# List of bishops of Macau

Portuguese Jesuit priest Melchior Miguel Carniero Leitão was appointed Titular Bishop of Nicaea on January 23, 1555. A year later (on January 26, 1576), Pope Gregory XIII issued an edict for the establishment of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau, where Leitão served—he was appointed the first bishop of Macau, a position he occupied till 1581.
No bishop of the diocese had been appointed archbishop or cardinal until Eugénio de Trigueiros and José da Costa Nunes were appointed as archbishops, following a re-designation by the Pope.

## Symbol

All Catholic bishops are appointed by the Pope, and are considered to be messengers (successors of the Apostles) as defined in the catechism of the Catholic Church;.

## Responsibilities

The Bishop of Macau is appointed as the spokesman of the Pope. He is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Macau, which he administers on behalf of the Pope. He is also responsible for the pastoral and charitable work that is carried out within the Diocese.
Initially, the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Macau included China, Japan, Hong Kong, the Korean Peninsula and neighbouring areas. However, with development and the increasing need for pastoral work, the Vatican has since established more than 600 other Roman Catholic dioceses in the region. Presently, the diocese has jurisdiction over six parishes and three quasi-parishes in the Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane.

## Bishops

| | Portuguese name Chinese name | Date/Place of birth | Date of Appointment | Commencement of episcopal duties | Date of inauguration | Date of resignation | Died |
| 1 | Melchior Miguel Carniero Leitão, SJ 賈耐勞, apostolic administrator | 1519 Portugal | 1556 | 1560-12-15 | 1576 | 1581 | 1583-08-19 Macau |
| 2 | Diogo Correia Valente, SJ 華倫他, apostolic administrator | 1568 Portugal | 1630 | 1618 | 1630 | 1633-10-22 | 1633-10-22 Macau |
| 3 | João de Casal, OSA 嘉素 | 1641 Portugal | 1690-04-10 | unknown | 1692-06-20 | 1735-09-20 | 1735-09-20 Macau |
| 4 | Eugénio Trigueiros, OSA 德維智羅斯 | 1684-01-09 Portugal | 1724 | 1727-12-07 | 1735-09-20 | 1739-02-11 | 1741-04-19 |
| 5 | Hilário de Santa Rosa OSA, OFM 羅沙 | 1693-03-01 Portugal | 1739-02-11 | 1741-03-05 | 1742 | 1752-08-18 | 1764-03-30 Portugal |
| 6 | Barolomeu Manuel Mendes dos Reis 孟定士 | 1720-08-23 Portugal | 1753-01-29 | 1753-07-25 | 1754 | 1772-06-14 | 1799-03-07 Portugal |
| 7 | OSA Guimarães 祁羅沙 | 1727-07-21 Portugal | 1772-07-13 | 1773-09-19 | 1774 | 1782 | 1799-02-17 Portugal |
| 8 | Marcelina José da Silva 施利華 | 1749-01-16 Portugal | 1789-07-15 | 1790-01-07 | 1791 | 1802-09-16 | 1830-06-11 Portugal |
| 9 | Manuel de São Galdino, OFM 賈定諾 | 1769-04-18 Portugal | 1802-02-12 | 1803-03-27 | 1803 | 1804-08-20 | 1831-07-15 |
| 10 | Francisco Chacim, OFM 查善 | 1767-09-15 Portugal | 1804-03-26 | 1804-11 | 1805 | 1828-01-31 | 1828-01-31 Macau |
| 11 | Nicolaus Rodrigues Pereira de Borja, CM 栢朗古 | 1777 Portugal | 1841-11-25 | Unknown | 1841 | 1845-03-28 | 1845-03-28 Macau |
| 12 | Jerónimo José da Mata, CM 馬他 | 1804-12-18 Portugal | 1843-11-19 | 1846-12-21 | 1845-03-28 | 1862-09-25 | 1865-05-05 Portugal |
| 13 | Manuel Bernardo de Sousa Enes 蘇沙 | 1814-11-05 Portugal | 1873-06-25 | 1874-12-17 | 1877 | 1883-08-09 | 1887-09-07 Portugal |
| 14 | António Joaquim de Medeiros 明德祿 | 1846-10-15 Portugal | 1884-08-29 | Unknown | 1884 | 1897-01-07 | 1897-01-07 Timor |
| 15 | José Manuel de Carvalho 嘉惠勞 | 1844-09-16 Portugal | 1897-02-04 | 1897-08-29 | 1897 | 1902-06-09 | 1904-04-24 Portugal |
| 16 | João Paulino de Azevedo e Castro 鮑理諾 | 1852-02-04 Portugal | 1902-06-09 | 1902-12-27 | 1902 | 1918-02-17 | 1918-02-17 Macau |
| 17 | José da Costa Nunes 高若瑟 | 1880-03-15 Portugal | 1920-11-20 | 1921-11-20 | 1920 | 1940-12-11 | 1976-11-29 Italy |
| 18 | João de Deus Ramalho, SJ 羅若望 | 1890-01-08 Portugal | 1942-09-24 | 1942-11-06 | 1942 | 1953 | 1958-02-26 Portugal |
| 19 | Policarpo da Costa Vaz 高德華 | 1908-02-22 Portugal | 1954-01-29 | 1950-06-29 | 1954 | 1960-11-21 | 1984-01-04 Portugal |
| 20 | Paulo José Tavares 戴維理 | 1920-01-25 Portugal | 1961-08-19 | 1961-09-21 | 1961 | 1973-06-12 | 1973-06-12 Portugal |
| 21 | Arquimínio Rodrigues da Costa 高秉常 | 1924-07-08 Portugal | 1976-01-20 | 1976-03-25 | 1976 | 1988-10-06 | 2016-09-12 Portugal |
| 22 | Domingos Lam Ka-tseung 林家駿 | 1928-04-09 Hong Kong | 1987-05-26 ^ | 1987-09-08 | 1988-10-06 ^ | 2003-06-30 | 2009-07-27 Macau |
| 23 | José Lai Hung-seng 黎鴻昇 | 1946-02-14 Macau | 2001-03-20 ^ | 2001-06-02 | 2003-06-30 ^ | 2016-01-16 | — |
| 24 | Stephen Lee Bun-sang 李斌生 | 1956-11-10 Hong Kong | 2016-01-16 | — | 2016-01-23 | Incumbent | — |

## Remarks

* ^ appointed as auxiliary bishop
* ^ appointed as Assisting Bishop
* ^ possessed, as taking the responsibility of the position
* ^ date of assumption of office
* ^ due to resignation
* ^ due to his decease
* ^ date of acting or assuming office
* ^ resignation accepted by Pope due to retirement
* ^ transferred to Portugal
* ^ appointed as Acting Bishop in 1623
* ^ as Bishop of Japan
* ^ inaugurated in 1738
* ^ appointed Archbishop of Diocese of Goa
* ^ transferred to Brazil and left Macau in 1765
* ^ arrived Macau in 1791
* ^ appointed Assistant Archbishop of Goa
* ^ transferred to Azores
* ^ appointed Archbishop of the Diocese of Goa and Dammam
* ^ baptized as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Porto
* ^ Acting Bishop in 1963 and 1965, he was elected as Acting Bishop on June 14, 1975
* ^ Emeritus Bishop of Macau