Diocese of Macau
Macaonen(sis)
Diocese immediately subject to the Holy See · Latin Church · Macau
Latin-rite diocese covering Macau, erected in 1576 by Pope Gregory XIII from the Diocese of Malacca and historically the base for Catholic missions to East Asia. It is immediately subject to the Holy See, with its seat at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady.
The see
- Rank
- Diocese immediately subject to the Holy See
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 23 January 1576
- Latin
- Macaonen(sis)
- Patron
- St. Francis Xavier and St. Catherine of Siena
- Annuario code
- 001002086
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 29,611
- Population
- 582,000
- Catholic share
- 5.1%
- Priests
- 94
- Catholics per priest
- 315
- Extent
- 30 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 987
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Bishop
- Stephen Lee Bun-sang
- Born
- 10 November 1956
- Birthplace
- Hong Kong
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady, Macau stands in Macau, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
History
Macau, a special administrative region of China, makes up the entire territory of an exempt Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church, the Diocese of Macau (Portuguese: Diocese de Macau; Chinese: 天主教澳門教區; Jyutping: tin1 zyu2 gaau3 ou3 mun4 gaau3 keoi1). Its exempt standing distinguishes it from the Diocese of Hong Kong, which de jure belongs to the Ecclesiastical Province of Guangdong.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].