Right across from the St. Augustine’s Church is the Dom Pedro V Theatre, built in an exceptionally beautiful style of neoclassical architecture. Its elegance, being distinctly cultural in character, is a nice change of scenery from the multitude of churches that I saw in Macau.

The Dom Pedro V Theatre

Dom Pedro V is the King of Portugal, who ruled between 1853 and 1861. The Dom Pedro V Theatre is dedicated to his name. Built in 1860, it was the first western-style theater in China. Needless to say, its establishment was originally to serve the cultural and social circles of the Portuguese / Macanese in Macau.

The main hall accommodates 276 seats. From opera to concerts, to dance performances, the Dom Pedro V Theatre gives a classy home to some of the most celebrated cultural events in Macau’s history. In a rare showing, the Theatre hosted the celebration of the Qing Empress’ birthday in 1894. The audience were the Chinese people of Macau. The program included recitals and charitable events.

The Crazy Paris Show, which was based on the Crazy Horse Show of Paris, was frequently featured by the Lisboa Hotel, and more recently by the Parisian Macao, during the 1980s. But the very first Crazy Paris Show in Macau was held at the Dom Pedro V Theatre. Apparently, the show being the raucous display of near nudity, the organizers’ decision to hold it at the Dom Pedro V Theatre was questioned by many, including the clergy. The overseer had to broker consensus with both the clergy and the residents to debut the show at the Dom Pedro V Theatre.

The Dom Pedro V Theatre continues to serve as a landmark for cultural performances today. The old divisive practice of rendering the Chinese audience to certain designated sections at the back of the main hall has long receded into the progressive history of the city. These days, the Theatre is the prime venue for the Macao Orchestra and the Macao Chinese Orchestra, both of which are incredibly popular still with the Macanese music lovers.

Architectural and Interior Designs of the Dom Pedro V Theatre

It was Macanese Pedro Germano Marques that designed the original Theatre in neoclassical style in 1860. The beautiful façade was the work of Barão do Cercal, who completed it in 1873.

The façade was meant to augment the appearance of the Theatre with sophistication, and it certainly fulfills this aspiration. Perhaps the most significant are the four pairs of tall roman columns that line the side of the three arched entrances into the porch of the Theatre. Perhaps the triangular pediment above is somewhat reminiscent of the St. Augustine’s Church right across. Both structures were built in the neoclassical tradition of architecture.

The building has a ballroom, which opens onto a circular auditorium with a horse-shoe shaped balcony. When there were special events, the seats of the auditorium were removed to make way for banquet tables. The ballroom is meant for holding real dances. There are also reading and snooker rooms in the Theatre.

I believe that if you ask any living Macanese, they would tell you that, in terms of classic sophistication, the Dom Pedro V Theatre is second to none in both its exterior and interior. That is, perhaps even topping the ranks in terms of Macau’s historic buildings. I certainly loved the vibe there – you are free to sit inside the main hall if you would behave. You would not miss that assured sense of old-world finesse at the Theatre, as expressed in the décor alone.

The Sir Robert Ho Tung Library

You would come across the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library once you have passed the St. Augustine’s Square.

It is an ideal stop if you are visiting Macau on a very hot day. There are seating inside and outside, both covered and open-air at the library. I found a much-needed respite there.

A Brief Introduction of Sir Robert Ho Tung

Sir Robert Ho Tung is considered a “Grand Old Man” in Hong Kong due to his wealth, status, success and philanthropy. Born to a father of Dutch Jewish ancestry, Sir Robert Ho tung was Eurasian. He had always considered himself native in British Hong Kong, however. After finishing education at the Central School (now Queen’s College), he worked in the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs as a clerk in Canton. Due to his bilingual skills, he rose to become the Head Comprador for Jardine Matheson & Co in 1894. It was believed that, by age 35, he was the richest man in Hong Kong.

The relationship of Sir Robert Ho Tung with Macau is a celebrated one. Stanley Ho, the late casino tycoon of Macau, is a grandnephew of Sir Robert Ho Tung.

Sir Robert Ho Tung purchased the mansion, formerly owned by Donna Carolina Cunha, in Macau in 1918. The original structure was built before 1894 in the Macanese style. During the Japanese Occupation years in Hong Kong, Sir Robert Ho Tung lived in this mansion, as Macau remained neutral during the war. He left the mansion to the Macau government in his will, designating its use as a public library. The family also bequeathed HK $25,000 to the library for the purpose of aquisition. Sir Robert Ho Tung died in 1956, and the library opened its doors to the public in 1958.

According to Macau Lifestyle, “the building façade is composed of pilasters with Ionian-inspired capitals with details in white stucco, featuring a wall arcade with balustrades, all painted in ochre yellow.”

The library houses more than 5,000 ancient Chinese titles, as well as rare book collections.

