Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral in Macau. The Ruins of St. Pauls refer to the facade of what was originally the Church of Mater Dei, destroyed by fire in 1835, and the ruins of St. Pauls College, which stood adjacent to the Church. As a whole, the old church of Mater Dei, St. Pauls College and Mount Fortress were all Jesuit constructions and formed what can be perceived as the Macaus acropolis. Nowadays, the facade of the Ruins of St. Pauls functions symbolically as an altar to the city. This site has been officially inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2005.