Jesuits at the end of the Ming dynastyand their policies
From 1368 to 1644, the Catholic Church in China was some- what moribund. This phenomenon lasted until the end of the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, Europe was going through many dramatic social changes: Feudalism was dissolved, and new coun- tries were created based on races; the capitalistic system was developing in some European cities and modern technologies were assuming greater importance. Meanwhile, there were also changes occurring within the Catholic Church leading to reli- gious reformation and the eventual emergence of the Protestant Church. Facing the rapid social progress and the influence of the religious reformation, the Catholic Church began to undergo in- ternal changes by reorganizing the religious orders both old and new. They sent many missionaries abroad to proselytize in order to counteract the Reformation influence. Borrowing its own say- ing, the church was "trying to gain what they had lost in Europe‘? Under such circumstances, the Society of Jesus founded byIgnatius of Loyola (1491-1556) came onto the scene in China and eventually exercised great influence.
Meanwhile, Spain and Portugal were trying to expand their colonies abroad. The Roman Curia also had the intention of pro- moting the Catholic faith abroad. Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503), in his Encyclical , Inter Caetera decided to give Africaand the East to the Portuguese as missionary territory. Portugal had the right to send out missionaries, build churches and semi- naries, all at its own expense in this vast territory. The King of Portugal had the right to name bishops as well. This right is calledPatronatus Missionum in Latin.
Francis Xavier (1506-1552) was the first Jesuit who tried to enter China to preach the Gospel. Since it was forbidden for a non-Chinese to go inland, he arrived at Shangchuan Island in Taishan County in Guangdong Province in August of 1552, but died there on December 3rd in the same year. Although Francis never actually stepped penetrated inland, his enthusiasm for the China missionary work touched the hearts of a great number of Catholics both in China and abroad. They honored him with the title of Yuandong Kaijiao Zhi Yuan Xun, meaning Missionary Pioneer of the Far East.
Portugal made Macao a permanent transit location for them to penetrate China in 1554. Merchants flooded into Macao, and the church followed. Eventually, Macao became a center of Catholic missionary work in the Far East. Melchior Barreto ar- rived in Macao in 1555 and built a regular house as the firstCatholic church ? Later, the Augustinians, Dominicans andFranciscans, Jesuits and others found their respective places in Macao, but the Jesuits were the most dominant and influential. The Jesuits established St. Paul"s Seminary, the first Catholic university in China, offering courses in philosophy, theology and Latin. It had a library, observatory and medical supplies‘ depot.
The Diocese of Macao was officially created on January 23rd,1576 to administer China, Amman, Japan and nearby islands. D. Leonard De Sa was appointed the first bishop of Macao in 1578. There were eight Catholics churches in Macao. St. Paul"s Cathe- dral, which was constructed in 1602, was the most magnificent church in the Far East. Its construction took 35 years to com- plete. Macao"s unique geographical location made it the ideal transit point for Catholic missionaries to enter China. Those mis-
sionaries wanting to work in China had first to go to the semi- nary in Macao to learn the language and Chinese culture before they could move on. At the end, most of those missionaries who were expelled from China went to Macao after the founding of the New China. Some of them stayed there to wait for fresh opportunities to occur, but others returned to Europe. Many of them who died are certainly buried in Macao.
Initially, the missionaries in Macao thought Western cul- ture was superior to Chinese culture, and the small number of Chinese Catholics in Macao were forced to learn the Portuguese language and to take Portuguesenames in order to isolate them from Chinese culture. The Jesuit priest Allessandro Valignani, In- spector of the Far East, realized the importance of changing the missionary mentality of despising things Chinese. He insisted that China was a civilized country with a long and glorious history,therefore, the missionaries want-
ing to work in China should mas-ter the Chinese language in order to converse with both edu- cated and non-educated Chinese in order to inspire them to ac- cept Christianity. In 1582, he sent Michael Ruggieri (1543-1607), Matteo Ricci and others to Macao to study Chinese language and culture. When Valignani first came to China in 1580 with the merchants, his complaisant behavior and fluent Chinese earned respect fromlocal officials. He was given permission to stay in the residence used by Thailand"sconsul.
