The Ruins of St Pauls: Traces of the Past Yr4, No 1: Thursday’s Special

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© irene waters 2018

Built between 1602  and 1640 all that remains of the church that was dedicated to the apostle St Paul is the southern facade (now buttressed with cement and steel) and the Jesuit crypts. In 2005 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is part of historic Macau.

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© irene waters 2018

The intricately carved facade which is impossible to see in these photos was carved by  Japanese Christians that were in exile under the Italian Jesuit Carlo Spinola. They brought to the carvings an oriental influence – The Blessed Virgin Mary for example is stepping on a seven headed hydra and the Chinese characters translate to read “Holy Mother tramples the heads of the dragon.” 68 steps lead up to the church entrance which is sited on a small hill.

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© irene waters 2018

The 17th century church founded by Portuguese Jesuits was destroyed on the 26th January 1835 by fire which started during a typhoon.

In response to Paula’s prompt for Thursday’s Special.

About Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist

I began my working career as a reluctant potato peeler whilst waiting to commence my training as a student nurse. On completion I worked mainly in intensive care/coronary care; finishing my hospital career as clinical nurse educator in intensive care. A life changing period as a resort owner/manager on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu was followed by recovery time as a farmer at Bucca Wauka. Having discovered I was no farmer and vowing never again to own an animal bigger than myself I took on the Barrington General Store. Here we also ran a five star restaurant. Working the shop of a day 7am - 6pm followed by the restaurant until late was surprisingly more stressful than Tanna. On the sale we decided to retire and renovate our house with the help of a builder friend. Now believing we knew everything about building we set to constructing our own house. Just finished a coal mine decided to set up in our backyard. Definitely time to retire we moved to Queensland. I had been writing a manuscript for some time. In the desire to complete this I enrolled in a post grad certificate in creative Industries which I completed 2013. I followed this by doing a Master of Arts by research graduating in 2017. Now I live to write and write to live.
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6 Responses to The Ruins of St Pauls: Traces of the Past Yr4, No 1: Thursday’s Special

  1. restlessjo says:

    What a proud relic of the past! I love that last shot, Irene, where it’s not dwarfed by the ‘real world’. 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Paula says:

    Remarkable site, Irene. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  3. only the facade is left – what does that say about everything it was built to represent?

    Liked by 1 person

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