Livro do principio dos Superiores, e Bemfeitores deste Collegio da Madre de Deos de Macao, pertence aos Padres procuradores deste Collegio
This archival document is a late 19th- or early 20th-century transcription—held at the Public Library and District Archive of Évora—of a Jesuit administrative and historical manuscript originally compiled in Macau, likely during the 17th century. It records the succession of Superiors, Provincials,...
Saved in:
| Format: | Manuscripts |
|---|---|
| Language: | Portuguese |
| Published: |
1751
|
| Subjects: |
Apostolic Visitors East Asia
;
Canton Mission
;
China Mission
;
Hainan Mission Reallocation
;
Japan and China Province
;
Jesuit Administrative Manuscript
;
Jesuit Benefactor Records
;
Jesuit Missionary Persecution
;
Jesuit Missions Japan
;
Jesuit Provincial Administration
;
Jesuit Provincial Administration East Asia
;
Jesuit Provincials
;
Jesuit Superiors Succession
;
Jesuit Vice-Provincials
;
Jesuit Visitatorial Mandates
;
Laos Mission
;
Macau College of Our Lady of the Assumption
;
Macau Jesuit Manuscript
;
Évora Public Library Archive
;
Manuscripts
|
| Online Access: | https://macau-legacy.usj.edu.mo/docs/ESS7GYH9/viewer_ESS7GYH9.html |
| _version_ | 1877197611899813888 |
|---|---|
| archiveLocation | BPE COD. CXVI/2-11, n. 46 |
| building | Portugal. Biblioteca Pública de Évora |
| collection | Portugal. Biblioteca Pública de Évora |
| description | This archival document is a late 19th- or early 20th-century transcription—held at the Public Library and District Archive of Évora—of a Jesuit administrative and historical manuscript originally compiled in Macau, likely during the 17th century. It records the succession of Superiors, Provincials, Vice-Provincials, and Apostolic Visitors governing the Jesuit Province of Japan and China, as well as related missions in Macau, Cochinchina, Tonkin, Hainan, Fujian, Cambodia, Laos, Siam, and Shiab. The text details canonical procedures for appointment—including ‘viás’ (electoral successions), papal briefs, patents (*patentes*), and dispensations granted by Popes Innocent X and Alexander VII—as well as jurisdictional transitions, such as the formal separation of the Province of Japan and China from the Indian Provinces of Goa and Malabar in 1611. Key figures include Francis Xavier, Alessandro Valignano, Matteo Ricci, Nicolò Longobardo, Valentim Carvalho, Francisco da Veiga, and Alexandre de Rhodes; principal locations encompass Macau, Nagasaki, Funai, Kyoto, Beijing, Canton, Zhaoqing, Hainan, Tonkin, and Cochinchina. The document also chronicles foundational events, missionary strategies, political constraints, persecutions, shipwrecks, and administrative adaptations under colonial and East Asian imperial regimes, serving as a primary source for the institutional history of the Society of Jesus in East Asia. |
| first_indexed | 2026-04-16T08:52:44Z |
| format | Manuscripts |
| fulltext | [transcription]
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CXVI
2-11 Nº 46
000396
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CXVI
2-11
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1
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CXVI
2-11
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Este Livro do princípio dos Superiores e Benfeitores deste Collegio da Madre de Deos de Macao pertence aos Padres Procuradores deste Collegio por ser conforme à Legra 2.ª do seu officio, ordenado para agradecimento, e gratidão, que nossas Constituições encomendão ter-se com Nossos Bemfeitores.
Cap. 1º Do princípio deste Collegio, ou Casa, e dos Superiores que nelle houve até o anno de 1617.
Cap. 2º Do princípio da Missão, e Christandade de Japão, e dos Superiores maiores, e principais, que a promoverão.
Do princípio desta Christandade foi o B. P. Francisco Xavier no anno de 1549, e elle foi o primeiro, que a ella poz mão, pregou o santo Evangelho, e o primeiro Superior dos da Companhia em Japão. O 2º foi o P. Lourenço de Torres, que elle deixou em seu lugar com o Irmão João Foz, tendo-o trazido comsigo da India. De Japão tornou à India buscar Companheiros para aquella Missão: E tornando da India alli com desejo, esperança de entrar, agregar também nossa Santa Ley naquella grande
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Aleixo, falleceo avista da China na Ilha de Lamchão aos
dois de Dezembro de 1559, sendo de idade de vinte e dous
annos, tendo partido de Portugal no anno de 1541, chegado
a India em Mayo de 1542 por terem invernado em Malaca.
Sabique, em que dez annos correo quase tudo o que os Por-
tuguezes na India tinham descoberto, e fundou as Christan-
dades d’ambas as Costas de Travancor, Decan, Maluco, e
Japão, que seus filhos, Padres da Companhia depois prosegui-
rão. Neste meio tempo Padre Mestre Belchior, Superior
de todos os da Companhia, partindo de Goa no anno de 1554
para Japão, e invernando em Malaca, chegou a Japão no anno
de 1556, avizitando e consolando os Povos, e aquella pequena Chri-
standade, retornou no mesmo anno para India, levando 9.
Ipsos particulares suspeitos. O 3º foi o Padre Francisco Cabral
que baptizou o Rey Dom Francisco de Bungo. O 4º o B. Gaspar
Coelho era ordem dos Superiores, mas o primeiro que com nome
de Vice-Provincial governou a Companhia nesta Christandade.
O 5º o Padre Pedro Gomes, Vice-Provincial. O 6º o B. Francisco
Rafio, Vice-Provincial; a quem succedeo em Julho de 1611 o B.
Valentim Carvalho, mas com nome de Provincial por ser já
então esta Provincia separada das Provincias da India, e no
mesmo tempo começou de ser Visitador desta Provincia o B.
Francisco Rafio, que depois falleceo neste Collegio de Macau
em Agosto de 1612.
