The college has trained a large number of missionaries to preach in Japan, Chinese mainland, Viet Nam, Thailand and Cambodia. It is an important training base for Catholic missionaries to preach in the Far East. Under the ruins of St. Paul's archway, there are many bodies of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for their beliefs.
St Paul's Church was once the most magnificent Jesuit church in Macau and the Far East. 1603 was basically completed, and 1608 began to build the front wall of the church (now St. Paul's archway). It was completed from 1637 to 1640, and the carvings and statues on the front wall are at 1644.
1835, the last fire destroyed St. Paul's college and church, leaving the front wall, part of the foundation and stone steps in front of the church. Because the local Chinese think that the front wall of the church looks like a traditional archway in China, it is called the "Big March 8th Archway".
St Paul's Church is the first baroque building in China. In the construction of the front wall of the church, the oriental decorative paintings such as stone lions, Chinese characters and chrysanthemums symbolizing Japan are combined with European classical elements, which is the crystallization of the blending of eastern and western arts, represents the achievements of Catholic art in the Far East, and also reflects the blending and uniqueness of eastern and western cultures in Macao history.
Conservation and protection measures
Because of the humid and rainy climate in Macao, the seeds of plants fluttering in the wind can easily stay in the cracks in the stone walls of archways and grow into weeds. The roots of weeds will destroy the archway structure and affect the vision. In view of this, the authorities will regularly send people to remove weeds to restore the original appearance of the archway.
2017165438+1From October 7 to February 5, the bronze statues of St. Francois Xavier and St. Gasselchev on the St. Paul archway were moved to the ground for scanning and recording, cleaning, rust removal and surface protection. This is the first time that this bronze statue has been thoroughly cleaned and maintained since it was erected on the front wall of the church for 380 years. The restoration project of the bronze statue of Sao Paulo includes the Australian Art and Cultural Relics Restoration Room.