Macau’s Roman-Catholic Diocese has published a beautiful calendar with a dozen fascinating pictures of important churches in the territory. The picture of the Ruins of Saint Paul’s Church – also known as “Mater Dei” – has been given a prominent place in the calendar pages for the church provides a unique testimony to the lasting encounters between China and the West.
In the year 1991, my friend Dr. P. P. Shirodkar, director of the archives and archaeology section of the Museum of Goa (the former Historical Archives of the Portuguese State of India) was invited to attend the International Seminar on Indo-Portuguese History held in Macau.
When I accompanied him to see the historic Ruins of St. Paul’s Church, he revealed to me that he had in his museum some historic information about the church.
