Jojo has been in Hong Kong for more than a year now and he can speak Cantonese now… not yet like a native but fluent enough to feel “proud” and make others full of “envy.”
He arranged for our meeting with two lay persons in charge of the Diocesan Pastoral Commission for Marriage and the Family: Mr. Kevin Lai, Executive Secretary, and Michael Tse, Family Pastoral Officer.
We shared ideas and projects and looked for ways to work together. One such project consists of the preparation of a well presented and printed booklet to be offered for free to the millions of Chinese tourists who visit Macau every year.
In the first three months of this year the number of tourists in this tiny place dropped 10% compared with that of last year… so we only had 5.5 million tourist from January to March 2009 (!!!)—remember that Macau has a population of half a million people. They come to Macau for gambling… and then to visit the historic city. They see many church buildings… but not the Church! One of the most important places attracting tourists is the Ruins of St. Paul.
The Ruins of St. Paul's refer to the façade of what was originally the Cathedral of St. Paul, a 17th century Portuguese cathedral in Macau dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle. Today, the ruins are one of Macau's most famous landmarks. In 2005, the Ruins of St. Paul were officially listed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau.
He arranged for our meeting with two lay persons in charge of the Diocesan Pastoral Commission for Marriage and the Family: Mr. Kevin Lai, Executive Secretary, and Michael Tse, Family Pastoral Officer.
We shared ideas and projects and looked for ways to work together. One such project consists of the preparation of a well presented and printed booklet to be offered for free to the millions of Chinese tourists who visit Macau every year.
In the first three months of this year the number of tourists in this tiny place dropped 10% compared with that of last year… so we only had 5.5 million tourist from January to March 2009 (!!!)—remember that Macau has a population of half a million people. They come to Macau for gambling… and then to visit the historic city. They see many church buildings… but not the Church! One of the most important places attracting tourists is the Ruins of St. Paul.
The Ruins of St. Paul's refer to the façade of what was originally the Cathedral of St. Paul, a 17th century Portuguese cathedral in Macau dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle. Today, the ruins are one of Macau's most famous landmarks. In 2005, the Ruins of St. Paul were officially listed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau.
Façade of the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Macau
The Ruins of Saint Pauls in the evening light
Close up
Behind the façade are remainsof the original pillars and a shrine
The idea is to present Christianity from “below”: starting, for example, with this Ruins of St. Paul and explain what the building represents, who St. Paul is, Jesus, who the Christians are…
Mr. Kevin Lai, Executive Secretary, and Michael Tse with Alberto
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