關於澳門仁慈堂的創辦時間，目前學術界還有一些爭議，有1568年說、1569年說和 1570年說等諸種說法。 1575年，賈尼勞主教（D. Melchior Carneiro）寫給耶穌會總部的一封信，提供了他本人在1568年創辦了兩所醫院和一所仁慈堂的直接證據，而克利斯多萬‧達‧科斯塔（P. Cristóvão da Costa）寫給耶穌會總會的信則印證了賈尼勞主教創辦醫院收治麻風病人的事實。至於岡薩雷斯（Gregório Gonzalez）神父寫給西班牙駐里斯本大使的信函，不僅不能說明澳門早在賈尼勞主教到來之前的1564年可能已經存在了醫院和仁慈堂，而恰恰為1568年賈尼勞主教創辦澳門仁慈堂和貧民醫院的說法提供了另一個間接的證據。

There remains some controversy among academics on the founding year of the Holy House ofMercy ofMacau,be it 1568, 1569 or 1570. In a letter written by then Bishop Melchior Carneiro in 1575 to the head office of the Society of Jesus, he provided direct evidence of two hospitals and a charity house that were founded by him in 1568. On the other hand, a letter written by Father Cristóvão da Costa to the head office of the Society of Jesus proved the fact that Bishoop Carneiro founded a hospital to receive patients suffering from leprosy. However, the letter written by Father Gregório González to the Portuguese ambassador to Spain not only failed to provide a clear account on the existence of the hospitals and the charity house in 1564, well before Bishop Carneiro took office in Macau, but rather provided another indirect evidence on the theory that Bishop Carneiro founded the Holy House of Mercy of Macau and a hospital for the poor in 1568.