世界遺産「マカオ歴史地区」の構成資産のひとつです。1565年に建てられた教会ですが、何度も火災に見舞われていて現在のものは19世紀に再建、20世期に外観を修復したものとのことです。訪れる人も少なくゆっくり見学できました。

In a city with very old churches, the unpretentious St Anthony's Church (Igreja de Santo António), has the distinction of being one of the oldest churches in Macau along with St. Lawrence’s Church and the Cathedral. The church building stands on the site of the very first chapel in Macau that dates to 1558. A plaque by its door records the long and chequered history of the present structure in pithy form: "Built in 1638. Burnt in 1809. Rebuilt in 1810. Burnt again in 1874. Repaired in 1875". After yet another fire this church went through one more restoration in 1930, followed by further renovation of its tower and façade in 1940. The Church named after St. Anthony of Padua, was favoured by the Portuguese for weddings and thus acquired its Chinese name “Fa Vong Tong” (which translates to Church of Flowers). Even more significantly, it served as the first headquarters of the Jesuits in Macau. St Anthony is revered the world over as the patron saint for lost articles, and is credited with several miracles involving lost people and things. However in Portugal, he is known as a marriage saint, and there is folklore of him reconciling couples. In Lisbon from where he hailed, his feast day on June 13 is celebrated with parades and is considered auspicious for marriages. In Macau, St. Anthony is known as the patron saint of seafarers. St. Anthony is also revered as a "military" saint with the rank of "Captain" in the Portuguese army. At a ceremony every year on June 13, his feast day, the President of the Senate presents him two hundred forty taels equivalent to a captain's annual salary as "wages" for his services – and his statue is carried on a platform by a regiment of soldiers in a procession to inspect the remains of the old city battlements. Apparently, these wages were given even until a few years ago! At this church, granite steps lead up to a simple green wrought iron gate flanked by rectangular granite pillars topped with decorative glass-sided lamps. The church courtyard is laid with functional granite slabs. The church building with a simple granite façade has two storeys. These two storeys are topped by a large, triangular pediment that is further embellished by the outline of a metal cross atop it. Within the pediment, a recessed oval niche contains a statue of the saint in chocolate coloured robes carrying the infant Jesus. The doors on the ground floor and the windows on the upper floor are painted deep green and sport elegant ornamentation above them. Unlike the other churches in Macau, this church façade is not symmetrical – when facing the church, on the right there is a belfry richly ornamented at the top that is even higher than the pediment. Bereft of any great ornamentation, the church interiors are simple and elegant. The interior walls in cream are topped by a curved wooden roof in a darker shade of cream. There is a central aisle and aisles on both sides of the pews. Elegant wooden doors with patterned glass lead into the church from the sides. A dozen metal chandeliers are suspended from the roof. The simple red carpeted altar embellished by the IHS symbol on top, supported by cylindrical white pillars is in consonance with the rest of the church interior and shows Christ on the Holy Cross. We were especially interested in the facts about this church since devotion to St. Anthony is widespread throughout our home country India, and particularly in the state of Tamilnadu, where we stay. In Tamilnadu, the most famous St. Anthony’s church is the one at Uvari in Tirunelveli district. The story goes that some 450 years ago, the crew of a Portuguese ship sailing near the Tirunelveli coast contracted cholera. In despair, the ship’s carpenter hewed an image of St. Anthony from a block of wood and soon thereafter the crew regained their health. When the ship docked at Uvari the seamen set up this wooden statue in a hut in the village. Later, the villagers built a church with the original wooden statue of St. Anthony holding the infant Jesus and in view of the many miracles ascribed to this church, it was later upgraded to a shrine. Today, Uvari is visited by pilgrims of different religions from all over South India and St. Anthony is revered as the “Miracle Saint". HINTS: 1. St. Anthony’s Church is an easy walk from the Ruins of St. Paul’s. If you walk from St. Paul’s, get onto Calçada de Sao Francisco Xavier, turn right on Rua de Sao Paulo and continue on to Rua de Santo Antonio. Rua de Sao Paulo is good for souvenir shopping. Rua de Santo Antonio is filled with shops selling antiques, reproduction furniture, exquisite ceramic statuettes and pottery – if you aren’t buying, make sure to at least do some window shopping here. 2. For more about the legend of St. Anthony of Padua have a look at http://www.saintanthonyofpadua.net/portale/home.asp 3. Right across from St. Anthony’s Church is Camoes Garden and Grotto – please don’t miss out on these wondrous gardens and the many splendid photo opportunities they offer.

聖安多尼成為了「婚姻主保」，很多澳門人及葡國人也因而選擇在聖安多尼堂舉行婚禮。由於外國婚禮多數以鮮花裝飾，故聖堂時常出現一片花海，因此華人亦稱之為「花王堂」。是澳門三大古教堂之一。