Catholic religious institutions, associations, and communities in Macau

The diocese is also supported by various institutions, movements, brotherhoods, and associations of Catholic inspiration made up of lay and religious people.

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.

Their treatment and use by the Macau authorities were disastrous, the most glaring case being the demolition in 1861 of the Convent and Church of St. Francis, which was built by the Franciscans.

With the death of their last nun in 1875, the Poor Clares were considered extinct in Macau,[9] being replaced by the Canossian Daughters of Charity (in 1874) and the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (in 1903).

With the establishment of the Portuguese Republic in 1910, the religious orders were expelled from Macau, but many of them continued to operate in the non-Portuguese territories that were under the jurisdiction of the diocese.

[2] In 1999, the following religious orders and congregations resided in Macau: Jesuits, Salesians, Dominicans, Comboni Missionaries, Paulists, Redemptorists, Canossians, Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM), Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), Angelines, Precious Blood, Dominican Sisters, Perpetual Help, Good Shepherd, Charity of St. Anne, Missionaries of Charity, Maryknoll, Little Sisters of Jesus, Little Sisters of Mary, Daughters of St. Paul and Fraternity of St.

The oldest are the pious associations, which bring together laypeople with a common devotion to a saint, invocation of Our Lady or invocation of Jesus, among which stand out the Confraria de Nosso Senhor Bom Jesus dos Passos, the Confraternity of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Mother of God and the Confraternity of Saint Anthony.

[15] During the bishopric of Archbishop Arquimínio Rodrigues da Costa (1976–1988), the Association of Catholic Schools of Macau was established,[25] the Serra Club (in 1977–1978),[26] and the Diocesan Media Center (in 1975).

[28] Among the Catholic social solidarity institutions, the Caritas of Macau stands out, which currently operates a large network of services and infrastructure aimed at helping the poorest and neediest.

"[30][31][32][33][34] With Catholic origins, Santa Casa da Misericórdia, founded in 1569 by Bishop Melchior Carneiro Leitão, is the oldest charitable institution in Macau and currently has independent management from the Diocese.

[35][36][37][38] Respecting the third article of the Concordat between the Holy See and Portugal (1940), the government of Macau published in 1986 a list of the institutions of a permanent religious character canonically erected in the Diocese of Macau:[38] In the 1986 government survey of Catholic institutions, the Cofre dos Pobres (or Cofre do Socorro dos Pobres or Administrative Commission of the Cofre do Socorro dos Pobres), the Portuguese Missions in China (or Administrative Commission of the Assets of the Portuguese Missions in China), the Portuguese Padroado Mission in the Far East, and the Macao Mitra (or Assets of the Macao Mitra) were considered extinct and their assets reverted to the Diocese of Macao.

[38] In the new survey done by the Government in 1996, the St. Francis of Assisi Charity Benefactors Association was considered extinct, and its assets reverted to the Parish of St.