View source for Ruins of Saint Paul's

{{Short description|Remnants of 17th-century church in Macau}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Ruins of Saint Paul's
| native_name =
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| image = 大三巴牌坊.jpg
| image_size = 250
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| coordinates = {{Coord|22|11|51|N|113|32|26|E}}
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| type = [[Ruins]]
| etymology = 
| location = [[Santo António, Macau|Santo António]], [[Macau]]
| nearest_city = 
| area = 
| elevation = 
| height = 26 metres
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| formed = {{hlist|[[Granite]]|[[masonry]]|[[bronze]]}}
| founded = 
| founder = [[Alessandro Valignano]] {{post-nominals|post-noms=[[Jesuits|SJ]]}}
| built = 1637–1640
| built_for = [[Catholic Church]]
| original_use = Catholic church
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| rebuilt = 
| restored = 1995
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| architecture = [[Baroque]]
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| governing_body = Macau Cultural Bureau
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| website = {{official website|wh.mo/cn/site/detail/18}}
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{{Chinese|c=大三巴牌坊|y=daaih sāam bā pàaihfōng|j=daai6 saam1 baa1 paai4 fong1|p=Dàsānbā Páifāng|por=Ruínas de São Paulo}}

The '''Ruins of Saint Paul's''' ({{zh|c=大三巴牌坊|y=daaih sāam bā pàaihfōng}}; {{langx|pt|Ruínas de São Paulo}}) are the remnants of a 17th-century [[Catholic]] religious complex in [[Santo António, Macau|Santo António]], [[Macau]]. They include what was originally [[St. Paul's College, Macao|St. Paul's College]] and the '''Church of St. Paul''' (''Igreja de São Paulo''), also known as "[[Theotokos|Mater Dei]]", a 17th-century Portuguese church dedicated to [[Saint Paul]] the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostle]]. Today, the ruins are one of Macau's best-known landmarks and were named one of the [[Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World]] by the Portuguese government in 2010. In 2005, they were officially listed as part of the [[Historic Centre of Macau]], a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]].

== History ==

Built from 1602 to 1640<ref name=MP1835>{{cite news |title=China|work=[[The Morning Post]]|date=8 July 1835 |access-date=16 July 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000174/18350708/013/0003| publisher = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref>  by the [[Jesuit]]s, during the time in which Portugal and Spain were under the same crown, the church was one of the largest [[Catholic]] churches in Asia at the time. It was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon on 26{{nbsp}}January 1835.<ref name=MP1835 /> The [[Fortaleza do Monte]] overlooks the ruin.
[[File:St-Paul-Ruins-Detail.jpg|thumb|right|Virgin Mary stepping on a seven-headed hydra.]]

The ruins now consist of the stone [[Frontispiece (architecture)|frontispiece]].<ref name=":132">{{Cite book |last=Simpson |first=Tim |title=Betting on Macau: Casino Capitalism and China's Consumer Revolution |date=2023 |publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |isbn=978-1-5179-0031-1 |series=Globalization and Community series |location=Minneapolis}}</ref>{{Rp|page=121}} The façade sits on a small hill, with 68 stone steps leading up to it. 

The façade is shaped like a [[retable]] and themed around the [[Assumption of Mary]].<ref name=":132" />{{Rp|page=122}} Likely influenced by Japanese Christian craftsmen who worked on it, the ruins of St. Paul's include carvings with heterodox images that draw from Asian traditions, including Mary stepping on a seven-headed [[Lernaean Hydra|hydra]], described in accompanying [[Chinese character]]s as "Holy Mother tramples the heads of the dragon".<ref name=":132" />{{Rp|page=122}} The base of the structure has six [[Chinese guardian lions]] carved from stone.<ref name=":132" />{{Rp|page=122}}

The Japanese Christian craftsmen who worked on St. Paul's were converted by Jesuits and expelled from Japan in 1587 when [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] banned Christianity.<ref name=":132" />{{Rp|page=122}}

The remains of around 250 Korean and Japanese slaves from the [[Slavery in Portugal#Asians|Portuguese slave trade]] are buried near the church.<ref>{{Citation |title=KBS 역사추리 – 임진왜란은 노예전쟁이었다 2부 / KBS 19960913 방송 |date=1996-09-13 |time=12:41 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9Pw7aBNF8s |access-date=2024-02-09 |language=en}}</ref>

==Conservation==
[[File:Restos de la Catedral de San Pablo, Macao, 2013-08-08, DD 14.jpg|thumb|The ruins in 2013]]
[[File:Macau Cathedral of Saint Paul back square.JPG|thumb|The structure behind the facade to maintain its integrity]]
Resisting calls for the dangerously leaning structure to be demolished, from 1990 to 1995, the ruins were excavated under the auspices of the Instituto Cultural de Macau to study its historic past.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} The crypt and the foundations were uncovered, revealing the architectural plan of the building. Numerous religious artifacts were also found together with the relics of the Chinese Christian [[martyr]]s and the monastic clergy, including the founder of the [[St. Paul Jesuit College (Macau)|Jesuit college in Macau]], Father [[Alessandro Valignano]].{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}

The ruins were restored by the Macanese government into a museum, and the façade is now buttressed with concrete and steel in a way which preserves the aesthetic integrity of the façade.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} There was once a steel stairway that allowed tourists to climb up to the top of the façade from the rear, but due to concerns for the preservation of the church, tourists are no longer allowed to climb up.

== See also ==
{{Portal|China|Catholicism}}
* [[Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt]]
* [[Religion in Macau]]
* [[List of Jesuit sites]]
* [[Ivan Vreman]]

== References ==

* {{Commons-inline|Category:Cathedral of Saint Paul in Macau|Ruins of St. Paul's}}
* {{OSM|w|192183185}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Coord|22|11|51|N|113|32|26|E|region:MO_type:landmark_source:dewiki|display=title}}
{{Santo António, Macau}}
{{Historic Centre of Macau}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Roman Catholic churches in Macau]]
[[Category:Historic Centre of Macau]]
[[Category:Jesuit churches in China]]
[[Category:Ruins in Macau]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic churches completed in 1640]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic cathedrals in Macau]]
[[Category:Catholic Church in Macau]]
[[Category:Christianity in Macau]]
[[Category:Macau Peninsula]]
[[Category:Portuguese Macau]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Macau]]
[[Category:Burned buildings and structures in China]]
[[Category:1640 establishments in China]]
[[Category:1640 establishments in the Portuguese Empire]]
[[Category:17th-century establishments in Macau]]
[[Category:Portuguese colonial architecture in China]]
[[Category:Classified immovable properties]]