Assunção (Friar Remígio da)

He was a native of the parish (freguesia) of Santa Cruz (‘Holy Cross’), and we believe that he belonged to the noble Freitas family, whose founder on this island was Gonçalo de Freitas. We know little of his life, but from the important offices he held we must suppose that he was a man of undeniable merit. He was a monk of the Benedictine order and held the high office of general of Alcobaça Monastery, which at that time was entrusted only to a person distinguished in learning and virtue. Special privileges and prerogatives went with this post, as did jurisdiction over all the religious houses of that order in Portugal. He was a deputy of the Inquisition at Coimbra and wrote several works in Latin and Portuguese, which are listed in the Bibliotheca Lusitana (‘Portuguese library’). He died in 1654.