Sources

Descriptions on site at the St. Augustine’s Square and the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library.

Macau Lifestyle, Dom Pedro V Theatre.

Macau Lifestyle, A Guide to St. Augustine’s Square.

Macau Lifestyle, Sir Robert Ho Tung Library.

The Wikipedia on Robert Ho Tung.

A historic tour of Macau would not be complete without learning about the heritage of the Christian faith in this small city. Perhaps it is fortunate that with the ills of western colonialism also came the light of the Christian faith.

Different catholic orders have had a strong presence in Macau. The Jesuits, Dominicans, Franciscans and the Augustinians had notable influence in bringing the Christian faith into China via Macau. From cathedrals to schools, from charity to battles, the Catholic missionaries have been the spirit and sinew in Macau’s development.

The Jesuits in Macau

From amongst the different orders of missionaries, the Jesuits were the most prominent because of its earliest arrival in Macau. Fathers Luís Fróis and Giovanni Battista Del Monte arrived in Macau in 1562 as the first Jesuits to set up residence and ministry in Macau. When fathers Francisco Peres, Manuel Teixeira and André Pinto arrived in 1563, Fathers Fróis and Del Monte moved on to their posts in Japan.

At the end of 1565, the Jesuit began building their first permanent residence and chapel in Macau. The first bishop was the Portuguese Melchior Carneiro, who set up a sanatorium for leprosy. The first school in Macau was also started by the Jesuits in 1572.

In response to the emerging persecution of missionaries in Nagasaki, the Jesuits decided to set up a college at St. Paul’s to give home to Japanese students in the faith. The very first St. Paul’s cathedral (The Church of the Mother of God), was thus known conterminously as St. Paul’s college. The college was, properly considered, an institute of higher learning with didactics in theology as well as mathematics.

This cathedral would be destroyed by fire, and what has been rebuilt thereafter, between 1602 and 1634, would eventually be destroyed by fire as well. The façade of the 18th century structure would become the Ruins of St. Paul’s (Ruínas de São Paulo), to which all visitors to Macau pay homage.

Like the Japanese, the Chinese also persecuted the missionaries. In 1617, Peking acted on its historic ill will against Christianity. The missionaries that were expelled from China found refuge in Macau, especially in the College of St. Paul. Macau was the womb, the cradle and rite of passage for missions in China and Japan.

Historically, the most significant setback to the Jesuit Order was the suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1579 as ordered by the Marquis of Pombal. This development resulted in the expulsion of the Jesuits from western Europe and all the colonies in the world under the dominion of those European countries. This edict became effective in Macau in 1762, resulting in the closing of the College of St. Paul, as well as the Jesuit residency. At this point, 463 Jesuits had arrived in Macau, fulfilling the various purposes to which they were called.

The Jesuits would be restored in Macau in 1890 at the behest of the bishop of the diocese at that time. Yet in 1910, they were expulsed again from Macau due to the tension in the Holy See. They moved their base to Zhaoqing then. In 1913, the Portuguese authorities allowed them to return to Macau, but only on the condition that they worked in the Chinese part of the diocese in Macau.

The St. Lawrence’s Church

I wandered off from the Mandarin’s House and found my way through the uneven grids consisting of narrow streets that sprawled the hearts of the residential and the faithful in Macau. Soon, I arrived at the St. Lawrence’s Church.

Its name Igreja São Lourenço in Portuguese, the St. Lawrence’s Church is one of the earliest churches set up by the Portuguese in Macau. Its original building stood as early as 1560, as a simple wooden structure. This was certainly very soon upon the official founding of Macau in 1557.

The current structure is that of 1846, featuring neoclassical architecture in a light, heavenly yellow color that glows gently under the rays of late October. The nave is flanked by two bell towers. The St. Lawrence’s parish had existed as early as the times of the first Jesuit Bishop Melchior Carneiro, as one of the poor parishes in the neighborhood, with three poorly put together churches as the gravitational foci of faith and charity in the earliest beginning of Macau.

St. Lawrence is the patron saint for navigation. Before the establishment of the Nam Van Lake, this church overlooked the shore in this part of Macau. The family members of the Portuguese seamen would pray here for the safety of their beloved, as well as watching the approaching vessels moor to the safety of home.

Despite its humble beginning, the St. Lawrence’s Church, as rebuilt during the 19^th century, is considered a significant church now. A local architect of Portuguese lineage designed this current church building, it is meant to be grand, as shown in its overall architecture, holy fixtures and interior attributes. Perhaps the photographs will speak volumes here:

Sources

Descriptions on site at the St. Lawrence’s Church.

Jesuits in Macau – 450 Years.

Macau Travel Hub, St. Lawrence’s Church.

Yves Camus, s.j., Macao Ricci Institute, Macao and the Jesuits: A Reading through the Prism of History.