St. Dominic's Church

That magnificent butter-yellow facade you see before you belongs to one of Macao's most beautiful churches, and its origin story is as colourful as its walls. St. Dominic's Church was founded in 1587 by three Spanish Dominican friars who had arrived in Macao from Acapulco, Mexico, by way of the Manila galleon trade route. Think about that for a moment. In the late sixteenth century, a church was built on the coast of China by Spanish priests who had crossed the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. That is the kind of truly global story that only Macao can tell. The Dominicans originally built a simple wooden chapel here and established a convent alongside it. Over the centuries, the church was rebuilt and renovated multiple times, each iteration grander than the last. The current baroque structure, with its cheerful pastel-yellow exterior and green wooden shutters, dates largely from the seventeenth century, though significant restorations continued into the twentieth century. The church sits at the northern end of Senado Square, and its vibrant facade serves as one of the most recognisable landmarks along the main pedestrian route through Macao's historic centre. Push open the heavy wooden doors and step inside. The interior...