Deanery

The office of dean (deão) of Funchal Cathedral (the Sé) (Sé do Funchal) was created by the very papal bull that established the diocese, and the bull expressly named the priest who was to hold the post. Nuno Cão (see that entry), whom the Order of Christ (Ordem de Cristo) sent to Madeira with special powers, was the first parish priest of the Cathedral when this parish (freguesia) was created, and also the first dean; in the early days both offices were held jointly by the same man. Nuno Cão was succeeded by Filipe Rebelo, and on the latter’s death the post of dean was separated from that of parish priest, two curacies being created at that time exclusively for parish duties. The last clergymen to hold the deanery (office of dean of the cathedral chapter) of Funchal Cathedral (the Sé) were António Joaquim Gonçalves de Andrade, Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos and João Joaquim Pinto (see those entries). Until the establishment of the Republic, a degree in law or theology was required for appointment to this post. On the deanery of Funchal Cathedral (the Sé) and the priests who held this high ecclesiastical office, see the series of articles published in O Jornal (‘The Newspaper’) in December 1935 and January 1936.