António Alfredo
Biography of António Alfredo de Santa Catarina Braga, a former Franciscan friar and liberal preacher who governed the diocese of Funchal from 1834 to 1840. He is remembered for suppressing the cult of Fr. Pedro da Guarda at Câmara de Lobos in 1835.
Life and government of the diocese
António Alfredo de Santa Catarina Braga, a Franciscan ex-friar (egresso), was born in the city of Porto in the last quarter of the 18th century. Around 1820 he left the convent and became a secular priest. In the houses of his order he taught philosophy and theology with distinction, and in his day he was a notable and renowned preacher. Persecuted for his liberal ideas, he was deported to Cape Verde and then went on to Brazil. He returned to his homeland when constitutional government was established, and was then appointed canon of Évora Cathedral (Sé de Évora) and later governor of the dioceses of Bragança and Funchal; he also carried out other important public commissions.
By decree of 7 November 1834 António Alfredo was appointed temporal governor of the diocese of Funchal, a post he held until April 1840; by decree of 25 February of that year he was relieved of it and entrusted with another commission. He was a man of rare talent and wide learning, as his contemporaries testify, as do the speeches, pastoral letters and other occasional writings he left us. Nevertheless, his time at the head of this diocese was not marked by the most austere probity and scrupulous conduct. He became notorious, causing grave scandal, for the showy and solemn act of going in person to the Convent of São Bernardino (St Bernardino of Siena) in Câmara de Lobos (‘seals’ den’) at the beginning of June 1835 to forbid the cult paid there to Friar Pedro da Guarda, known as the Holy Servant of God. In his presence he had the statue of the humble friar, which was venerated in a chapel beside the convent, burnt. He then published a pastoral letter condemning and forbidding any cult that anyone might seek to pay to Friar Pedro da Guarda.
He left this island for Lisbon on 14 April 1840, and in the same year was appointed governor of the diocese of Bragança. He died a few years later in the city of Porto.
In 1849, through the efforts of a relative, his Miscellanea ou colecção de vários escritos was published posthumously; only the first volume appeared.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 05-
António Alfredo de Santa Catarina Braga left the Franciscan convent to become a secular priest.
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António Alfredo was appointed temporal governor of the diocese of Funchal.
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Diocesan governor António Alfredo de Santa Catarina Braga had the statue of Frei Pedro da Guarda publicly burnt at São Bernardino and next day published a provision forbidding his cult.
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A decree relieved António Alfredo of the government of the Funchal diocese.
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António Alfredo left Madeira for Lisbon.
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The first volume of António Alfredo's posthumous Miscellanea was published.
Place
Places mentioned · 08
Abroad
- Bragança
Portugal. Diocese he governed from 1840.
Bragança is a district and diocese in mainland Portugal, cited for its low population density. Several figures linked to Madeira served there, including as civil governor, as diocesan governor from 1840, as vicar general from 1824 and as vice-rector of its seminary.
- Brazil
Where he went after deportation.
Brazil is recorded in the Elucidário as a chief destination of Madeiran emigrants, including several clergy and writers. It was also a market for Madeira wine and brandy and a maker of wickerwork from Madeiran osiers. It was linked to Madeira by the 1874 telegraph cable and is the native country of the araçá.
- Câmara de Lobos
Location of the São Bernardino convent.
Parish west of Funchal. The Elucidário traces its name to Zarco's discovery voyage and describes its churches, chapels and collegiate chapter, early settlers, fishing community and renowned vineyards. It also records the parish's localities, boundaries, levadas and population.
- Cape Verde
Place of his deportation for liberal ideas.
Cape Verde is an archipelago and Portuguese colony that served as a place of exile and deportation for Madeirans, including liberals in the 1820s, protesters against the dairy decrees and the 1936 rioters. Lowe visited it in 1864 and 1866. It shares one flowering-plant species with Madeira.
- Convent of St Bernardino
Câmara de Lobos. Convent where he banned the cult of Fr. Pedro da Guarda in 1835.
Franciscan convent dedicated to São Bernardino de Sena in Câmara de Lobos, the first convent founded in Madeira outside Funchal and famed as the burial place of Fr. Pedro da Guarda, whose statue was burnt there in 1835. It was rebuilt in 1763, housed a minor seminary in 1831–33, fell into ruin after the extinction of the religious orders and was later restored.
- Évora
Portugal. He became canon of its cathedral.
Évora is a city in mainland Portugal with an archiepiscopal cathedral and a university, connected with several Madeiran clergy. It was the birthplace of Bishop D. Estevão Brioso and of D. Martinho de Portugal. The 4th Count of Vimioso died in a convent there.
- Lisbon
Portugal. Destination on leaving Madeira in 1840.
The Portuguese capital, seat of the Relação court and of the Misericórdia whose privileges and statutes were extended to Funchal. Henrique Franco de Sousa studied at its Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and Luiz José Baiardo moved there in 1821.
- Porto
Portugal. City where António Alfredo was born and died.
A Portuguese city, where the 1820 liberal revolution began and whose district is the only one denser than Funchal's. Several Madeirans studied at its medical school or Academia Politécnica, and some lived or died there. The editor of O Funchalense Liberal was hanged there, and Marítimo beat FC Porto there in 1922.
People
People mentioned · 02-
Former Franciscan and liberal preacher who governed the diocese of Funchal (1834–40) and suppressed the cult of Fr. Pedro da Guarda.
- Friar Pedro da Guarda1435–1505
Humble friar venerated as the 'Santo Servo de Deus', whose cult at São Bernardino was banned and his statue burned in 1835.