Igreja de Santo António (Macau)
 Front view of the church |
|
| Basic data | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| place | Santo António , Macau , People's Republic of China |
| diocese | Diocese of Macau |
| Patronage | Anthony of Padua |
| Building history | |
| construction time | 1565-1638 |
| Building description | |
| Architectural style | Neoclassicism , classicism |
| Function and title | |
| 22 ° 11 '56.2 " N , 113 ° 32' 22.4" E | |
The Igreja de Santo António ( Portuguese for 'Antoniuskirche', Chinese 聖安多尼 堂 ) is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Freguesia de Santo António of Macau of the same name . The church is dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua , from which the seldom used name Igreja de Santo António de Lisboa ( Portuguese 'Anthony of Padua Church', Chinese 里斯本 的 聖安多尼 堂 ) is derived.
history
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The Igreja de Santo António is one of the three oldest churches in Macau. A small church made of bamboo and wood was built on the current site in 1565 , which marked the first Jesuit settlement in the city before 1560. In 1638 the church was rebuilt in its present size with stone masonry . Since this year there is a stone cross in the cemetery, directly in front of the church building. The year 1638 is recorded on the base of this stone cross, which not only records the construction of the stone cross, but also the rebuilding of the church.
After a devastating fire in the church in 1809 , major repairs had to be carried out on the building in 1810. The destruction was repeated around 65 years later and the church was hit by a typhoon in 1874 , whereupon repairs were repeatedly carried out in 1875. Over the centuries the church was partially destroyed by a large number of fires and typhoons, but was subsequently rebuilt again and again by the faithful and the Catholic Church. This also applies to a fire in 1930, which led to the restoration of the facade and the bell tower in the 1930s and 1950s.
regional customs
Saint Anthony of Padua has been a military saint and captain in the Portuguese army since 1783 and was enlisted as a soldier in 1623 . During the time when the sovereignty over Macau was with Portugal , i.e. until 1999, a ceremony took place every year on June 13th at which the respective President of the Leal Senado , which is the city's administrative building , presented the saint with his salary . The amount of the salary fluctuated. In 1783 there were 240 Taéis , in the 1950s 2000 Patacas , in 1967 almost 6000 Patacas and in 1996 45,000 Patacas. Due to the economic situation, the city administration was not always able to pay the salary. Due to the pressure from the citizens of Macau, however, all arrears were always paid at least retrospectively. In 1999 the Leal Senado paid the symbolic salary to the saint for the last time.
Regardless of the salary, the Anthony procession with the Bishop of Macau still takes place annually on the afternoon of June 13th. It is one of the shortest processions in the Catholic Church. While the image of the Holy earlier by the procession still up to the ruins of St. Paul's Church was born, the procession will take place today exclusively held at the Praça de Luís de Camões, which is a kind of forecourt of the church. Flowers and festive clothing play an important role during the procession.
The community runs an auxiliary service called Pão dos Pobres ( Portuguese for 'bread of the poor'), which distributes food to the poor and needy in Macau. In the past, the social work was paid for by the salary of the holy soldier Anthony of Padua from the Macau city council, whereas today he is dependent on donations . In the 1930s, the relief service distributed an average of 1,500 kilograms of rice a month. Although there is no steady income today, the donations are enough to provide the poor, whose number has since declined, with oil and rice , for example .
architecture
The church building has two floors and a gray facade in neoclassical style, which is surmounted by a classical gable. The bell tower forms a third floor, which means that the height of the bell tower is low compared to the main nave . The architrave above the green-painted windows on the second floor show the entire width of the building and set an architectural accent. Together with the externally visible green bells in the bell tower, the elements of green color create a careful ensemble of color variations. In the upper part of the facade of the nave there is a statue of St. Anthony of Padua with the baby Jesus in his arms; an almost identical statue can also be found in the interior. The church also has a statue of the holy martyr Andreas Kim Taegon , who was the first Roman Catholic priest in Korea , who stood for the Christianization of his Asian homeland through his life commitment and who visited the Igreja de Santo António during the time of his ministry.
The church is part of the Historic Center of Macau , a World Heritage Site of UNESCO .
Todays use
The Igreja de Santo António is the parish church of one of the six parishes or parishes in the Diocese of Macau , so that an active church operation takes place in the church. As in many Macau churches, services are held in multiple languages at different times. In addition to Portuguese-speaking and Cantonese- speaking masses, the Igreja de Santo António is the only Catholic church in Macau that regularly celebrates Holy Mass in Korean . Every Saturday, Holy Mass is also held the evening before instead of Sunday morning, then in Korean. On Sunday morning, Holy Mass follows twice in Cantonese and then once in Portuguese. Every Tuesday there is a mass in Cantonese in the morning and a mass in Portuguese in the evening.
The Igreja de Santo António is a popular place for weddings among the predominantly Roman Catholic Portuguese and Macanese in Macau . As visitors to the church often see the building full of decorations and people with flowers, the church was given a Chinese nickname called Fa Vong Tong ( Igreja das Flores in Portuguese ), which means something like 'Church of the Flower King'.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Igreja de Santo António - MACAU PATRIMÓNIO MUNDIAL. Retrieved May 9, 2019 (Portuguese).
- ↑ a b c João Botas: Macau Antigo: Breve história da Igreja de Santo António. In: Macau Antigo. July 1, 2017, Retrieved May 9, 2019 (Portuguese).
- ↑ a b c Santo António, Capitão de Macau | Revista MACAU. Retrieved May 9, 2019 (American English).
- ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: Historic Center of Macao. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .
- ↑ Mass Schedules - 天主教 澳門 教區 DIOCESE DE MACAU. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .