Restoration effort aims to protect Ruins of St. Paul’s from bird damage

The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) plans to install a lightning protection system for the Ruins of St. Paul’s at the end of this month, along with cleaning and maintenance of the bronze statue of the Virgin Mary on the main façade.

Deland Leong Wai Man, the IC president, announced on Friday that the restoration of the bronze statue will occur in three phases, with plans to install non-invasive bird netting afterward.

She noted that the statues on the Ruins of St. Paul’s façade are severely corroded, with many birds nesting and defecating on them. Despite regular cleaning and the installation of bird spikes, these measures have proven ineffective.

“From late May to late June, we will restore the central Virgin Mary statue. By the end of this year, the second phase will focus on the other two bronze statues, and next year we will install very fine nets on the topmost statues of Jesuit saints – Francisco de Borja, Ignatius Loyola, Francis Xavier, and Luís Gonzaga – as well as the pigeon statues. These nets are black in color and should be nearly invisible from a distance. Their installation will be non-invasive,” Leong added, emphasizing that the project is experimental, and if it affects the visual appearance, the nets will not be installed.

Leong insisted that many cultural buildings abroad have successfully used similar fine mesh, which remains unnoticed if viewers maintain a certain distance.

The restoration work will temporarily close the central entrance of the Ruins of St. Paul’s, but the public and tourists alike can still enter and exit through the other two gates during construction.

Additionally, the Public Works Bureau (DSOP) will handle the installation of a lightning protection system, aiming for completion by the end of June.

At Friday’s plenary meeting, the Cultural Heritage Committee continued discussing the five guidelines established for the protection of World Heritage sites regarding the installation of advertising signs; restoration of buildings; preparation of heritage impact assessments; daily management of public World Heritage buildings; and visitor access.

During the meeting, media representatives raised concerns about the advertising sign installation guidelines, noting that a large sign with a red background and yellow text had recently appeared on a building on Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, designated as an immovable heritage site. This sign was deemed “very unsightly” by local residents.

Leong responded that the installation guidelines for advertising signs in cultural heritage sites and buffer zones are available online for businesses to reference. However, some cases may have proceeded with construction without prior consultation with the IC.