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Nem façao contra isto duvida algũa
Cartas
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Cartas do P. Geral Claudio Aquaviva excerptas ao P. Francisco Paio em 1611, e 1612, e 1613 chamando-lhe Provincial da Provincia de Japão, e China, não notavendo elle ca dito, antes tendo papado imediatamente de Vice-Provincial a Visitador no dito anno de 1611. E foi a causa disto ser esta Provincia algum annos antes feita em Roma Provincia separada das Provincias da India, sem desta separação se saber em Japão, assim por estarmos ca tão longe de Roma, que tarda as Cartas quatro, eis vezes cinco annos, como pela incerteza das Navegações, dependerem alguas vezes as Cartas, como de facto deperderão aquellas Cartas, pelas quaes o P. Geral tinha feito Japão Provincia per si; de maneira chegarem a Japão, mas somente se soube esta mudança no anno de 1611 quando veio a Ordem, que o P. Valentim Carvalho fosse Provincial, ao P. Francisco Paio ficasse Visitador, como se executou. E assim o P. Valentim Carvalho foi juntamente o primeiro Provincial desta Provincia de Japão, e China, e o P. Superior maior na Ordem dos Deitro da periori acima referido.
Em 1614 estavão em Japão 150 Religiosos da Companhia, forão desterrados para Manila 23, e Macau 73, ficarão em Japão escondidos 54. Foi o Padre Valentim Carvalho Provincial desta Provincia desde o anno de 1611 até o de 1619, succedeo lhe o P. Matheos de Couros, mas f. Patente que esta vinda para o P. Jeronimo Rodi senior, que p estar em Macau impedido para poder hir livrem. a Japão, arrecolheo o P. Francisco Vieira Visitador, esperar aviso da
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suceçoens na primeira das quaes estava o P. Matheos de Carros,
que foi Provincial ate o anno de 1621, no qual anno veio patente
de Provincial ao P. Francisco Pacheco, o qual foi martirizado a
vinte de Julho de 1626, e foi o primeiro Provincial de Japão, que
morreo martyr. Sucedeo lhe o P. Matheos de Carros, e pela segunda vez foi Provincial de 29 de Outubro de 1633, em que
falleceo junto de Euximi cansado com excessivos trabalhos, exer-
cicios que padecio nas perseguiçoens do Dogum Bay, e filho delas
da Tenca. Sucedeo lhe por Vice-Provincial por hua ordem que
havia do P. Visitador André Palmeiro, que era o antigo professo
foje Vice-Provincial, e foi P. Sebastião Vieira em 13 de Outubro
de 1633 ate ser preso, e martirizado na Corte de Yedo a 6 de
Julho de 1634.
Fiqueo o Provincialado neste tempo, em que governa-
vão os Visitadores por não saberem os Padres que haviaõ em
Japão para conforme a antiguidade. Sucederom ate o anno
de 1638, no principio do qual o P. Manuel Dias demor Visitador
nomeou por Reitor deste Collegio de Macau ao Padre Gaspar Luis,
que estava em Cochinchina, e juntamente declarou que o dito Padre
era Vice-Provincial de Japão conforme ao Canon 22 da 5ª Cong.
Veio o P. Gaspar Luis de Cochinchina, foi Reitor, e Vice Provin-
cial triennio, no cabo do qual foi visitar a Miyako de Funai.
Voltando o P. Gaspar Luis de Funai em 22 de
Outubro de 1641, por ordem do P. Antonio Rubino Vig. no-
meou por seu successo e Vice-Provinc. o P. Gaspar de Amaral,
Reitor do Collegio.
Ao Padre
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Ao Padre Gaspar de Amaral sucedeo no Reitorado, e Provin-
cialado o P. João Cabral em 1645 por nomeação do B. Pe. Mel.
de Azevedo governou hum anno.
Ao B. João Cabral sucedeo o P. Sebastião d’Almeida assim no
Reitorado, como no Provincialado por Patente do B. Pe. e
governou tres annos inteiros, os quaes acabados de abrivar
as Vias do Provincial de Japão por ordem do P. Pe. Manuel de
Azevedo, e por ellas veio des do B. João Cabral em 1649 aos 26 de
Julho, e por ordem do mesmo P. Mel. de Azevedo Vizº ficou edito
P. juntamente Reitor. Acabado o trienno do P. João Cabral
e abrivadas as successões do Provincial desta Provincia aos
28 de Agosto de 1652, e esperou-se novamente Mea porquanto ti-
nha chegado embarcaço de India, mas quaes podia vir mo-
vos successores, e não havendo já esperança delle, se abriu
as Antigas, e a 1ª escolheu o mesmo P. João Cabral, e aberta a
2ª saiu por Provincial desta Provincia o P. Jerónimo Mayrea,
que estava em Tuncum, e não pôde ser impedido em Via-
ção de estar dentro da Provincia, e podei ser avivado em
Jeronimes, porque o Breve de Innocêncio X. Debe ordupe
viores da Companhia não gozarem do trienno até dez
período quanto as Provincias transmarinas, continuou
edito P. João Cabral ate 3 de Março de 1653, em que chegou avo-
go de Tuncum, e como o P. Jerónimo Mayrea tinha aceita-
do, começara a governar aos 14 de Abril do dito anno de 1653.
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Ao P. João Cabral sucedeo o P. Jerónimo de Mayorica, que tam em a Milícia de Tuntim, aonde lhe chegou avia de successão, como coa governar ao 14 domer de Abril do anno de 1603. Falleceo na Milícia de Tuntim ao 29 domer de Janeiro de 1606, sendo ainda Provincial, mas como estava ausente deste Collegio não soube mos annos da sua morte, senão no fim deste mesmo anno, em que chegou hua carta mandada por terra, a qual trouxeram algumas pessoas, das que vieram por terra, e escaparam do naufragio, e foi o Navio de António da Cota Beirnude, tornando para esta Cidade.
Ao P. Jerónimo de Mayorica sucedeo ao 16 domer de Abril de 1606 o P. Martim Coelho, porque não havia Vice-Provincial, as quaes chegaram no principio do mês de Julho do dito anno: bem como quer que o Vice-Provincial nomeador ou era morto, ou estava impedido, e o Visitador acabava o seu trienio antes de cessar o impedimento do anno, em cujo de Vacancia segundo o Breve do Papa Innocêncio X parece conveniente nomear outro Vice-Provincial ao dez do mês de Julho de 1606 dar vinta pelas nove horas da manhã.
Ao 19 de Agosto de 1608 entrou no officio de Provincial de Japão por Patente de Roma o P. Mathias de Araya, governando tres annos, em que morreu dos quais, abrindo-se as Vias de successão, desachou o P. José Máriz de Sá, o qual se viu obrigado a vir de Macau, donde se esperava a cada dia barco, pelo que os PP. Conselheiros da Província julgaram que neste Caso tinha lugar dispensação.
