“From Macau to the World: 450 Years of Mission and Mercy”

The invitation issued by Bishop Stephen Lee Bun Sang of Macau was clear: “To revisit the past and build the future, to bear witness to the heritage we have received and bring the Gospel to the whole world… May this Jubilee Year be an opportunity for us to rekindle the fire of faith, deepen the light of hope and practise charity with even greater fervour.”

Throughout the year, various planned initiatives have been carried out with the active participation of the Christian community of Macau.

The highlight of the celebrations was the Eucharistic celebration held on the afternoon of October 31 at the Macau Forum. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and the new Dean of the College of Cardinals, who was appointed by Pope Leo XIV as his delegate for the Jubilee celebrations, presided over the Mass.

Also noteworthy was the presence of several bishops who were in Macau for the meeting of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.

A bridge diocese

Over the course of four centuries, the Diocese of Macau has played a fundamental role in the evangelization of Asia: serving as a bridge between East and West, a driving force behind charitable works and a promoter of significant initiatives in the fields of education and culture.

Cardinal Américo Aguiar, Bishop of Setúbal, in Portugal, visited Macau a few weeks earlier and presided over Mass at the Cathedral.

“Macau has been, for centuries, a bridge between the West and the East and a missionary gateway to Asia,” he said.

He continued: “Missionaries passed through Macau, leaving their homeland, learning new languages, encountering other cultures and setting out from here along routes that also took them to Korea.”

Pope Leo XIV, in his message to Bishop Stephen, recalled that the Diocese of Macau “the first diocese established in the Far East in the modern era, contributed to the spiritual, pastoral and human formation of many generations of believers (…) From this small territory, countless missionaries set out for every part of Asia.”

The Pope also issued a challenge: “I encourage you to reflect once again on the noble mission of every local Church: to proclaim Christ and serve every person, so that all may attain the full realization of their humanity, created in the image and likeness of God […] And I pray that your community may continue to be a living sign of the ‘civilization of love’, in which charity bears the fruits of fraternity and inspires a shared pursuit of the common good.”

A centre of mission in the Far East

The Diocese of Macau was established on 23 January 1576 by Pope Gregory XIII, through the Bull Super Specula Militantis Ecclesiae, with jurisdiction “over all of China, Japan, Korea and the adjacent islands”. From then on, Macau became an important centre for the Church’s evangelizing mission in the Far East.

Numerous diocesan priests, missionaries from various regions, male and female religious congregations, and institutes of consecrated life — particularly missionaries who once travelled from Portugal to the East — made Macau their base from which to spread the Gospel throughout mainland China, Japan, Korea and various regions of Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malacca and Timor-Leste.

Macau has a population of approximately 700,000.

The diocese is divided into nine parishes. Its approximately 30,000 Catholics account for just 4.5 per cent of the total population. Although the Catholic community is relatively small, the importance of its historical and cultural legacy is undeniable.

The Comboni Missionaries have been present in Macau since 1992, serving in the parish of St Joseph the Worker.

Fr Manuel António Machado, MCCJ