Macau Churches
(Last updated: August 5, 2026)
When the Portuguese founded Macau around 1557, some of the first buildings that went up were churches. There was hardly a street that didn’t have one, and some have even survived to the present day.
Macau’s churches are largely European baroque in style, but tropical and Oriental features also exist, most notably the Chinese style tiled roofs and Eastern themes on some of the facades.
There are currently 19 churches in the city, with 9 of them receiving special UNESCO World Heritage distinction. (See them here: World Heritage.)
The rest are listed below.
Macau Churches: Chapel of Saint James
(Pousada de São Tiago)
This small chapel was built inside Barra Fort in 1740. St. James was the military protector of Macau, and he would often go on long patrols around the city, sometimes getting his boots dirty.
Soldiers were then assigned the task of washing the boots on the statue daily. One time, after a lazy soldier forgot to do it, he received a blow to the head from the statue’s sword.
St. James Chapel is located in the Pousada de São Tiago, one of Macau’s most well appointed hotels.
For details of my stay there, please follow the link to Trip Report II.
Macau Churches: St. Lazarus Church
(St. Lazarus District)
One of Macau’s three oldest churches, the original building dates from around 1557 to 1560. Macau’s first bishop later established a hospital for people with leprosy beside it, which is how the church became associated with St. Lazarus, their patron saint.
The church briefly served as Macau’s cathedral in 1576 and later became the centre of the city’s Chinese Catholic community. The present building largely dates from its reconstruction in 1885.
As for the lepers, they were moved down to the remote Ka Ho Village in Coloane.
It’s possible that you’ll need some luck to enter this church. Despite what the opening hours might say, I often see the doors closed.
Opening Hours: 8:30 am to 12:00 pm & 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Macau Churches: Penha Church
(Penha Hill)
I’ve always conceived of Penha Church as the guardian of Macau, as it sits on stately Barra Hill, overlooking the Praia Grande.
It was built off the donation made by the crew of the São Bartholomeu, a trading vessel that narrowly avoided Dutch capture in 1620. While en route to Japan, they found themselves in hostile waters, outnumbered 4 to 1 by enemy ships intent on seizing the vessel and all of the silk in her hold.
At this moment of truth, the 17 crew members decided they needed divine intervention from Our Lady of Penha de France, and if she were to save them, they would donate 1% of the earnings from the trading mission and build a Church in her name once they returned to Macau.
(I always find that hilarious. Facing sure ruin if not certain death, they found it in their hearts to cut Our Lady of Penha in for 1 percent. One freaking percent!! Always the businessmen, always the bottom line!!)
Anyway, the good Lady liked the deal a lot better than I do, and she helped them evade the Dutch fleet and make it to safe waters. Penha Church was completed in 1622, and it became the custom of Portuguese sailors to visit it before and after dangerous journeys.
The current construction of the Church dates back to 1935. Every year on May 13, the Our Lady of Fatima Procession concludes at Penha Church.
Opening Hours: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Macau Churches: Chapel of St. Michael
(St. Michael Cemetery)
This immaculate chapel was built in 1875 and stands inside one of Macau’s oldest Roman Catholic cemeteries, which still accepts new burials.
Known as the Western Ocean Cemetery, many prominent people have been laid to rest here, including Coronel Nicolau de Mesquita, Jose Pedro Braga, Francisco Antonio Volong, Pedro Nolasco da Silva, and Pedro Leong Hing Kee.
Of all the Churches listed in this section, the Chapel of St. Michael is the only one that I recommend visiting.
It’s particularly notable for its stained glass windows, which few churches in Macau have.
Opening Hours: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Macau Churches: Our Lady of Fatima
(23 Rua de Lei Pou Chon)
First built in 1929 and renovated in 1967, this Church serves residents in the industrial Bairro Tamagnini Barbosa neighbourhood in the northern part of the city.
A little bit off the tourist track, 99.9% of visitors give this church a pass.
Opening Hours: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm & 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Macau Churches: St. Francis Xavier Church
(Rua de Francisco Xavier Pereira)
Attached to an Old People’s Home, you can walk by this Church a thousand times and never know it’s there.
Built in 1907 and renovated in 1938, it keeps very unfriendly tourist hours.
Opening Hours: 7:00 am to 9:00 am & 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Macau Churches: St. Joseph the Worker
(Ave. da Longevidade)
Macau’s newest church opened in 1998.
Honestly, there’s not much point in seeking this one out.
Opening Hours: 9:00 am to 12:30 pm & 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Taipa Churches: Our Lady of Carmel Church
The only church in Taipa, Our Lady of Carmel was completed in 1885 to serve the island’s growing Catholic community. Its yellow-and-white neoclassical exterior remains one of Taipa Village’s most distinctive sights.
Inside, a statue of the Virgin Mary believed to have come from Europe occupies the altar. The large angels standing on either side were added to commemorate the church’s centenary.
Another Church that I hardly ever see open, I strongly doubt if its official opening hours are correct.
They’re also very strict about taking photos inside, which is why I don’t have better ones.
Opening Hours: 10:00 am to 12:30 pm & 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Coloane Churches: Chapel of St. Francis Xavier
Japanese Christians often visit this Church, named after Japan’s first Jesuit missionary, St. Francis Xavier.
For many years, the chapel housed a bone from the saint’s arm, along with relics belonging to Japanese and Vietnamese martyrs. The bone is now kept at St. Joseph’s Church, while the remains of the Japanese martyrs were moved to the Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt beside the Ruins of St. Paul.
The chapel still contains a statue of St. Francis Xavier and an unusual Chinese-style image of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus.
A small side chamber honours St. Andrew Kim Taegon, who studied in Macau before becoming Korea’s first Catholic priest. He returned home to preach and was executed for his faith in 1846, at just 25 years old.
Chapel of St. Francis Xavier was built in 1928, in the same baroque tradition as Macau’s other major churches. The monument outside the Church celebrates a 1910 victory over pirates.
Opening Hours: 9:30 am to 5:30 pm
Coloane Churches: Our Lady of Sorrows
(Ka Ho)
The poor people afflicted with leprosy eventually got moved down to the Ka Ho settlement in Coloane in 1947. Our Lady of Sorrows was built for them in 1966, with the architecture conceived by two Italian sculptors.
Without a doubt, it’s my favourite church in Macau. Its steep triangular roof, exposed brick walls and simple wooden pews are a world away from the ornate interiors found elsewhere in the city.
Walk inside and you immediately feel something. There is a power and mystery to the place that has nothing to do with gold leaf, elaborate decoration or great works of art. It feels raw, honest and rooted in the earth, like a real church, built for people who needed one. Of course I can’t speak for Jesus, but if there is such a thing as a church he would approve of, this is probably it.
There is meaning behind the unusual design as well. The church has 13 doors representing Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, while its roof beams divide the interior into seven sections symbolising the Seven Sorrows of Mary.
The church is closely associated with Father Gaetano Nicosia, Macau’s “Angel of the Lepers,” who devoted nearly half a century to caring for the Ká-Hó community. His cause for beatification formally began inside the church in January 2026.
The recently refurbished houses next to the church are where the leprosy patients once lived. This is what they looked like 15 years ago.
Opening Hours: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, closed Wednesdays.
Now that you’ve seen all of Macau’s churches, why not check out Macau’s excellent temples?