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a dispensação do N. Sto. P.e Alexandre 7º, declaracão do N. B.
P. Geral que podião os Provinciaes continuar mais do triennio
em gravissima Causa; et ad breve tempus, e assim continuou o
B. Mathias d’Araya mais sete dias até que em 26 de
Agosto de 1661 tendo chegado de Lisbã foi nomeado na Cappella
por Provincial o B. José Maria Leiria, e lhe entregou a via
de sua Successão à mesma Cappella & deo a Comunidade.
Ao 26 de Agosto de 1661 acabado o triennio do B. José
Maria Leiria abriu as Vias da Successão, era-lh’acharão
no B. Wifrio Borges, e por ser já fallecido o mesmo antes em
Jacatra, entrou no governo de Provincial o B. Hector M. Ruiz
que estava na 2ª Via da Successão, o qual governou até o 24
de Março de 1667, no qual dia o deixou Mto. P. G. S. sendo
ainda Provincial.
Ao 27 de Março de 1667 tres dias depois da morte do
B. M. Ruiz foi eleito Vice Provincial o B. Pedro Marques, por
ser já fallecido em Cochinchina o B. Helbelo Vaccaro & estava
na 3ª Via de Successão de Provincial.
Ao 26 de Agosto de 1667 abriu a 2ª Via de Provincial,
acharam nella ao Padre Pedro Kuzarte, e por estar ausente em
Europa foi o B. Visitador Luís da Fama Provincial ao B.
Andre Gomes. Ao 21 de Julho de 1670 abrindo a via de Provin-
cial desta Província acharam nella ao B. Felippe Marino,
que começou no mesmo dia a exercitar o Cargo.
Acabado o triennio logo Ao B. Felippe Marino sucedeo
no officio de Provincial o B. José Cardoso Ao 21 de Julho de 1673.
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Acabado o trienno do P. João Cardoso abrirá as Vias deduzidas,
dão, sacharão ao P. André Dubellis, e por estar ausente na China
esperou hum anno ficando no mesmo Cargo o P. João Cardoso
que tambem estava ausente na Índia que fora a Cochinchina
onde morreo no naufragio, que o barco fez no anno de 1576.
Em 22 de julho de 1577 chegou da China o P. André Dubellis,
o qual ficou governando aço triennes, ao fim do qual se oc-
cupou por estar occupado na China em 3º Lugar o P. Fran.
Pimentel que tambem morreo em Tonquim, ao P. estava
nomeado o P. Francisco Davies Philypues, que começou a
governar em Cantão ao primeiro de Dezembro de 1580, e de-
pois devito mezo veio para Macao.
Em Dezembro de 1583 acabou a 1ª Via de Provincial,
em que estava o P. André Gomes já defunto. Abrio-se a 2ª
via, e achou o P. Manuel Ferreira, estava em Tonquim,
e já chamado a Roma, julgou-se em Consulta e estava
impedido. Abrio-se a 3ª via, em que se achou o P. José Díaz
Nier, o qual começou a governar ao 6 de Dezembro, e aca-
bou ao 25 de julho do anno seguinte por lhe vir Pa-
tente de Visitador.
Ao 25 de julho de 1584 se abrio a Maço de Roma
em que achou Patente de Provincial para o P. Vicente Varrão que
acabou o seu trienno ao 25 de julho de 1587.
Acabado o governo do P. Vicente Varrão haverá de entrar
no Provincial o P. Francisco Sogueira que tendo sido logo
vindo de Goa com Patente, porem se escusou, e ao 31 de
Julho abrio-se a primeira Via de Provincial, na qual ficou
o P. Filippo Fregosi que ao mesmo dia tomou posse do
officio
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officio em 31 de Julho de 1607. Acabado o trienno
do P. Felippe Fierqui, mandou S.M. ao P. que foy feu
Provincial, que então era o P. Francisco Xavier Felipuchi, f.
acabou de ser Vig° e Provincial aos 6 de Jano. de 1611.
Sucedeo lhe por Vig° e Provincial de Japão o P. Francisco
Nogueira aos 6 de Jano. de 1611, acabado o seu trienno aca-
barão os Vigiladores, e se abrirão as Vias de Provincial de Japão,
e se achou na primeira o P. Francisco Xavier Felipuchi, q era
morto, abrio-se a 2ª e se achou o P. Alexandre Ciero q estava em
tão impedido na Corte de Pequim, abrio-se a 3ª Via o P. Fran-
cisco da Veiga que estava por Superior da Missão em Hainan,
que fe encarou, e assim continuou o P. Francisco Nogueira, que
tinha sido atendido até que no anno de 95 virão novas vias,
estava na 1ª o P. Reginaldo Burger, que estava em Goa, ella de
lhe mandou anova, continuando o P. Nogueira até a 4ª Via
porta que veio no anno de 96 com sua escusa, e lá ficou sendo
Composto de Caza, era aquelle julho veio Nova Patente, e 3 Viás,
era Patente de Provincial de Japão para o P. Francisco da Veiga
em Hainan, aq demandou recado, e foi forçado aceitar, achegou
a este Collegio em 10 de Outubro de 1696, e sofreu em como dia Tomou
posse afim de Provincial, como de Reitor, acabando já morto
em Macao o P. Thomé Paz, que servia de Provincial em lugar
do P. Francisco Nogueira Provincial de Japão, que no mesmo my
squaro dia do mesmo anno morreo em Tonkin aos 5 de Novo
de 96, e o P. Thomé Paz em Macao aos 6. Rego, deixou-se ameaça
o P. Francisco da Veiga que por ter feito alguas disposições de go-
verno em Cantão antes de vir della para este Collegio devia aca-
bar
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acabar, e defacto acabou o seu triennio em 3 de Outbro. de 1609.
Sucedeo ao B. Francisco da Veiga no cargo de Provincial
de Japão, e Reitor deste Collegio o B. Manuel Carvalho y Patente,
o qual veio da Provincia de Goa mandado por o N.M.R.P. Geral
para Macao para ser Provincial de Japão, e Reitor deste Col.
legio: tomou posse do Provincialado, eleitorado em 3 de Setbro.
de 1609.
