在日本天主教教難（尤其是江戶） 時期，傳教士和信徒紛紛來澳避難，聖保祿教堂不 單收容他們，還為其神學生開設課程，從而保存了日本天主教的傳教事業。從主保聖人的設定， 可以看出“殉教”是聖保祿教堂的核心精神，而避難來澳的日本天主教藝術家、教徒、工匠也廣 泛參與到教堂的建設和裝飾工作中，使教堂的外貌不可避免地受到日本教區命運的背景色調影 響，“殉教”主題更為突出。教堂前壁的雕刻和內部繪畫裝飾，都隱含天主教的殉教理念。尼古 勞和其四位弟子的生平和作品，顯示了聖保祿教堂的中、日、歐文化融合情況，他們的經歷也折 射出教堂和日本教區曲折而複雜的關係。

During the disaster period of Japan’s Catholicism, especially the Edo period, missionaries and adherers came to Macau in succession for safety. Catedral de São Paulo accepted them and also opened theologycourses for them. Japan’s missionary cause was thus preserved. It can be revealed from the settings of the Patron saint that martyrdom is the core of Catedral de São Paulo. Those catholic artists, followers and craftsmen who came to Macau for protection extensively participated in the establishment and decoration of the church, whose appearance was thus inevitably affected by the background tone of the fate of Japan’s religious districts, making the theme of martyrdom more outstanding. The idea of the martyrdom of Catholicism was implied in the carving of the church’s front walls and the inside decorations of painting. Lives and works of Nicolas and his four students embodied Catedral de São Paulo’s cultural integration of China, Japan and Europe. Their experiences also reflected the twisted and complicated relationship between the church and Japan’s religious areas.