Designing Macao from Goa: Alessandro Valignano’s Reform from the Perspective of Canon Law

The establishment of the Catholic Diocese of Macao in the sixteenth century marked a crucial moment, signifying that Roman Catholicism had secured a firm foothold in Asia. Previous scholarship has usually subsumed a series of institutional projects in the Diocese of Macao during this period under “The Ricci Rules,” or has summarized them through the term “Accommodation.” Yet the plan for building the Diocese of Macao was formulated by the Jesuit Visitor Alessandro Valignano while he was passing through Macao on his way to Japan. This preceded “The Ricci Rules,” and at that point the policy of “Accommodation” had not yet taken shape. An analysis of the archives of the Diocese of India and of the Society of Jesus shows that a series of major undertakings in the Diocese of Macao, including the construction of St. Paul’s College, participation in the silk trade, and the adoption of a moderate missionary approach, were all part of a plan formulated by Valignano at the Jesuit Provincial Congregation of India. Moreover, in the sixteenth-century Diocese of India a transition in ecclesiastical law took place. What scholars have discussed as the policy of accommodation was, in fact, only the latter phase after this renewal of canon law. Reexamining Jesuit activities in the Diocese of the East Indies from the perspective of canon law allows us to understand more clearly the origins and evolution of missionary policy in China.