Acabado o triennio do B. Manuel Carvalho se abrio a 1ª
suceçad da sua Patente, e se achou nella nomeado o B. Miguel
de Amaral, o qual tomou posse do Provincialado eleitorado em
3 de Setbro. de 1622, e continuou no governo ate 6 de Janro. de 1624,
no qual dia se embarcou para Goa por ter recebido em 7 de Agosto
de 1623 ordem, e patente do N.M.R.P. Geral para hir ser Vigº
da Provincia de Goa, e por se ter o dito B. Amaral escusado no
anno de 1618 de outra patente, em que o N.M.R.P. Geral o faria
Vigº de Goa, e de Malabar, lhe acrecentou desta segunda vez o
N.M.R.P. Geral preceito de obediencia para aceitar o dito cargo
de Visitador de Goa. Teve os mesmos o Provincial Miguel
de Amaral em 8 de Agosto de 1623, hum dia depois de receber
a dita Patente de Vigº de Goa, feita consulta, na qual se abrio
a 2ª suceçad da Patente do B. Manuel Carvalho, e se achou nella
nomeado para Provincial de Japão, Reitor deste Collegio o B.
Antonio de Barros, vigario da Provincia de Goa, que actual-
mente era Provincial de Malabar, e não podia ser enviado
e vir de baixo para Macao antes de partir de lá o P. de Goa o B.
Miguel de Amaral, o qual por nao haver ja outra alguma
suceçad de Provincial de Japão, quando se partio para Goa
nomeou
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nomeou por seu sucessor o Provincial de Japão, juntamente
com outros deste Collegio de Macau ao P. Manuel Olório, emigrou
ao dito P. António de Barros, o qual se escusou, sendo velho.
Começou pois o P. Provincial Manuel Olório o seu governo
em 6 de Janeiro de 1604. Em Agosto do mesmo anno de 1604
chegaram duas Patentes do S. M. R. Geral para o governo da Pro-
vincia de Japão sem trazerem successo, hua vinda aberta p.
de entregar logo ao P. Diogo Vidal que tinha sido já Procurador
de Japão a Roma, e ainda não tinha vindo, a outra vinda foi
chamada para de abrir causa mortis, ou acabado o governo do dito
P. Diogo Vidal. Como porem o P. Vidal não veio, nem se es-
perava chegar tão cedo, julgou o P. Provincial Manuel Olório
com a sua consulta, que se abrisse a segunda Patente do S. M. R.
Geral, sabendo-se achou que era para o P. Francisco Pinto, q. se
tava ausente na Provincia de Santinho servindo aí o Governo
da China no convento de Missionário havia já muitos annos.
Mandou-se lhe logo aviso, sem quanto não vindo continuou o seu
governo o P. Provincial Manuel Olório. Obteve o dito P. Diogo Vi-
dal em Março de 1604 partiu de Lisboa para lá por Goa, em me-
smo anno na mesma viagem para Goa morreu, e ainda de sua
morte chegou a Macao em Agosto do anno seguinte de 1605.
Chegou o P. Francisco Pinto a Cantão, e lá o mesmo tomou
posse do officio de Provincial em 24 de Fevereiro de 1605, com 6 de
Março do mesmo anno chegou a Macao, e foi continuando
no officio de Provincial, e Reitor neste Collegio. E Sofrira.
de Agosto de 1608 chegou hua Patente de Provincial de Japão
e Reitor do Collegio de Macao para o dito P. Miguel de Amaral,
que estava em Goa com officio de Vig.° daquella Provincia em
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ordem do S. M. o General para o P. Francisco Pinto continuar
nos mesmos officios de Provincial, e Reitor até chegar de Goa
o dito P. Miguel de Amaral, a quem o S. M. o General tinha avizado
da desta Patentte que lhe mandava ordenando. He
que depois de acabar o tempo de Visitadorado delgo, elle tinha
determinado vir-se na primeira occasião para Macau. Acabou
depois o dito P. Amaral o tempo do seu Visitadorado delgo ao
mesmo fim de Agosto de 1609 partio de lá para Macau em Maio
de 1610, chegou a esta Cidade, e Collegio em 26 de Julho do mesmo
anno. E no mesmo dia de 26 de Julho de 1610 tomou
o P. Miguel de Amaral posse dos Officios de Provincial de Japão,
e de Reitor de Macau, acabado o triennio de Abril de 1607 na
consulta a primeira successão do P. Provincial, e ficou nella
o P. Jeronimo de Moraes defunto em Goa, abriu-se a 2ª successão
e ficou nela o P. José Peres ausente na Cochinchina, com que
foi o dito P. Miguel de Amaral continuando no dito Provincial-
lado, e Reitorado até ser avizado o P. José Peres, e vir a sua deporta,
o qual allegou impossibilidade para não vir para Macau, sendo Provincial, e
por não haver outra successão foi o P. Miguel
de Amaral continuando o dito Provincialado.
No anno de 1616 aos 10 de Julho chegou a Macau Patentte
de Provincial de Japão com duas successões, mas Patentte vindo
nomeado o P. José Monteiro objecto da Provincia da China
que estava em falhas, o qual efficazmente se executou, e
abrindo-se a prima successão ficou nela o P. José Peres
que foi avizado, e de Cochinchina tornou a allegar as mes-
mas impossibilidades ut supra. Abriu-se no anno seguinte
a segunda, e ultima successão, e ficou o P. Stanisláo Ma-
chado
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Machado Tenente em Funai, o qual tambem se exerçeu, por
ser aportado com hum preçeito de obediencia do Provincial
Miguel de Amaral escrivão, e tomou pape de Provincialado lá
em Funai aos 12 de Junho de 1578, e chegando esta noticia
a Macao em 20 de Agosto do mesmo anno de 1578 acabou entad
o P. Miguel de Amaral o seu Provincialado, tendo perseverado
nelle oito annos, 25 dias continuos. Continuou o P. Estanis-
lau Machado o seu governo em Funai, estinha em Macao
o Provincial constituido por elle ao P. João Pereira
Vendo pois o P. Provincial Estanislau Machado q. todos
achavam lhe mais era possivel falar de Funai, e q. de lá lhe não
era possivel governar a Provincia, mandou de lá ordenar
poderes à Consulta da Provincia para ella ad plenum delegata
nomear successor no Provincialado, vistomad haver outra hu-
miliação de Roma, e a Consulta em virtude desta Comissão nomeou
ao P. Miguel de Amaral, que succedendo ao P. Estanislau Ma-
chado tomou pape do governo outra vez aos 26 de Agosto de
1570.
