Portuguese Jesuit priest Melchior Miguel Carniero Leitão was appointed Titular Bishop of Nicaea Pope Gregory XIII issued an edict for the establishment of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau, where Leitão served—he was appointed the first bishop of Macau, a position he occupied till 1581.

No bishop of the diocese had been appointed archbishop or cardinal until Eugénio de Trigueiros and José da Costa Nunes were appointed as archbishops, following a re-designation by the Pope.

Symbol All Catholic bishops are appointed by the Pope, and are considered to be messengers (successors of the Apostles) as defined in the catechism of the Catholic Church;.

Responsibilities The Bishop of Macau is appointed as the spokesman of the Pope. He is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Macau, which he administers on behalf of the Pope. He is also responsible for the pastoral and charitable work that is carried out within the Diocese.

Initially, the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Macau included China, Japan, Hong Kong, the Korean Peninsula and neighbouring areas. However, with development and the increasing need for pastoral work, the Vatican has since established more than 600 other Roman Catholic dioceses in the region. Presently, the diocese has jurisdiction over six parishes and three quasi-parishes in the Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane.

Bishops Portuguese nameChinese name Date/Place of birth Date of Appointment Commencement of episcopal duties Date of inauguration Date of resignation Died Remarks 1 Melchior Miguel Carniero Leitão, SJ , apostolic administrator 1519Portugal 1556 1560-12-15 1576 1581 1583-08-19Macau 2 Diogo Correia Valente, SJ , apostolic administrator 1568Portugal 1630 1618 1630 1633-10-22 1633-10-22Macau 3 João de Casal, OSA 1641Portugal 1690-04-10 unknown 1692-06-20 1735-09-20 1735-09-20 Macau 4 Eugénio Trigueiros, OSA 1684-01-09Portugal 1724 1727-12-07 1735-09-20 1739-02-11 1741-04-19 5 Hilário de Santa Rosa OSA, OFM 1693-03-01Portugal 1739-02-11 1741-03-05 1742 1752-08-18 1764-03-30Portugal 6 Barolomeu Manuel Mendes dos Reis 1720-08-23Portugal 1753-01-29 1753-07-25 1754 1772-06-14 1799-03-07Portugal 7 OSA Guimarães 1727-07-21Portugal 1772-07-13 1773-09-19 1774 1782 1799-02-17Portugal 8 Marcelina José da Silva 1749-01-16Portugal 1789-07-15 1790-01-07 1791 1802-09-16 1830-06-11Portugal 9 Manuel de São Galdino, OFM 1769-04-18Portugal 1802-02-12 1803-03-27 1803 1804-08-20 1831-07-15 10 Francisco Chacim, OFM 1767-09-15Portugal 1804-03-26 1804-11 1805 1828-01-31 1828-01-31Macau 11 Nicolaus Rodrigues Pereira de Borja, CM 1777Portugal 1841-11-25 Unknown 1841 1845-03-28 1845-03-28Macau 12 Jerónimo José da Mata, CM 1804-12-18Portugal 1843-11-19 1846-12-21 1845-03-28 1862-09-25 1865-05-05Portugal 13 Manuel Bernardo de Sousa Enes 1814-11-05Portugal 1873-06-25 1874-12-17 1877 1883-08-09 1887-09-07Portugal 14 António Joaquim de Medeiros 1846-10-15Portugal 1884-08-29 Unknown 1884 1897-01-07 1897-01-07 Timor 15 José Manuel de Carvalho 1844-09-16Portugal 1897-02-04 1897-08-29 1897 1902-06-09 1904-04-24 Portugal 16 João Paulino de Azevedo e Castro 1852-02-04Portugal 1902-06-09 1902-12-27 1902 1918-02-17 1918-02-17 Macau 17 José da Costa Nunes 1880-03-15Portugal 1920-11-20 1921-11-20 1920 1940-12-11 1976-11-29 Italy 18 João de Deus Ramalho, SJ 1890-01-08Portugal 1942-09-24 1942-11-06 1942 1953 1958-02-26Portugal 19 Policarpo da Costa Vaz 1908-02-22Portugal 1954-01-29 1950-06-29 1954 1960-11-21 1984-01-04Portugal 20 Paulo José Tavares 1920-01-25Portugal 1961-08-19 1961-09-21 1961 1973-06-12 1973-06-12 Portugal 21 Arquimínio Rodrigues da Costa 1924-07-08Portugal 1976-01-20 1976-03-25 1976 1988-10-06 2016-09-12 Portugal 22 Domingos Lam Ka-tseung 1928-04-09Hong Kong 1987-05-26 1987-09-08 1988-10-06 2003-06-30 2009-07-27Macau 23José Lai Hung-seng1946-02-14Macau2001-03-20 2001-06-022003-06-30 2016-01-16 — 24 Stephen Lee Bun-sang

李斌生1956-11-10

Hong Kong2016-01-16 —2016-01-23 Incumbent —

Remarks

appointed as auxiliary bishop appointed as Assisting Bishop possessed, as taking the responsibility of the position date of assumption of office due to resignation due to his decease date of acting or assuming office resignation accepted by Pope due to retirement transferred to Portugal appointed as Acting Bishop in 1623 as Bishop of Japan inaugurated in 1738 appointed Archbishop of Diocese of Goa transferred to Brazil and left Macau in 1765 arrived Macau in 1791 appointed Assistant Archbishop of Goa transferred to Azores appointed Archbishop of the Diocese of Goa and Dammam baptized as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Porto Acting Bishop in 1963 and 1965, he was elected as Acting Bishop on June 14, 1975 Emeritus Bishop of Macau

References