Ruins of St Paul College
St Paul's Mother of God Church was a 16th-century cathedral in Macau.
Today, with 66 stone steps leading to the facade, the ruins of the church are Macau's most famous tourist site.
Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuit Order, St Paul College Cathedral was the largest Christian church in Asia at the time, and the royalty of Europe vied with each other to bestow upon the Cathedral the best gift.
The first Jesuits arrived in Macau around 1563. As educators, they started a school which was soon upgraded to an University in 1594. This was the first western university in South East Asia.
Students
studied Latin, Greek, local languages, music, painting, humanities rhetoric
philosophy and theology.
Great scholars like Matteus Ricci and Ruggieri were early protagonists of St Paul College.
St Paul College was destroyed by a fire 1835.
Architecture: The Church of Mater Dei (Mother of God) was erected in 1602. This replaced previous wooden churches destroyed by fire.
The new church had wooden columns in the central nave and a Chinese style tile roof.
The
sidewalls of St Paul were made of Chunambo or Taipa, a muddy earth mixture of
straw, lime from oyster shells, and wood.
The architect was the Genovese Carlo Spinola.
St Paul's oriental decorations were done by Chinese and Japanese craftsman.
St Paul College was also linked directly to the adjacent Monte Fort through staircases and tunnels.
In 1762 the Jesuits were expelled from Macau and the monastery was sequestered
by the military.
Apparently in 1835, a careless soldier caused In a fire in the kitchen which eventually destroyed the whole complex of St Paul College.
The Ruins of St Paul now consists of the southern stone facade - intricately carved by Japanese monks - and the crypts of the Jesuits monks of the Church.
Excavation between 1990 to 1995 uncovered the foundations of the building.
Findings also include numerous religious artifacts as well as relics of Japanese Christian martyrs and some monastic clergy.
Relics of Father Alessandro Valignano, the founder of the Jesuit college in Macau were also discovered.
A museum was built, the facade buttressed and a steel stairway built to allow access to the top of the facade.
The
facade of the Church of Mater Dei (Mother of God) is a simplified and short
catechism about the role of Christ church in the salvation of men.
The initials JHS stands for Jesus Christ Savior of Mankind.
From the Top:
The pediment of shows the Triumphant Church which is Heaven. It also shows
The Holy Spirit, the Gift of Grace.
The 4th Row tells the story of Christ Saviour of the World.
The 3th Row shows the Assumption of Mary, the new Eve, Theotocus and Mediatrix.
The 2nd row tells the story of the Militant Church on Earth and the Glory of Saints of the Jesuits.
Finally the lowest floor tells about this building which is a gate to the house and the citadel of God.
Above is a painting of the martyrdom of catholics in Japan. This painting is in the museum located besides the chapel of the Bone Relics of the Martyrs (below). The museum displays several religious articles used in the churches of Macau.
Check out books and videos about churches, saints, and more.
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Other Catholic churches
in this website
Macau Catholic Cathedral, Ruins of St.
Paul, Leal Senado Square St Dominic Church,
St. Anthony Parish, St. Lazarus
Parish, St. Augustine Church, St.
Lawrence Church, Our Lady of Fatima Parish,
St. Joseph the Worker Parish, St. Joseph Seminary,
St. Michael Cemetery, Mt.
Carmel Parish, Francis Xavier Coloane Parish,
St. Francis Macau, Kaho
Chapel in Coloane.
Chapels
Our Lady of Guia Chapel, Sao Tiago Fortress Chapel,
Penha Chapel.
Heritage Protestant Sites: Morrison Protestant Chapel and Cementery.
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