[Heading]
Cap. 3º Dos Visitadores que foram
mandados pelos Geraes da Companhia Vire
por esta Provincia de Japão, e China.
[Main text]
§.1º Foi o Padre Gonçalo Alvarez mandado pelo Geral
F. Francisco de Borja no anno de 1568 na chamada do Rey
D. Luiz de Ataíde, o qual depois de Visitar a Companhia
na India, inspeçionou China, e dahi embarcando se p. Japão em
Dezembro de 1569, onde visitou a Provincia de Japão, vivendo já então
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com hum grauissimo tufão sem escapar com vida deste
Naufragio mais que hum só haver, o qual andando madas-
do no mar tomou hum junco, que acertou de vir letras de
Nao, acabou o dito Padre em Julho de 1573 com seus Compa-
nheiros os P.º Manuel Lopes, seu companheiro, substituto,
P.º João Velho, P.º Diogo Fox, P.º António Paes.
O 2.º Visitador foi o P.º Alexandre Valignani, que mandado
pelo P.º Geral Gerardo Mercuriano no anno de 1573 chegou
aqui com 4.º Padres e Irmãos da Companhia em setembro
de 1574, o qual Visitando primeiro a Companhia na Índia
passou a China no anno de 1578, e afagado em 1579 a primeira
vez, donde depois de Visitados os P.º desta Missão, e deixou
de ordenar muitas cousas em proveito desta Visitandade
tornou para Índia no anno de 1583 trazendo consigo qua-
tro marechões Japoneses fidelíssimos a D. Manoel, parente do
Rey Francisco de Bungo, D. Miguel, parente do Tono de
Arima, Dom Bautista, D. Martinho, e D. Feliciano, fidelíssimos do
Tono de Yonaguni, D. Bartholomeo, os quaes se embarcaram
em Cochim em Fevereiro de 1584 para Portugal com o bom P.
Jerónimo Rodrigues, até este tempo do Collegio de S. Paulo,
Procurador para Roma eleito na Segunda Congregação
da Índia, e com o P.º Diogo de Mesquita, e chegando a Lisboa
em Agosto do mesmo anno, e dizitando o Cardeal Alberto,
Gov.º de Portugal, partírão já no anno seguinte de
1585 para Roma, aonde chegarão no fim de Março do mes-
mo anno, e foram recebidos como Embaixadores com gran-
de appareato pelo Summo Pontifice Gregório XIII, dando-lhe
Santidade
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Santidade e obediencia em nome dos tres Japões Christãos,
e debota esta nova Christandade, e fallecendo neste mesmo tem-
po o abobdito Papa, sendo eleito Pinto 6º de achar ao dito
Fidalgo; a morte de hum, e eleição d’outro: feita esta tal
comprida peregrinação por Italia, Castella, Portugal, e
India, de tornarão cheyos de gazalhados, e honras a Japão com
o mesmo Padre Alexandre Valignano no anno de 1590 sendo
Jordão Tenca Taico, aqueem dito Padre com estes Fidalgos
Japões foi a sua Corte visitar com embaixada do Rey D. Du-
arte de Meneses, sendo debito Rey com grande honra, e appa-
rato recebido. Mas pouco durou este favor dos Japoneses
porq’ pouco depois moveo contra a Christandade grave persegui-
ção, eo B. Vigor Alexandre se tornou a segunda vez de Japão pa-
Macao no anno de 1592, donde mandou logo o B. Gil de Malta
allma por Procurador de Japão, e foi segunda vez a Japão de-
gando lá em Março de 95, e em Setembro do mesmo anno veio
sua Carta do B. Geral pela qual acabou de ser Vigor da India fi-
cando somente de Japão, e China p. aqual dejartio ultimamen-
te no anno de 1597, e da hi terceira vez p. Japão em Julho de 1598
em companhia do B. Bispo D. Luís Cerqueira. E finalmente
tornou de Japão a Macao a ultima, e terceira vez no anno de
1603 com D. Paulo Portugal Capitão geral desta Viagem, e este
ve mette Collegio de Macao ate o anno de 1606, que nelle falle-
ceu no dia 20 de Janeiro, tendo governado a Companhia da India,
e Japão 31 annos, e nesses aguas muge: a India, e juntamente
Japão 21, em estes 21 annos foi dito Padre juntamente Provin-
cial, e Vigor desde setembro de 83 ate abril de 88 q. [parte]
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a segunda vez para Japão, esta por occasião de fallecerem os
Vicegovernadores do Reino para Índia os B. Francisco Mijão no anno de
81, e o B. Pedro da Silva no anno de 83 que vindo de Índia &
foram Provinciais; La Japan, elle hirao dom. de anno, egual
tro onze, eguari onze, sendo tambem seu Visitador.
O 3.º Visitador desta Provincia foi o B. Francisco Cajó feito
em Japão por Carta do G. Geral Claudio Aquaviva em Julho
de 1611, passando immediatamente do Officio de Vice-Provincial
desta Provincia ao de Visitador, Declarando o B. Valentim
Carvalho no mesmo tempo por Provincial desta Provincia
por ella já então ser Provincia por si, separada das duas
Provincias da Índia, Goa, e Malabar, como sua mesma Carta
de Roma vinha ordenado. E o B. Visitador Francisco Cajó
se partio de Japão para este Collegio de Macao no anno de
1612, em elle falleceo em 31 de agosto do mesmo anno.
O 4. Francisco Vieira feito
tambem na Índia por Patente do G. Geral Claudio Aquaviva,
a qual se lhe mandou de Roma em Janeiro de 1615, e chegou a
Goa em Outubro do mesmo anno; e o B. se partio de Goa para
esta Provincia em Maio de 1616 depois de entregar o Officio de
Provincial de Goa logo em Outubro ao B. Jacomo de Medeiros,
chegou a este Collegio de Macao em 13 de Julho do mesmo anno.
