Matteo Ricci

Born in Italy, Matteo Ricci, whose Chinese courtesy name was Xitai, entered the Society of Jesus in 1571 and died in Beijing in 1610. At the time when Michele Ruggieri went to Zhaoqing city, he was in charge of the school on his behalf. Michele Ruggieri left two to three of his staff to assist Ricci in learning Chinese language. Later on, he went with Michele Ruggieri to engage in missionary work in Zhaoqing city. He had returned to Macao twice to visit Alessandro Valignano, one time in 1589 and another in 1592, which was his last stay in Macao.

Later, he headed to northern China and arrived in Nanjing to preach religious doctrines, where he introduced Western astronomy, geography, mathematics and weaponry to the Chinese and set up a hospital to cure the sick. He had been to Beijing with Didacus de Pantoja where they wrote a letter to Emperor Wanli and presented him with a portrait of Mother Mary and a striking clock amongst others as gifts. The Emperor gave his permission for them to building a Church in Beijing which had drawn in local followers, inclusive of high officials of the Imperial Court like Xu Guangqi and Li Zhizao. The Chinese referred the religious faith of these Jesuits as “Religion of God” (Catholicism). The MSAR government has erected a bronze statue of Matteo Ricci at the site of the St. Paul’s College in commemoration of his presence in Macao and to mark his distinguished accomplishments in the history of Sino-Western cultural exchange.