Connection to different parts of Asia The church in colonial Macau was used by missionaries as a starting point to travel to different parts of Southeast Asia. After a long journey from Europe, the missionaries took Macau as an important rest stop. In addition, Macau has also been used as a base for evangelism in Japan, mainland China and other parts of Southeast Asia. The Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, and the Jesuits have transformed a traditional fishing village into a religious city where named “the City of the Name of God” by King of Portugal John IV in 1640 The pioneer Jesuit to South East Asia Alessandro Valignano, completed most of his establishments in Macau including organizing Jesuit mission to South East Asia and the establishment of a missionary school. In 1594, he founded the St. Paul's College. The college is not only a missionary school, but also a place for cultural and scientific exchanges between Southeast Asia and Europe. The school has been running for nearly two centuries. It was closed in 1762 when the Jesuits were ordered to disband and expelled from the diocese. In 1835, St. Paul Church, a marvelous church that was built next to the college was destroyed because of a fire. The church then be gutted by fire twice and never restored. What remains now is the famous ruins of St. Paul. Its facade has become a symbol of Macau. Pioneer missionary to mainland China In 1583, Michele Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci were dispatched by Alessandro Valignano from Macau to mainland China, trying to reverse the long failing missionary mission. In 1576, Pope Gregory xiii separated Macau from the Malacca and empowered the diocese with jurisdiction over most of South East Asia including Japan, China and the islands close by. The jurisdiction was then shrunk by the erection the diocese in Japan and mainland China, yet these dioceses were short lived. In 1588, the diocese of Funai was established in Japan. In 1690, Beijing and Nanjing dioceses were established in mainland China. In 1710, the imprison papal legate Charles-Thomas Maillard de Tournon died in Macau. After his unsuccessful trip to China trying to settle the controversial conflicts between Chinese traditions and catholic beliefs. The Arrival of Protestant Missionaries. In 1807 the first Protestant missionary arriving in Macau Robert Morrison. His work of translating the Bible into Chinese was a huge boost in promoting Christianity in