O 5.º Morto o B. Francisco Vieira neste Collegio de Macao aos
28 de Dezembro de 1619 depois de vir de Japão, onde esteve pouco
mais de hum anno, porque dous superiores, ou Procuradores
da Provincia, Vice-Provincia, o B. Sebastião d’Almaya adoeceu
se para o qual Medeiros poder, ficando no mais os ditos
Provincial
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[Main text]
Provincial, e Vice-Provincial independentes como se orão
tivessem visitado. Progundo edito o Provincial de Japão
ao D. Professor a sobredita ordem, forão os mais delles dega-
recer que se guardasse até ver de Roma vem este pon-
to aclarado de Roma, e assim se executou o logi 27 de Janb. de 1650.
Aos 9 do mês de Julho do mesmo anno de 1650 chegaraõ
Novas Successões de Visitadores, apertamente outra via della
Gente de Visitadores, que dous annos antes tinha já vindo por
outra via para o P. Francisco Furtado que estava na China
dentro por Superior das Casas do Norte, egorquanto com
aquella dos Tartaros, estava alli dentro toda revolta, e
não tinha chegado nova de o P. era vivo, ou morto, ou se lhe
tinham chegado alguns dos nossos avisos, que sobre isso
felle tinham mandado. Pareceo ao P. João Cabral Provincial
da Provincia de Japão, e aos mais Consultores, que lhe deviaõ
abrir as Novas Successões como com effeito o abrirão em
Consulta, e se acharão mais que duas, as quaes traziaõ
ambas por Sobrescripto 2.ª Successão, o que vendo o P. Pro-
vincial, em mais, que duvidavaõ de as havião de abrir am-
bas, para ver qual era a primeira, egorque o caso era novo
e os Padres Consultores não concordavão, apontou-se que se
propuzesse a todos os Padres Professos, que estavam no Collegio,
e lhes perguntasse duas Cousas: 1.ª Se haviaõ de
abrir as ditas Successões para ver qual precedia. 2.ª Se
em casa que nella fodesse; por morte do P. Francisco
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Furtado se defalhar em ausência, ou outro impedimento viesse,
se havia de esperar novas destes o D. morto, ou vivo. Ou se ab-
breviava a urgência, embaraco de guerras era bastante, et se
poderetar pro mortuo que ad hunc effectum. Deram os P. Profe-
ssões parecer em scriptis ao secretario da Provincia, o qual ta-
ctus memoravit o referio na junta. Em 1º ponto vem foras de
parecer que as successões se vão abrir. Dito que se abrissem.
e No. 2º ponto jnco foras de parecer que o D. Auranta, impedido,
non reputabatur pro mortuo, ou mais que vim. O Provincial
segundo aparecer dos orais mandou que se abrissem as ditas
successões, e fallio na primeira ao P. Sebastião de Itmaya. E de
tudo se deo conta aos N. R. P. G., e espera para semelhantes ca-
sos o que será de approvação, ou reapprovação. O P. Sebastião de Itmaya
governou desde 10 de Julho de 1650 até 2, ou 3 de Junho do anno
seguinte de 1651, emque veio ao certo Collegio Carta do P. Fran-
cisco Furtado que chegava a Cantão, et tinha recebido aliento
de Viz. em 7 de Julho de 1650, etomando logo, acomecando aviz-
itar as Casas de Residências da China dentro. — E como tem
tinha já começado a governar antes de lhe se abrirem as
vias, apertou o P. João Cabral Provincial com parecer detodo
os Consultores que precedera ao P. Sebastião de Itmaya, gestava:
digo esfem lhe entregara o governo da Provincia, et Provincial,
lavía do P. Sebastião de Itmaya que estava aberta jnternous
afectuos para edito o P. poder suceder aseo tempo em Pará de
ler este aparecer afim dos Consultores desta Provincia, co
mo dos da Provincia de Cochim, onde se mandou perguntar este caso.
{{PAGE:19}}
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Aos 21 de Novembro de 1563 houve Reporte para vi. a B.° Vº Francisco Furtado, e conforme o asperto acima lhe tor. não ajudecer o B.° Sebastião d’Ehnaya por não haver novo governo de Macau, e tomou papeis ao 22 do dito mez, anno. Hr. D. 1580.
[Heading]
Cap. 1.° Do principio da Missão do Reino da China, e dos Superiores Universais que nella houve
[Main text]
O Padre Visitador Alexandro Valigno passando da India para Japão no anno de 1578 estando neste Collegio de Macau esperando a nomeação para ir a Japão começou a tratar desta Missão de China, ajudando-se para isto de varias informações de Portugueses, e Chinas, que havia esperança de Christandade neste Reino. E para ella se principiar pedio ao R. P. Ruy Vicente Provincial da India hum Padre de talento para começar sobre esta porta, e para isto se mandou o B.° Miguel Ruggieri, o qual chegando a Macao no anno de 1580 começou logo aprender a lingoa, letras, e maneira tomamdo para isto Mestre Chino, e indo algumas vezes à feira de Cantão com os Portugueses, foi tomando amizade, e tornou virfacão com alguns Chinas, por meio, e conselho dos quaes foi allanguim falar com o Tutan, segundo alcançou licença para morar nesta Cidade em hua botica de aluguer, depois com licença do mesmo Tutan comprou ellas para
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[Main text]
fazer hua Carinha mais Legoa de Cidade, exercendo
Nella se lhe ajuntou no anno de 1582 o P. Mathes Ricci,
e ambos foram fazendo ali alguns Christãos. Mas depois
os mesmos Estados botou fora deste lugars, emandou vir
para Macao. Oque sabendo o P. Alexandre estando nes-
te Collegio depoz de vir aprimeira vez de Japão no anno
de 1583 lhes forçou que trabalhassem quanto pudessem
para não valirem fora da China, e no mesmo Tempo quis
ellos senhor que o Estado os tornasse a dar as terras de Caminho
que hiaõ fazendo para Cantão, e mandou a Ravcheo,
ordenando juntamente que lha lhe dessem lugar em que
Morasse o P. Mathes Ricci com seu Companheiro o P. An-
tonio d’Almeida, sendo ja vindo para Macao o P. Rogerio
donde o P. Alexandre emandou para Malaca, donde fez
partio na Galea do Reino para Lisboa, e da hi para Roma
informar de esta Missão, et outras cousas a Nstro P.
Geral, eficou em Italia.
