Article Nº 2637 Historical event Vol. II · p. 893
Nuncio
Original title: Núncio
Account of the unplanned visit of the papal nuncio to Madeira in July 1808, during which he conferred minor orders in the bishop's absence.
On 25 July 1808 the envoy of His Holiness in Lisbon arrived in Madeira by chance, coming from London. He landed at the Pontinha (‘little point’) and went straight to the Cathedral, where he heard the ten o’clock Mass. After visiting the church, he got into a sedan chair and went on to the bishop’s palace. He left the island on the 28th. During his short stay he conferred minor orders on some students, since the bishop was not in Funchal, and gave the dean the powers needed to grant certain marriage dispensations. On his departure all the forts of the city fired salutes.
Places mentioned