Origin of St. Miguel Arcanjo Cemetery

In October 1852, Governor Isidoro Francisco Guimarães ordered for the construction of a new cemetery through public fundraising since the St. Paul Cemetery no longer had space for new burials. Named as St. Miguel Arcanjo Cemetery, the new resting place for the death was located beyond the City Wall, on a small hillock lying in between the St. Lazarus’ Church and Tap Seac district. With the promulgation of the “Regulations governing the Burial Charges and Management of the New Cemetery”, in November 1854, the St. Miguel Arcanjo Cemetery was opened for the burial of Catholics.

In 1875, the Chapel of St. Miguel was built within the Cemetery, with its façade facing the main gate of the Cemetery. So far, it is one of the best-preserved of all historical architecture across Macao. By the introduction of a fee-charging scheme to the Cemetery coupled with an effective management, it shaped a Western ancestral veneration very different from that of the Chinese. The St. Miguel Arcanjo Cemetery was commonly referred as the “Old Western Cemetery” and the Our Lady of Piety Cemetery located along Avenida do Coronel Mesquita as the “New Western Cemetery” by the Chinese community.