E continuando o P. Mathes Ricci,
seu Companheiro estiveraõ algum tempo na dita Cera
de Ravcheo, o qual falleceo o P. Antonio d’Almeida, e depois
o P. Francisco Petri ficando com o P. Mathes Ricci,
em anno de 1588 tornando de Japão a segunda vez o P.
Alexandre Valignani lhe mandou o P. Lázaro Caetano por
Companheiro, e depois de estarem ambos algũ tempo
em Ravcheo foi o P. Mathes Ricci fazer a Cera de Xanghã
Levando
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[Main text]
deixando por diante esta Missão sendo já desembarcados
nas estas Casas, e das mais que se foram fazendo até o anno de
1610 que falleceo em Pequim Corte del Rey da China, se assim
elle foi o primeiro Superior dos Padres nesta Missão, e prin-
cipal fundador.
O 2.º foi o P. Nicoláo Longobardo depois da morte do
P. Mathias Ricci até hoje 7 de Fevereiro de 1619 o qual tudo
largamente consta da historia desta Missão principiada
pelo P. Mathias Ricci a que me remetto.
Ao P. Nicoláo Longobardo succedeo no Cargo de Superior
desta Missão da China em Junho de 1622 o P. José da Rocha.
Ao P. José da Rocha succedeo o Padre o primeiro Provincial
real depois defuncta a China lhe Provincia, acabando o
já fallecido lhe succedeo por primeiro Vice Provincial o
P. Manoel Dias Junior igual governador, outros annos.
Succedeo-lhe o P. Francisco Furtado, igual governador
por annos, em Cabo dos quaes vêm nomear ao 2.º Provin-
cial debul o P. Julio Alençary, e do Norte continuou o mes-
mo P. Francisco Furtado em defeito do P. José Vaz por
haver já fallecido.
Em o anno de 1646 veio Patente del Provin-
cial destas almas ao Padre Álvaro Lamego, igual go-
vernou perto de quatro annos por estarem os caminhos
impedidos com as guerras dos Tartaros, e não poder chegar
avizo ao P. Manoel Dias Junior, que lhe succedeu tamord
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tomou posse em o anno de 1550, governando entre tanto todo este tempo em as partes do Norte de Japão.
co fundado pela enorme vassal demas poder chegar
aviso das Novas Successões.
De P. Manoel Dias Junior por estar cego, exonerar
ciar o Cargo de Provincial successo por Nomeação do
P. Sebastião d’Armaya Visitador, e approvação do P. da
provincia o Padre Alvaro Simedo em 1605, escabado o
triennio lhe succedeo o P. Estevão Fabro, o qual em mor-
to quando lhe chegou aviso, pôs que succedeo em Provin-
cial o P. Simão da Cunha, o qual depois de governar lega-
ço de hum anno sahio em Via de Visitador em 28 de
Outubro de 1658, em o mesmo anno chegará Vias de
Roma, emque vinha Nomeado para Provincia
o P. Estevão Fabro, eo Padre Alvaro Simedo que eram
já mortos, e o P. Simão da Cunha que succedeo por
morte do P. Antonio Veloso em Visitador, era 1ª Via
succedeo o P. Ignacio da Costa.
Em acabando o P. Ignacio da Costa o seu triennio
em o anno de 1661, abrindo se as Successões, o Dia dello
mais fechou o al.º Via o P. Mathias d’Armaya, o qual
acabava de ser Provincial de Japão; porque não podia
entrar em aquelle Novo governo sem vacar annos e
Anno conforme a Bulla do Papa Innocencio X. foi
electo por Consulta para Officio de Provincial o Padre
Diogo
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o Padre Diogo Fabbro, enquanto durava o impedimento
do sobredito anno, emero conforme as Ordens, & para
fimelhantes casos tem mandado o M.R.P. Geral, acabado
o impedimento entrou o P. Mathia d’Arriaga, mas,
porque logo começou a perseguição no setembro de
1614 deixou esse lugar o P. Diogo Fabbro. No
anno de 1615 succedeo por Provincial o P. Feliciano
Pacheco. Em 1618 o P. António de Gouvea, no anno de
1621 entrou a segunda vez o P. Feliciano Pacheco.
No anno de 1624 abrindo se a via de Roma de acabou
por Provincial da China o P. André Lubelli que gover.
nou dous annos, seis mezes, e não acabou o trienno
porque abrindo se a via do governo da Provincia
de Japão de acabou voltar por Provincial da dita Provincia.
Em lugar do P. André Lubelli por via de Roma en-
trou o P. Fernando Rypiero que governou o fez trienno
do P. Fernando no anno de 1630 em Março succedeo
o P. Gabriel Gabian dixo Domingo Gabian.
Acabado o trienno do P. Domingo Gabian ao
primeiro defunto entrou no Officio de Provincial
o P. José Vallois que estava nas Vias, e governou todo
o trienno. José Vallois, succedeo
no offcio de Provincial o P. Prospero Lacerda y
entrou nesse governo aos 30 de Junho de 1636.
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Acabado o governo do P. Brogyero succedeo no dito
o P. Domingos Gabeán, que começou a governar
ao 30 de Junho do anno de 1609.
Acabado o triennio do P. Gabriel succedeo no dito
do Provincial da China o P. Thomaz Pereira, e co-
meçou a governar ao 1º de Julho de 1612. Thomaz Pereira succedeo
no officio do Provincial o P. Filippo Grimaldi que come-
çou a governar ao 1º de Julho de 1615 por via, porque
veio patente de Provincial para o P. Fran. Vimeon,
que estava já morto, e continuou o P. Grimaldi, vindo
no anno de 1616 patente para o P. Brogyero que estava
a moribundo &c &c &c
Cap. 5º trata dos Bispos de Ega.
Cap. 6º dos principios da Missão de
Fukien, e superiores della.
