Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau

Diocese of Macau
Location
Country	Macau, China
Statistics
Area
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2010) 544,600 28,686 (2008) (5.3%)
Information
Rite	Latin Rite
Cathedral	Cathedral Church of Macau
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	José Lai
Vicar General	Father Pedro Chung

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau, a Latin diocese, is exempt, i.e. an immediate subject of the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province.

Its cathedral episcopal see, a World Heritage Site, is the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady, Cathedral Parish 大堂區, on Macau Peninsula, like the former Cathedral: Church of St. Lazarus, St. Lazarus Parish 望德堂區.

Other World Heritage Site, all on Macau Peninsula, are : Chapel of Our Lady Guia, St. Lazarus Parish 望德堂區; Church of St. Anthony, St. Anthony Parish 聖安多尼堂區,; Church of St. Augustine, St. Lawrence Parish 風順堂區; Church of St. Dominic, Cathedral Parish 大堂區; Church of St. Lawrence, St. Lawrence Parish 風順堂區; Seminary and Church of St. Joseph Seminary and Church of St. Joseph, St. Lawrence Parish 風順堂區; Ruins of the Church of the Mother of God, St. Paul’s College Ruins of the Church of the Mother of God, St. Paul’s College, St. Anthony Parish 聖安多尼堂區.

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

D. José Lai (黎鴻昇) is the current bishop, the first born in Macau and the second Chinese bishop (the first is Domingos Lam 林家駿).

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 1588.02.19 to establish the Diocese of Funai 府内 (Japan)
• in 1659 to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Nanjing 南京
• on 1659.09.09 to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Tonking and the Apostolic Vicariate of Cochin (both in Vietnam)
• on 1841.04.22 to establish the then Apostolic Prefecture of Hong Kong 香港
• on 1848.05.10 to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Guangdong-Guangxi 兩廣
• on 1940.09.04 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 (Singapore) and Saint Peter (Malacca), which separated from the Diocese of Macau in 1981.

Episcopal Ordinaries

(all Roman Rite)

