Macao's skyline is now dominated by casinos. (CFP Photo)

Few parishioners attend mass at St. Dominic Church, a week before Christmas. (Photos: Liang Chen/GT)

At morning mass in St. Dominic Church last Sunday, a middle-aged Roman Catholic priest preached about Jesus' sacrifice and urged his congregation to live a more saintly life.

Only about 20 mostly middle-aged, silver-haired people had come to hear his sermon which he delivered in Portuguese. Even with Christmas just a week away, Christianity has lost its pull on the people of Macao.

"It is a pity," José Lai Hung-seng, the Bishop of Macao told the Global Times in his rectory that's filled with portraits of the Pope.

"Macao is losing its fervor for Catholicism, especially among the younger generation," said Bishop Hung-seng speaking in fluent Mandarin.

Ever since Portuguese missionaries began construction on Macao's first cathedral in 1582, the Catholic Church has played a prominent role in the life of the citizens. For centuries the church's imposing edifices dominated the city's skyline.

Now, 12 years after Macao was returned to China under the concept of "One Country, Two Systems" and given high autonomy for 50 years, the city is transforming itself.

Not only are there far fewer Christian faithful, casinos have become the city's new icons of architecture. With more than 30 towering casinos, Macao now regularly takes more money from gamblers than does Las Vegas.

The church in Macao now has a congregation of just 29,000, a third fewer than 30 years ago, and the share of Macanese who call themselves Catholic has now fallen to less than 5 percent, compared with about 15 percent in the 1970s.

"My friends and classmates seldom go to church now. They have a party to attend or go to casinos hoping to make quick money," Liao Ciyao, a 20-year-old Catholic told the Global Times following Sunday's mass.

Macao's 23 chapels and churches appear to have been dispossessed in the 10-square kilometer enclave by glittering, gaudy towers that rake in money from games of chance that offer faint hope of a windfall.

"Money is a double-edged sword. There's been an avalanche of money coming in, but people are losing their basic values," said a despondent Bishop Hung-seng.

Lingering influence

Despite a growing economy that is fueled mainly by gambling, efforts are being made to diversify and promote Macao's original and unique culture.

A promise by China's central government to use the territory to engage Portuguese-speaking countries has resulted in an influx of new residents and returnees.

"Many young Portuguese who have relations in Macao are coming back. The economy here is good, and they can find jobs and live a life here," said Maria Amelia Antonio, the President of Casa de Portugal, an organization which represents the interests of the Portuguese community.

Antonio says business may be good but some sectors aren't so open anymore.

"Even skilled Portuguese can't get work with the local government now," she said, sitting comfortably in her office near the ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral, which is a World Heritage Site.

"We Portuguese have been shunted aside," Antonio said. "Meanwhile Chinese are on the rise, and their influence on both politics and culture has been enhancing."

For Macanese of Portuguese descent and newcomers from Portugal, it appears language is both the key to their success and the cause of the roadblocks they face.

Their ability to speak Portuguese gives them some advantage in business and in some professions. Their lack of fluency in Mandarin or Cantonese, Macao's dominant language, keeps them out of government, national institutions and industry beyond Macao's borders.

"The Portuguese don't have much influence on politics but they are making their voices heard. Macao is small and news travels fast," said lawyer Miguel Fernandes, who is also President of the Macanese People Association.

Fernandes and his family are a classic example of the city's unique Macao-Portuguese-Chinese fusion of culture, language and genes. He looks Asian but speaks perfect Portuguese, Cantonese and English. The roots of his family tree date back to Portuguese settlers 300 years ago.

"You can't judge us by the way we look," said Fernandes, who relishes the diversity of his Macanese heritage.

"Portugal's influence is diminishing, but its judicial system remains based on Portuguese law and the local Bar exams are still written in Portuguese, and so the Bar is dominated by the Portuguese," said He Weitian, chairman of the Society of Political Science and Law, adding that not all practicing lawyers in Macao need to be members of its Bar Association.

A link with Portuguese-speaking countries

When Macao was returned to China, many people predicted the Portuguese language would disappear because the former rulers had never pushed their language on the local populations. Twelve years ago, at the time of the hand-over, only 2 percent of Macao's 450,000 people spoke Portuguese.

Now things seem to be swinging the other way, with Portuguese language training witnessing a dramatic rise in recent years.

"The number of Portuguese speakers has increased sharply," said Ana Paula Cleto, a linguist at University of Macau and director of Macau Delegation of Fundação Oriente (Far East Foundation), a private institution promoting Portuguese culture.

"In a few years, there will be even more people learning Portuguese," predicts Cleto.

Prior to the hand-over, the Portuguese Oriental Institute, which offers Portuguese language training, had an enrollment of about 1,000 students, that number has since tripled.

The Education and Youth Affairs Bureau of Macao also encourages its students and youngsters to learn Portuguese, and requires Macao's public schools to offer at least one Portuguese course to students.

"Beijing's determination to build Macao into a platform linking China and Portuguese-speaking countries has triggered a huge demand for Portuguese-speaking talent," said He.

To better preserve its heritage, enhance tourism (its biggest revenue generator after gambling) and to provide a contrast to its flashy, windowless casinos, city leaders have restored many ancient landmarks including churches, old forts, museums and the governor's mansion.

A matter of identity

Macao is also preserving its linguistic heritage by requiring all street signs and shops signs to be written in Portuguese and Chinese.

The façade however doesn't quite match the reality. Even though Portuguese remains an official language, the most widely spoken tongue by far is Cantonese.

Despite its name there is little evidence of Portugal's legacy in Luis de Camoes Park. Virtually all locals chat in Cantonese while others practice tai chi or rehearse scenes from a Cantonese opera.

Still, pockets of distinctly Portuguese-Macanese culture are resisting the trend and lawyer Miguel is doing his part to keep Macao's unique culture alive. Along with organizing social events through his association, he is also teased as being the Don Quixote of Patuá, a UNESCO-listed endangered language that is a blend of Chinese, Portuguese, Malay and Japanese.

For the past 22 years he has staged an annual play that revives what local people call "doci papiaçam," or sweet speech, which is a stew of archaic Portuguese and Asian languages.

"Increasing numbers of people come to see the drama, including many Chinese. I think they can identify with it culturally. I hope the Macanese, especially the younger ones, don't forget their origins," Miguel said seriously.

Freed from the reigns of Portuguese rule, Macao seems to have embraced its dual founding cultures, with more native Portuguese seeking ways to deepen their interactions with local Chinese culture.

"There is such a strong political will to connect China and the Portuguese-speaking world, we should use it fully," said Ricardo Pinto, owner of Ponto Final, one of three daily Portuguese newspapers in Macao. A weekly paper, a monthly magazine and a bookstore also cater to Portuguese readers.

To celebrate his paper's 20th anniversary, Pinto is organizing a literary festival titled "Road of Letters," set for early next year, that will bring together an eclectic mix of writers from China and the Portuguese-speaking world.

"With no colonial force to enforce its connection with Portugal, it's easier to do cross-cultural communication than before," said Pinto.

"I see myself living in Macao for good," said Pinto, who settled here some 20 years ago.

With Macao's economy growing and a dynamic, shifting culture, there appears to be little incentive for the city's 111,000 Portuguese passport holders to leave.

"Being attached to Portuguese culture makes Macao special. It's a matter of identity," said Eloy Fernando, a Portuguese independent film director who came to Macao after its hand-over.