Nascimento (Dom Friar João do) 1Origins and appointment
Nascimento (Dom Friar João do)
Original title: Nascimento (D. Frei João do)
Biography of D. Frei João do Nascimento, Franciscan bishop of Funchal from 1741 to 1753 and governor of Madeira from 1747 to 1751. He built the Episcopal Palace, promoted the building of the Monte church and dealt with the aftermath of the 1748 earthquake.
1Origins and appointment
Dom João do Nascimento was one of the most distinguished prelates of this diocese. His episcopate lasted from 5 September 1741, the day he arrived in Madeira, until 6 November 1753, the day he died in the house on Rua do Bispo that later housed this city’s lyceum (state secondary school).
He was born in Lisbon, the son of Inácio Mira and Dona Garcia Ferreira de Afonseca, both of illustrious lineage and lords of the entailed estate (morgadio) of Torre da Giesteira (‘broom-thicket tower’), on the outskirts of Montemor-o-Novo. He took his doctorate in the faculty of canon law at the University of Coimbra (Universidade de Coimbra) in 1711. He was preparing to compete for one of the chairs of that institution when, in 1713, he felt drawn to the monastic life and entered the seminary of Varatojo, where he made his profession in the Seraphic Order of St Francis.
After some years of religious life, during which he devoted himself to missionary work in many provinces of Portugal, he was appointed bishop of Funchal by John V. He tried insistently to refuse the office, but could not escape it because his superiors imposed it on him. He was appointed on 7 November 1740 and confirmed by Benedict XIV on 5 January 1741, and received episcopal consecration on 5 May of the same year.
2Episcopate and works
Throughout the twelve years he lived on this island, he showed unfailing austerity of character and the most blameless conduct, not only as head of the Funchal church but also as governor of this archipelago in the period from 1747 to 1751.
He made pastoral visits to every parish church, issuing instructions on many points of ecclesiastical discipline. He introduced notable reforms in the diocesan seminary, created several curacies and took other important measures in the exercise of his episcopal duties.
Here in Madeira his name remains linked to one notable work: the building of the bishop's palace (Paço Episcopal). Although it was a heavy structure, stripped of any architectural refinement, it was nonetheless, for this small city and for the period in which it was built, a building of some importance, and one that did no discredit to the high rank of its occupants. It was built between 1748 and 1751, at a cost of twenty contos de réis (conto: one million réis), a large sum for the time (see bishop's palace).
He worked hard for the construction of the parish church of Our Lady of the Mount (Nossa Senhora do Monte), and the building of that church is owed in large part to him, above all through the creation, in every parish of the island, of the Confraternity of the Slaves of Our Lady (Confraria dos Escravos de Nossa Senhora), whose revenues were applied exclusively to the building of that church. He was bishop and governor of this archipelago when, on the night of 31 March 1748, a violent earthquake was felt in Madeira. It caused few casualties but did considerable damage to most public and private buildings. He took the measures that the circumstances called for at the time, and obtained substantial funds from the government in mainland Portugal to repair the damage caused by the earthquake, chiefly to many churches, to some fortresses and to the customs house buildings.
He died in this city on 6 November 1753 and lies buried in the chancel of the Cathedral (Sé Catedral).
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 07-
D. Frei João do Nascimento took a doctorate in canon law at Coimbra.
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D. Frei João do Nascimento entered the Franciscan seminary of Varatojo.
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Frei João do Nascimento was appointed bishop of Funchal by João V, confirmed by Pope Benedict XIV on 5 January 1741, and consecrated on 5 May 1741.
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Bishop Frei João do Nascimento arrived in Madeira.
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Bishop D. Frei João do Nascimento was appointed governor of Madeira, governing the archipelago until 1751.
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The Episcopal Palace of Funchal was built at a cost of twenty contos de réis.
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On the night of 31 March to 1 April 1748 a violent earthquake struck Madeira, causing few deaths but heavy damage to buildings, including the cathedral, the bishops' palace, the customs house, the Monte church, the Mosteiro Novo house and numerous chapels and parish churches.
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Bishop D. Frei João do Nascimento died in Funchal (one entry gives 26 November).
Place
Places mentioned · 10
Abroad
- Bishop's palace of Funchal
Funchal. Episcopal Palace, built under his direction between 1748 and 1751.
The bishop's palace in Funchal was built under the direction of D. Frei João do Nascimento between 1748 and 1751, and its main entrance faces the Largo do Visconde do Ribeiro Real. A 17th-century fire at the site destroyed the diocesan archive. The palace holds Netherlandish paintings, including a St Jerome, and an original parchment bull once hung framed there; it is classified, together with its chapel, as of public interest.
- Church of Our Lady of the Mount
Funchal. Parish church whose building he promoted.
Pilgrimage church and, from 1565, parish church of Monte, standing at 595 m above Funchal at the centre of the Monte resort. It was rebuilt in 1741–47 and consecrated in 1818, and Emperor Charles is buried there. The image of Nossa Senhora do Monte set out from it and returned to it in penitential processions.
- Coimbra
Portugal. University city where he took his doctorate in canon law.
Portuguese mainland university city where many Madeirans studied law or medicine, and where Padre Luís Gonçalves da Câmara taught and was rector of the Jesuit college. It hosted the 1921 academic table-tennis championship, and its dormancy and rainfall data are compared with Funchal's.
- Funchal Cathedral (the Sé)
Funchal. Cathedral where the bishop is buried, in the main chapel.
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.
- Funchal customs house
Funchal. Customs house repaired after the 1748 earthquake.
The Manueline customs house of Funchal, ordered to be built in 1508, with arcades and a courtyard chapel of Santo António built in 1714, now deconsecrated. It was directed by the provedor until 1775 and repaired after the 1748 earthquake. It was surrounded by mutinous troops in 1626 and stormed in 1641, the 1868 riot took place on the beach nearby, and it later housed the Civil Government offices and archive.
- Lisbon
Portugal. Birthplace of the bishop.
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.
- Montemor-o-Novo
Portugal. Town on whose outskirts the family estate lay.
Town on whose outskirts the family estate lay.
- Rua do Bispo
Funchal. Street in Funchal where the bishop died, in the house that later held the lyceum.
Rua do Bispo is the former name of Rua de Gomes Freire in Funchal, named after the bishops' residence and episcopal palace that stood there. Bishop D. Frei João do Nascimento died in a house on this street that later held the lyceum. The street also housed the Clube Recreio e Instrução and the «Vicente» photographic studio, and it was hit by a shell in 1916.
- Torre da Giesteira
Portugal. Entailed family estate of his parents, near Montemor-o-Novo.
Entailed family estate of his parents, near Montemor-o-Novo.
- Varatojo
Portugal. Franciscan seminary that he entered in 1713.
Franciscan seminary that he entered in 1713.
People
People mentioned · 05- D. Frei João do Nascimento1897–1753
Franciscan friar who was bishop of Funchal (1741–53) and governor of Madeira (1747–51); he is the subject of this entry.
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Pope Benedict XIV, who confirmed Nascimento as bishop in 1741.
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Mother of Bishop João do Nascimento, from a noble lineage.
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Father of Bishop João do Nascimento and lord of the Torre da Giesteira entail.
- John Vd. 1750
King of Portugal who appointed Nascimento bishop of Funchal in 1740.