Costa Torres (Dom José da)
Original title: Costa Torres (D. José da)
Biography of D. José da Costa Torres, bishop of Funchal from 1787 to 1796, remembered for his harsh persecution of freemasons in Madeira before his transfer to Elvas and later to Braga.
Dom Gaspar Afonso da Costa Brandão was succeeded in the episcopal chair of Funchal by the prelate Dom José da Costa Torres.
He was born in the city of Setúbal on 11 August 1741 and held a doctorate in canon law from the University of Coimbra (Universidade de Coimbra).
He was confirmed as Bishop of Madeira by Pius VI in November 1786 and took possession of this diocese on 18 September 1787.
As prelate of Funchal, he marked his time on the island by the persecution he waged against freemasonry, in agreement with the governor and captain-general (capitão-general, military governor of Madeira) and under orders issued by the central government. It is nevertheless claimed that he exceeded the orders he had received, so that the government in Lisbon itself had to intervene against the excesses committed by the prelate. Among those persecuted was the dean of Funchal Cathedral (the Sé) (Sé do Funchal), Dr João Francisco Lopes Rocha, who wrote a long letter on the matter to the minister José Seabra da Silva, complaining of the abuses of power committed by Dom José Torres. The letter is a document of interest on many counts and was published in 1822, in London, in the Campeão Portuguez. On 22 June 1796 he was transferred to the see of Elvas. When he was already preparing to leave Madeira, he had to bring forward his departure in haste and abandon the island, as a document of the time says, ‘on the night of 6 October 1796, without taking leave of anyone, nor of the Most Holy Sacrament: and to this day the reason for this contrived embarkation by night and by back ways is unknown’.
In 1806 he was appointed Archbishop of Braga, and he died there some years later, at the age of 72.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 05-
José da Costa Torres, later bishop, was born in Setúbal.
-
Pope Pius VI confirmed D. José da Costa Torres as bishop of Madeira; he took possession of the diocese of Funchal on 18 September 1787.
-
Bishop José da Costa Torres of Funchal was transferred to the see of Elvas.
-
Bishop José da Costa Torres, surrounded by troops at Penha, was forced to embark by night and left Madeira hastily without farewells.
-
D. José da Costa Torres was appointed archbishop of Braga.
-
Dean João Francisco Lopes Rocha's letter of complaint was published in London in O Campeão Português.
Place
Places mentioned · 07
Abroad
- Braga
Portugal. Archdiocese he headed from 1806 and where he died.
Braga is a city, district and archdiocese in mainland Portugal and the country's second densest district, with about 140 inhabitants per km². D. José da Costa Torres headed the archdiocese from 1806 and died there. The Corpo Nacional de Escutas was founded in Braga in 1923, and the city gives its name to the requinta instrument.
- Elvas
Portugal. See to which he was transferred in 1796.
Elvas is a fortress town and diocese in mainland Portugal. Several bishops of Funchal were transferred to its see, among them D. Lourenço de Távora in 1617 and D. José da Costa Torres in 1796, and Dr Joaquim de Menezes e Ataíde was named its bishop in 1821. It was the birthplace of the musician Duarte Joaquim dos Santos, José Gerardo Ferreira Passos and António Rogério Gromicho Couceiro, and Francisco João Róscio served there as a military engineer.
- Funchal
Seat of the diocese he governed.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Funchal Cathedral (the Sé)
Funchal. Cathedral whose dean he persecuted.
The Sé do Funchal is the cathedral of Funchal, in the parish of Sé. It was begun in 1493, became a parish seat in 1508 and a cathedral in 1514. It was the starting point of processions and the place of the vow to São Tiago, and bishops are buried there.
- London
United Kingdom. Where the dean's letter was published in 1822.
The British capital, the place of publication of many English works on Madeira, including those of the du Canes, Embleton and Bloxam. Mason compared its humidity with Funchal's, and artillery for the Fortress of São Tiago came from there. It hosted the 1909 applied chemistry congress.
- Setúbal
Portugal. Birthplace of the bishop.
Setúbal is a mainland Portuguese city and port, ranked just above Funchal among ports. It was the birthplace of Bishop D. José da Costa Torres and of D. Patrício Xavier de Moura. Alfredo Miguéis taught there, José Cupertino de Faria and Aníbal Álvares da Silva lived there, and Manuel Gomes Ferreira was fortificador there.
- University of Coimbra
Portugal. Where he took his doctorate in canon law.
The University of Coimbra, in mainland Portugal, was supported by Madeira through tithes and attended by many Madeirans. Several of them graduated there, mostly in law, and others, such as António da Gama and Vitúrio Lopes Rocha, also taught there. Júlio Augusto Henriques held its chair of botany.
People
People mentioned · 06- D. José da Costa Torresb. 1741
Bishop of Funchal (1787–96) who persecuted Madeira's freemasons, later bishop of Elvas and archbishop of Braga.
-
Bishop of Funchal whom Costa Torres succeeded.
- Francisco Álvares de Nóbrega1772–1806
Madeiran poet to whose entry the article cross-refers in connection with the bishop.
- João Francisco Lopes Rocha1747–1819
Dean of Funchal Cathedral persecuted by the bishop, who wrote a long letter of complaint later published in London in 1822.
-
Government minister to whom Dean Lopes Rocha addressed his complaint against the bishop.
-
Pope who confirmed Costa Torres as bishop of Madeira in November 1786.