Known as the ‘City of the Name of God of the Port of Macao’ in the sixteenth century, Macao outnumbered many Western cities in terms of having the most churches and chapels per square mile. Its religious creed name bestowed a sense of importance to Portugal and Rome, and more importantly, it marks a symbolic power in the Far East. In its early period, the Church was the key provider of medical, educational and social services to the city. And at one point, Catholicism was also employed as a privilege to acquire upward mobility, a peculiar phenomenon that existed during the colonial period. This paper will explore the different positions the Catholic Church held and the causes that undermined its role in the local social service sector. The pivotal societal changes of the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s will also be examined in an attempt to demonstrate the socio-political changes that shaped the Catholic Church and its population as perceived in Macao today.