THE MIRACULOUS CROSS
by Bernardino de Senna Fernandes (Riri) d’Assumpção
Edited extract from an unpublished book of anecdotes
One of the old stories passed down from generation to generation in Macau was about a miraculous and mysterious cross; I have tried hard but failed to find any written references about it.
The legend is that a large wooden cross it drifted onto Macau’s Cacilhas Beach from where it was salvaged and posted in a local church. In time, many are sick people began to recover miraculously simply by praying before and touching this cross. In those days, Macau came under the jurisdiction of the Portuguese viceroy in Goa, where the Archbishop wielded considerable power; when news about the miracles reached his ears, he ordered it be shipped to Goa and kept there. The residents of Macau protested strongly against this but to no avail and the cross was put aboard a ship sailing to Goa.
Within two weeks it was learned the ship had been shipwrecked and some three months later the cross had floated back to Cacilhas Beach.
Up to this point, all the stories coincided in every detail but thereafter each old family had a different version of what happened. Some said that the cross was shipped back to Goa, others that it was kept in Saint Paul’s church and destroyed in the fire that burnt the church in 1885. There were even others who maintained that it was hidden in the original Saint Anthony’s church and destroyed with the church in the great typhoon of 1874.
No written records of this miraculous cross have been found. Did it ever existed or was merely another of Macau’s old legends? All we know is that it had persisted in Macau for generations.
A CRUZ MILAGROSA
by Bernardino de Senna Fernandes (Riri) d’Assumpção
Excerto editado de um livro inédito de anedotas
Uma das velhas histórias transmitidas de geração em geração em Macau fala de uma cruz milagrosa. Muitas pessoas ainda a recordavam em pormenor; contudo, apesar dos esforços, não se encontraram referências escritas sobre o assunto.
A lenda diz que uma grande cruz de madeira deu à costa em Macau e que milagres passaram a ocorrer simplesmente ao rezar diante dela e tocá‑la. Naquele tempo, Macau estava sob a jurisdição eclesiástica de Goa. As autoridades de Goa decidiram que a cruz devia ser enviada para lá e guardada. Os moradores de Macau protestaram energicamente, mas em vão; a cruz foi colocada a bordo de um navio com destino a Goa.
Duas semanas depois soube‑se que o navio naufragara. Quando a notícia chegou a Macau, comentava‑se nas ruas que talvez fosse um sinal. Meses mais tarde, a cruz teria voltado a flutuar até à Praia de Cacilhas.
Até este ponto, todas as versões coincidem. Depois divergem: há quem diga que a cruz foi colocada numa capela e mais tarde transferida; outros afirmam que ficou na igreja de São Paulo e que foi destruída no incêndio que consumiu a igreja em 1885. Há ainda relatos de que a cruz protegeu Macau do grande tufão de 1874.
Não foram encontrados registos escritos sobre esta cruz milagrosa. É possível que o seu culto tenha sido apenas local, sustentado pela tradição oral. O que sabemos é que a história perdurou em Macau durante gerações.