Suffragan Bishops of Macau

• Apostolic Administrator Melchior Miguel Carneiro Leitão (賈耐勞), Jesuits (S.J.) (1576.01.23 – 1581) while first Titular Archbishop of Nicæa (1555.01.23 – 1577) & Auxiliary Bishop of Ethiopia (Ethiopia) (1555.01.23 – 1577), succeeded as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia (Ethiopia) (1577 – death 1581)
• Didacus Nunnez Figueira (1576.01.26 – death 1578.10.27 not possessed)
• Leonard Fernandes de Sá, Cistercians (O. Cist.) (1578.10.27 – death 1597.09.15)
• João de Abrantes a Pietate, Dominican Order (O.P.) (1604.08.30 – retired 1625.09.10)
• Apostolic Administrator Diogo Correia Valente (華), S.J. (1626.08.27 – death 1633.10.28), while Bishop of daughter see Funai 府内 (Japan) (1618.01.08 – death 1633.10.28)
• João de Casal (嘉) (1690.04.10 – death 1735.09.20)
• Eugénio de Trigueiros (德), Augustinians (O.E.S.A.) (1735.09.20 – 1740.12.19), succeeding as previous Coadjutor Bishop of Macau 澳門 (1725.02.21 – 1735.09.20) & Titular Bishop of Verinopolis (1725.02.21 – 1735.09.20); later Metropolitan Archbishop of Goa (Portuguese India) (1740.12.19 – 1741.04.22)
• Hilário de Santa Rosa (羅), Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (1740.12.19 – retired 1752.08.18)
• Bartolomeu Manoel Mendes dos Reis (孟) (1753.01.29 – 1773.03.08), next Bishop of Mariana (Brazil) (1773.03.08 – retired 1778.08.28)
• Alexandre da Silva Pedrosa Guimarães (祁) (1773.03.08 – retired 1789.04.01)
• Marcelino José da Silva (施) (1789.12.14 – retired 1802.09.16)
• Manuel de Santo Galdino (賈定諾), O.F.M. (1802.12.20 – 1804.08.20); later Coadjutor Archbishop of Goa (Portuguese India) (1804.08.20 – 1812.02.10), succeeding as Metropolitan Archbishop of Goa (1812.02.10 – death 1831.02.01)
• Francisco Chachim (查), Discalced Franciscans (O.F.M. Disc.) (1804.08.20 – death 1828.01.31)
• Nicolaus Rodrigues Pereira de Borja (柏), Vincentians (C.M.) (1843.06.19 – 1845.03.28 not possessed)
• Jerónimo José de Mata (馬), C.M. (1845.03.28 – retired 1862.09.25), succeeding as former Coadjutor Bishop of Macau 澳門 (1844.06.17 – 1845.03.28) & Titular Bishop of Colophonius (1844.06.17 – 1845.03.28)
• Pereira Botelho do Amaral e Pimentel (1866.01.08 – 1871.12.22 not possessed); later Bishop of Angra (Portugal) (1871.12.22 – death 1889.01.27)
• Manuel Bernardo de Sousa Enes (蘇) (1874.06.15 – 1883.08.09); later Bishop of Bragança e Miranda (Portugal) (1883.08.09 – 1885.07.30), Bishop of Portalegre (Portugal) (1885.07.30 – 1887.09.08)
• Antônio Joaquim de Medeiros (明德祿) (1884.11.13 – death 1897.01.07); formerly Titular Bishop of Thermopylæ (1882.08.29 – 1884.11.13) & Auxiliary Bishop of Goa (India) (1882.08.29 – 1884.11.13)
• José Manuel de Carvalho (嘉惠勞) (1897.04.19 – 1902.06.09), later Bishop of Angra (Portugal) (1902.06.09 – 1904.04.24)
• João Paulino de Azevedo e Castro (鮑理諾) (1902.06.09 – death 1918.02.17)
• José da Costa Nuñes (高若瑟) (1920.12.16 – 1940.12.11), later Titular Patriarch of the East Indies (1940.12.11 – 1953.12.16) & Metropolitan Archbishop of Goa and Daman (Portuguese India) (1940.12.11 – 1953.12.16); emeritate as Titular Archbishop of Odessus (1953.12.16 – 1962.03.19), Vice-Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church of Reverend Apostolic Camera (1953.12.16 – 1962.03.19), Patriarch ad personam (1953.12.16 – 1976.11.29), created Cardinal-Priest of S. Prisca (1962.03.22 – 1976.11.29)
• João de Deus Ramalho (羅若望), S.J. (1942.09.24 – 1953.12.09); emeritate as Titular Bishop of Philadelphia in Lydia (1953.12.09 – death 1958.02.25)
• Policarpo da Costa Vaz (高德華) (1954.01.29 – 1960.07.09); previously Titular Bishop of Eurœa in Epiro (1950.04.17 – 1954.01.29) and Auxiliary Bishop of Porto (Portugal) (1950.04.17 – 1952), then Auxiliary Bishop of Lisboa (Lisbon, Portugal) (1952 – 1954.01.29); later Bishop of Guarda (Portugal) (1960.07.09 – 1979.11.17)
• Paulo José Tavares (戴維理) (1961.08.19 – death 1973.06.12)

Exempt Bishops of Macau (since 1975)

• Arquimínio Rodrigues da Costa (高秉常) (1976.01.20 – retired 1988.10.06)
• Domingos Lam Ka-tseung (林家駿) (1988.10.06 – retired 2003.06.30), succeeding as former Coadjutor Bishop of Macau 澳門 (1987.05.26 – 1988.10.06)
• José Lai Hung-seng (黎鴻昇) (2003.06.30 – ...), succeeding as former Coadjutor Bishop of Macau 澳門 (2001.01.23 – 2003.06.30)

Parishes and Mission

The Diocese is divided in:

• six parishes (five in Macau Peninsula and one on Taipa island):
  • Cathedral Parish (主教座堂區)
  • St. Lazarus Parish (望德聖母堂區)
  • St. Anthony Parish (聖安多尼堂區)
  • St. Lawrence Parish (聖老楞佐堂區)
  • Our Lady Fatima Parish (花地瑪聖母堂區)
  • Our Lady of Carmel Parish (氹仔嘉模聖母堂區; in Taipa)
• two quasi-parishes, both on Macau Peninsula:
  • St. Francis Xavier's church at Mong Há (望廈聖方濟各堂)
  • St. Joseph's church at Iao Hon (聖若瑟勞工主保堂)
• one mission (on Coloane island):
  • St. Francis Xavier's church in Coloane (路環聖方濟各堂)

See also

• List of bishops of Macau
• list of Macao-related topics

External links

• Diocese de Macau (Chinese)
• GCatholic.org with incumbent biography links
•  
• UCAN Diocese profile