Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady, Macau

This guide to the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady in Macau starts with the 1874 typhoon that all but destroyed the stone cathedral consecrated only decades earlier, then reaches back to 1576, when Pope Gregory the Thirteenth placed all of China, Japan, Vietnam and the Malay Archipelago under the authority of the bishop who sat on this spot. It follows the site through its earlier wooden chapel and its 1850 stone rebuilding under Bishop Jerónimo José da Mata. Look up at the neoclassical facade and the stained glass inside for a hint of the ambition once carried from this small square.