St. Augustine's Church

St. Augustine's Church in Macau was built by the Italian Catholic Church and the St. Augustine Church when they came to Macau to preach in 1586. It was owned by the Portuguese three years later. It was the first church in Macau to preach in English. The church was rebuilt in 1825, with a magnificent and majestic appearance, spacious interior decoration, and a statue of Jesus carrying the cross on the altar made of marble. The front wall of the church is divided into two layers, and there are triangular mountain flowers on the top. Two ancient Greek-style granite columns separate the two sides of the gate. The main column inside divides the church into three ways and supports its vaulted roof. There are various legends about St. Augustine's Church. It is said that when the statue is taken to the cathedral by the church officials, it will magically return to the altar of St. Augustine's Church. Therefore, the statue is still in place. In the 16th century, when Western missionaries began to preach in Macau, they built several churches. In the eyes of the Chinese at that time, religious buildings were called "temples". St. Augustine's Church in the front of Gangding was very crude when it was first built. Whenever it rained, the priests covered the roof with palmetto leaves to keep out the wind and rain. The church was called "Longxu Temple", and later it was renamed "Longsong Temple" or "Longgong Temple" in Cantonese pronunciation. Therefore, the street next to the church was called Longsong Street. From the "temple" at that time to the "church" later, it reflects the integration of Chinese and Western in Macau, and it is everywhere in every corner. After the opening of Macau as a port, Western missionaries used Macau as the first base for spreading their messages into China, so Macau is called the "City of Holy Names". Missionaries living in Macau come from Portugal, Spain, Italy and other countries. Most of their Masses are in Portuguese or English. They also preach in Cantonese in response to Macau residents. St. Augustine’s Church is the first to preach in English. church. Since the establishment of the Macau Diocese in the 16th century, Macau has been carrying on this tradition - the parade of the suffering Jesus statue from February 12th to February 13th. The parade lasted for two days. On the first day, the image of the suffering Jesus carrying the cross solemnly departed from St. Augustine's Church in Gangding and was welcomed to the cathedral. The icon remained in the cathedral to receive prayers. The next day, the priests carried the image of the suffering Jesus on a trip, and then returned to St. Augustine's Church. The parade of the suffering Jesus statue is one of the important festival activities of the Macau Catholic Church.