korean Peninsula and neighbouring areas. However, with development and the increasing need for pastoral work, the Vatican has since established more than 600 other Roman Catholic dioceses in the region. Presently, the diocese has jurisdiction over six parishes and three quasi-parishes in the Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane.[4] [5]
width=2% | Portuguese name Chinese name | width=11% | Date/Place of birth | width=11% | Date of Appointment | width=11% | Commencement of episcopal duties | width=11% | Date of inauguration | width=11% | Date of resignation | width=11% | Died | Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Melchior Miguel Carniero Leitão, SJ Chinese: 賈耐勞, apostolic administrator | 1519 Portugal | 1556 | 1560-12-15 | 1576 | 1581 | 1583-08-19 Macau | [6] | |||||||
2 | Diogo Correia Valente, SJ Chinese: 華倫他, apostolic administrator | 1568 Portugal | 1630 | 1618 | 1630 | 1633-10-22 | 1633-10-22 Macau | ||||||||
3 | João de Casal, OSA Chinese: 嘉素 | 1641 Portugal | 1690-04-10 | unknown | 1692-06-20[7] | 1735-09-20 | 1735-09-20 Macau | [8] | |||||||
4 | Eugénio Trigueiros, OSA Chinese: 德維智羅斯 | 1684-01-09 Portugal | 1724 | 1727-12-07 | 1735-09-20 | 1739-02-11 | 1741-04-19 | [9] | |||||||
5 | Hilário de Santa Rosa OSA, OFM Chinese: 羅沙 | 1693-03-01 Portugal | 1739-02-11 | 1741-03-05 | 1742 | 1752-08-18 | 1764-03-30 Portugal | [10] | |||||||
6 | Barolomeu Manuel Mendes dos Reis Chinese: 孟定士 | 1720-08-23 Portugal | 1753-01-29 | 1753-07-25 | 1754 | 1772-06-14 | 1799-03-07 Portugal | [11] | |||||||
7 | OSA Guimarães Chinese: 祁羅沙 | 1727-07-21 Portugal | 1772-07-13 | 1773-09-19 | 1774 | 1782 | 1799-02-17 Portugal | [12] | |||||||
8 | Marcelina José da Silva Chinese: 施利華 | 1749-01-16 Portugal | 1789-07-15 | 1790-01-07 | 1791 | 1802-09-16 | 1830-06-11 Portugal | [13] | |||||||
9 | Manuel de São Galdino, OFM Chinese: 賈定諾 | 1769-04-18 Portugal | 1802-02-12 | 1803-03-27 | 1803 | 1804-08-20 | 1831-07-15 | [14] | |||||||
10 | Francisco Chacim, OFM Chinese: 查善 | 1767-09-15 Portugal | 1804-03-26 | 1804-11 | 1805 | 1828-01-31 | 1828-01-31 Macau | [15] | |||||||
11 | Nicolaus Rodrigues Pereira de Borja, CM Chinese: 栢朗古 | 1777 Portugal | 1841-11-25 | Unknown | 1841 | 1845-03-28 | 1845-03-28 Macau | [16] | |||||||
12 | Jerónimo José da Mata, CM Chinese: 馬他 | 1804-12-18 Portugal | 1843-11-19 | 1846-12-21 | 1845-03-28 | 1862-09-25 | 1865-05-05 Portugal | [17] | |||||||
13 | Manuel Bernardo de Sousa Enes Chinese: 蘇沙 | 1814-11-05 Portugal | 1873-06-25 | 1874-12-17 | 1877 | 1883-08-09 | 1887-09-07 Portugal | [18] | |||||||
14 | António Joaquim de Medeiros Chinese: 明德祿 | 1846-10-15 Portugal | 1884-08-29 | Unknown | 1884 | 1897-01-07 | 1897-01-07 Timor | [19] | |||||||
15 | José Manuel de Carvalho Chinese: 嘉惠勞 | 1844-09-16 Portugal | 1897-02-04 | 1897-08-29 | 1897 | 1902-06-09 | 1904-04-24 Portugal | [20] | |||||||
16 | João Paulino de Azevedo e Castro Chinese: 鮑理諾 | 1852-02-04 Portugal | 1902-06-09 | 1902-12-27 | 1902 | 1918-02-17 | 1918-02-17 Macau | [21] | |||||||
17 | José da Costa Nunes Portuguese: 高若瑟 | 1880-03-15 Portugal | 1920-11-20 | 1921-11-20 | 1920 | 1940-12-11 | 1976-11-29 Italy | [22] | |||||||
18 | João de Deus Ramalho, SJ Chinese: 羅若望 | 1890-01-08 Portugal | 1942-09-24 | 1942-11-06 | 1942 | 1953 | 1958-02-26 Portugal | [23] | |||||||
19 | Policarpo da Costa Vaz Chinese: 高德華 | 1908-02-22 Portugal | 1954-01-29 | 1950-06-29 | 1954 | 1960-11-21 | 1984-01-04 Portugal | [24] | |||||||
20 | Paulo José Tavares Chinese: 戴維理 | 1920-01-25 Portugal | 1961-08-19 | 1961-09-21 | 1961 | 1973-06-12 | 1973-06-12 Portugal | [25] | |||||||
21 | Arquimínio Rodrigues da Costa Chinese: 高秉常 | 1924-07-08 Portugal | 1976-01-20 | 1976-03-25 | 1976 | 1988-10-06 | 2016-09-12 Portugal | [26] | |||||||
22 | Domingos Lam Ka-tseung Chinese: 林家駿 | 1928-04-09 Hong Kong | 1987-05-26 | 1987-09-08 | 1988-10-06 | 2003-06-30 | 2009-07-27 Macau | [27] | |||||||
23 | José Lai Hung-seng Portuguese: 黎鴻昇 | 1946-02-14 Macau | 2001-03-20 | 2001-06-02 | 2003-06-30 | 2016-01-16 | - | [28] [29] | |||||||
24 | Stephen Lee Bun-sang 李斌生 | 1956-11-10 Hong Kong | 2016-01-16 | - | 2016-01-23 | Incumbent | - |