iSee St. Miguel Arcanjo's Cemetery

Final resting place for colonial Catholics

St. Michael’s Chapel

The picture perfect pea green chapel at the end of the cobbled stone pathway catches your eyes as you enter St. Michael’s cemetery. Built in 1874 in honour of the great Archangel St. Michael, this is Macau’s oldest Roman Catholic chapel and is still in regular use.

Cemetery for colonial elite

The immaculate maintained ornate graves are a testimony to the great divide in Colonial Macao. This was a cemetery for the European Catholic community; locals were buried elsewhere in town. At that time, the St. Lazarus leprosarium was nearby, but the dead lepers were also not welcome, they were cremated at the southern end of the cemetery.

I came here to visit because I saw the movie, it was very quiet and godly, also this mint-colored church was very impressive.

Prominent graves

Many prominent Macanese are buried here: Colonel Nicolau Vincente de Mesquita (infamous Portuguese army officer), Fransisco António Volong (local tycoon), Lou Kau and Camilo Pessanha (well-known Portuguese poet). Thus, to have a stroll to admire the elaborate designs of the graves, decorated with weeping angels, theatrical Madonna’s and huge crucifixes.

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