Catholic religious institutions, associations, and communities in Macau operate in the territory of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), which is currently under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Diocese of Macau, founded on 23 January 1576. Besides its diocesan priests, this Catholic diocese is assisted by various male and female religious orders, congregations, and institutes. The diocese is also supported by various institutions, movements, brotherhoods, and associations of Catholic inspiration made up of lay and religious people. All these Catholic bodies provide a variety of religious, social, educational, welfare, and cultural services to the Catholic and non-Catholic populations of Macau.
Religious institutions
There are several male and female religious orders, congregations, and institutes that provide a variety of religious, social, educational, welfare, and cultural services to the Catholic and non-Catholic populations of Macau. These are, therefore, fundamental to the normal functioning of the Diocese of Macau.
In 2020, there were 10 male religious institutions and 18 female religious institutions in Macau. The male religious institutions were: the Society of Jesus, the Salesians of Don Bosco, the Pious Society of St. Paul, the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, the Dominican Missions of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Claretians), the Society of the Divine Word, the Clerical Congregation of the Blessed Korean Martyrs, and the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonians). The female religious institutions were: the Canossian Daughters of Charity, the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Salesian Sisters), the Sisters of the Precious Blood, the Missionaries of Our Lady of the Angels (or Angelinas), the Dominican Missionaries of the Rosary, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, the Daughters of St. Paul, the Missionaries of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the Little Sisters of Jesus, the Missionaries of Charity, the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic, the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Anne, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary, the Missionaries of Jesus Christ, the Congregation of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady, the Cistercian Order of Strict Observance (Trappist nuns), and the Congregation of Our Lady of Retreat in the Upper Room.
According to statistics from the Macau SAR Government, there were 64 regular priests, 23 religious Brothers, 165 religious Sisters, and 181 volunteer missionaries working in Macau in 2019.
History
Macau became an important Portuguese trading establishment in the mid-16th century and therefore became an important departure point for Catholic missionaries to different countries in Asia, mainly China and Japan. The first religious order to settle in Macau was the Society of Jesus, in 1563–1565, which soon established a residence near the present St. Anthony's Church. Instinctively, the Jesuits chose Macau as their headquarters in the Far East, and it was in this city that they built their university college and where their visitators and provincials of China and Japan, among whom was Alessandro Valignano, resided. This powerful religious order, at the service of the Portuguese Padroado, provided bishops for the diocese, built several churches (among which was the Church of the Mother of God), and created several charitable and educational institutions, namely the College of Saint Paul (founded in 1594) and the Seminary of Saint Joseph (founded in 1728). These academic institutions were founded to train missionaries and priests, but the College was eventually destroyed by fire in 1835. As for the Seminary, which operated with various interruptions and alternately by Jesuits, Lazarists, and diocesan priests, it ceased its activities in 1967 due to the lack of priestly vocations.