Our Lady of Penha Chapel, Macau

LocationSão Lourenço, Macau PeninsulaCountrySpecial administrative region: MacauArchitectureArchitectural typechurchStyleNeo-ManuelineCompleted1622 (first building)
1837 (second building)
1935 (current building)

Our Lady of Penha Chapel, Macau
Chinese	西望洋聖堂
Cantonese Yale	sāi mohng yèuhng shing tòhng
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xīwàngyáng Shèngtáng Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization sāi mohng yèuhng shing tòhng Jyutping sai1 mong6 joeng4 shing3 tong4

The Our Lady of Penha Chapel (Portuguese: Capela de Nossa Senhora da Penha, Chinese: 西望洋聖堂) is a church in Penha Hill, São Lourenço, Macau Peninsula, Macau.

History

The church was first erected in 1622 by the crew of the Portuguese ship São Bartholomeu who had a narrow escape from their Dutch pursuers in the Taiwan Strait while en route from Macau to Nagasaki. The crew vowed to build a church to commemorate the Virgin Mary if they managed to return to Macau, and made good on that promise upon their return.^[1]

The land where the church stands was donated by the Senate of the Augustinians for the construction of the church, which was dedicated to the Our Lady of Penha of France. The church was then constructed in 1622 and became the property of the Augustinians until 1834 when they were expelled from Macau. In 1837, the church was reconstructed along with the Bishop residence next to it. In 1935, it was then again completely rebuilt in the Neo-Manueline style.^[1][2]

Architecture

At the front courtyard of the church stands the Our Lady of Lourdes statue. At the steps of the hillside staircase exists the picturesque grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.^[2]

See also

• List of tourist attractions in Macau
• Christianity in Macau

References

External links

• Chapel of Our Lady of Penha – Macao Government Tourism Office website

22°11′12.5″N 113°32′6.2″E / 22.186806°N 113.535056°E / 22.186806; 113.535056