Maria Kwak*
ARRIVAL OF THE DOMINICANS IN MACAU
On the 23rd of October 1587, a church dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary was established in Macau. The church was built when the first three Dominicans arrived in Macau, from Acapulco – then a Spanish colony.
The Dominican priests António de Arcediano, Ildefonso Delgado and Bartolomeu Lopes were dispatched on the patache “San Martin” on April 3, 1587. Welcomed by Agustinians who established themselves in Macau a year earlier, these three Dominican fathers were known to be highly advanced in religion and letters and possessed the virtue of prudence[1] [2] .
Subsequently, 13 more Spanish Dominicans arrived in Macau to set up the monastery and school where they taught reading and writing. However, in the following year, the Spanish Dominicans were expelled from Macau, by the order of viceroy in Goa. Despite the efforts of the founding members, the church and convent were handed over to the members of the Dominican Congregation of the East Indies of the Province of Portugal. In Goa and Malacca, their Congregation was established much earlier around the 1550s.
Until the Diocese of Macau was established in 1576, Macau was in close contact with Malacca where the Diocese was established in 1558 with Fr Jorge de Santa Luzia, OP as the first Bishop of Malacca. Besides, by 1598, the Order also saw a priest native to Macau, of Chinese-Portuguese origin: Fr Antonio de Santa Maria. In 1604, the Dominican priest Joao Pinto da Piedade was consecrated as the third bishop of Macau and served until 1623.
When Portuguese Malacca was captured by the Dutch in 1641, Fr Antonio de S. Domingo, the Dominican vicar in Macau was sent there in order to rebuild the Church and provide pastoral care for the Catholic population in Malacca.
Throughout the centuries, the Dominican convent in Macau served as a refuge for both Spanish and Portuguese Dominicans who were engaged in missionary work in China in times of the Catholic persecution. Their initial purpose was to enter China via Macau; however, their mission was fulfilled by another route via Formosa (Taiwan) in 1626. The Order of Preachers in Macau were true reflections of “athletes of the faith and true lights of the world” as Pope Honorius III said in the 13th century.
CHURCH DEDICATED TO OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY AND THE DOMINICAN SAINTS
Originally constructed from camphor wood, the Church was called 板樟堂 in Chinese, meaning the “church of wooden planks.” Today as one of the world heritage sites inscribed to UNESCO Historic Centre of Macau, the influence of the Dominicans is easily found in every corner of the Church.
The High Altar is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, accompanied by the images of St Dominic of Guzmán (1170-1221), the founder of the Dominicans and St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), a lay member of the Dominicans. Spread by the Dominican pope, St Pius V (1504-1572), the Rosary prayer is said to have been given to St Dominic by Mary, the Mother of God. The present form of the Rosary was officially approved with the Papal Bull, Consueverunt Romani Pontifices in 1569.
The feast Our Lady of the Rosary was initially instituted as Our Lady of Victory, to commemorate the victory of the Christians in the Battle of Lepanto on 7 October, 1571.
In 1573, the feast was officially instituted by Pope St Pius V (1504-1572) who attributed the glory of the Christendom to the power of the Rosary above the armed forces in the battlefield. In Macau, the spirit of this devotion was manifested by the citizens in one of the most turbulent moments in its history. When the rival Dutch forces approached the settlement of Macau in 1622, a procession was organized with the image of Our Lady to protect the city, which ran from St Lawrence to the Church of St Dominic. We may have a glimpse into the annual feast of Our Lady of the Rosary in Macau of the tradition which continues until today through a Portuguese-language newspaper[3] [4] O Macaense published on 8 October, 1885. It reports that some 400 Portuguese from Hong Kong travelled to Macau to participate in the procession, which lasted the whole day from 11 in the morning until 10 in the evening.
St Catherine of Siena is there as well as one of the patron saints of Macau. She was declared patron saint of Macau in the hope of resolving the political conflicts between the two parties with opposing views on the colony’s affiliation to the Iberian Union in 1646. As a mystic and political activist, she was respected for her eagerness to speak truth to authority in power. In 1939, she was declared a co-patron saint of Italy with St Francis of Assisi, the image of whom you will encounter in one of the West Aisle Altars. In the upper level of the aisle altars, you will find some of the significant members of the Order: St Peter of Verona, the first canonised martyr of the Order and St Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church. (Photo: Maria Kwak)
*MA Candidate in History at USJ.
jurisprudence? @201800245@usj.edu.mo
_Assigned to Maria Kwak_
“prudence” is the correct term according to the source, may I rephrase as “possessed the virtue of prudence”.
What is the name of the newspaper? @201800245@usj.edu.mo
_Assigned to Maria Kwak_
“O Macaense” is the name of the newspaper, please add the title in the phrase. Thank you!