Por informacão dos Nossos Padres, que cultivavão a
Christandade de Cochinchina, como aquelle Reino
e o de Fukien hão annos se havia lançado
teve o P. Jerónimo Roiz Senior Visitador noticia da
disposição que haveria no Reino de Fukien para
nelle feijear a Nostra Santa Fe. Anno de
1626
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de 1626 mandou o P. Juliano Baldinotti Florentino
com o Irmão Julio Beany na embarcação de Gaspar
Borges da Fonseca Cidadão desta Cidade de Macao para
em jejum ir a aquelle Reino, e ver por experiencia as
disposições dos Naturaes para se abrir a Missão. Foi
o Padre, e achou tão boa disposição, que o Rey por Nome
Thanta do the pedio que ficasse em seu Reino, convidan-
do-o com os muitos favores, e honras, que lhe fez. Porém
o Padre não ficou por ter ordem expressa de voltar a Macao,
sinformar do que achara no Reino.
Voltou de Tunkin com dito Irmão em setembro
do mesmo anno, nem deixando naquelle Reino defunto
magentilidade, mas que algumas Crianças baptizadas.
Achou-se já por Vicar o P. André Palmeiro que por Paten-
te do S.R.P. tinha chegado da India no fullo antecedente.
Sinformando o Sabordade Lagente Candido natural, e
excelente disposição para receber Nossa Santa Ley, se
deliberou o novo Visitador a abrir a Missão, e leva-la adiante.
Para este effeito no anno seguinte de 1627 mandou
o P. Pedro Marques Portugues por Superior da Mis-
são, e foi o primeiro, que ella teve, e ao P. Alexandre B.
dos Francos por seu Companheiro, o qual sabia adeinguado
por ter estado em Cochinchina, e para esta Viagem
fora della mandado vir. Chegaram a Tunkin em 19
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19 de Março, dia de S. José, e por esta causa toda a hóstia
sabe tem acerte Santo por seu Padroeiro, em Cadre entraram
do mal Barra, e Porto de Pung chegaram ao mesmo Porto de
S. José. Forão bem recebidos do Rey que era Ornerno, tratou
os com muita honra, fez lhes grandes favores, e casas
com Igreja emque mora fe junto ao seu Paço.
O Padre levador defervor, cuidando que gastavão mel
otempo em continuar o Paço, escreveu ao Rey (que era boa
ocazião para lhe dar noticia da nossa Santa Fé, que depois
não houve); se forão afastando do Paço, egaitando todo otend
po empregar, e baptizar agente do povo que acudia em gran
de Concurso, fizerão grande fructo em breve tempo, o qual
como chegon as ordens do Rey, avio como os Padres desejando
deixar aos seus Paço, com Concurso que havia em sua Casa, onde
teve abem, sentrou em Suspeito de larão do Estado doq’ ao
diante podia ser, vendo tanta gente acudir a dous Etran-
geiros, Lápoim prohibio aos feos Vapallos, que não fossem
além dos ditos Padres; e ultimamente faltando o anno de
quinte Navio de Macao, em Naturaes contra fe mandado
pequena dependencia dos Padres, e a conversa hio em avanto
prohibio detodo a ropa da nta Ley, desfez as Casas, e Igreja dos
Padres, que estava defronte do Paço que fica para o Rio a
mão esquerda, e deitrou ao Padre mandando o: embica
gali mui bem equipada a Bucim confins de Cochinchina
para
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para por ali se virem para Macao. Grande foi o sentimento, que tiveram os Christãos em especial os do forte deste deitro, e para os consolar deixaram por Cabeça sua Cathéquista por nome Francisco, que do Bonzo se tinha feito Christão, estava bem instruído nas Cousas da nossa Santa Fé. Chegaram os Padres a Bucino, andando acabando comodo para passar a Cochinchina e volveram para a Província de Guira, trazendo já convertidos, baptizados quasi todos os soldados, e remeiros.
Conheceu-se em Macao por via de Cochinchina outro balço em que os Padres estavão, e para lhes soccorrer mandou o P. Pedro Morjón Reitor deste Collegio, por o P. André Palme neste tempo estar dentro da China, que foi visitar no anno de 1629 em setembro aos Padres S. Paulo, e após depois glorioso Mártir, e ao P. Gaspar de Sotomayor, os quaes elegendo na Embarcação a Província de Guira ordenarão e aguardarão levando os Conselhos à Corte aonde todo o Rey recebeo com grande honra, porem em quanto ali esteve, não que foi até o Abril de 1630, não consentio o Rey que fossem Vasallos concorressem à sua Casa, nem que os Padres priessem, sublimemente o mandou a todos para Macao escrevendo ao P. Visitador que aquelles Padres lhe inquietavão os Reinos, destruía os Pagodes, fazia templos, igrejas, os mandava. Que sua Paternidade servisse delle mandar outros sem o Navio, que elle os receberia, estaria empeço como debaixo
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bem vontade. Deixaria o Padre, ordenação deste tres annos,
quatro feu mil almas baptisadas.
Chegou a Macao em Mayo de 1603, dando conta ao P.º do
grande fructo que naquelle Reyno se tinha colhido, e do muito
que aodiante se podia colher, logo movido o P.º Visitador no
seguinte anno de El mandou ao P.º Gaspar d’Arriaga por
Superior, com o P.º Antonio Fontes, e o P.º Antonio Cardim por seus
Companheiros. Chegaram a Cantão aos 7 de Março, e forão rece-
bidos d’Elley com extraordinaria honra, e favores, sampla
licencia para pregar nossa santa Fé. Porem embora se orde-
nou porque passado tres, ou quatro mezes havendo se deter-
minar os Navios mandou que se tornassem os Padres nelle por lhe inquie-
tarem seu Reyno; a Corte com aley que pregavão, porem alle-
gando lhe abrigar vareem para sua Igreja ficar pelo menos
hum Padre, o concedeo, deo tambem licenca para ficar hum
dos Companheiros com elle, e assim ficarão o P.º Gaspar d’Arria-
ga, e o P.º Antonio de Fontes, voltando para Macao o P.º Antonio
Cardim.
Acharão os Padres alli bristandose naquella vacancia muy
adiantada, por quanto os P.º Alexandre de Rhodes deixando alli ris-
tandose encomendada a tres Cathéquistes por nome Francisco,
Ignacio, e Andre, elles naquelles dez mezes offerecerão com tanto
cuidado que baptizaram denovo alguns quatro mil almas.
E para afim de fazerem o P.º Mufóz fazer tres juramentos: 1.º
de não cazarem. 2.º de não terem couza propria. 3.º de não
apartarem.
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apartarem hum do outro, mas estavam sempre unidos em ordem, aggregação do Evangelho, e terem cuidado da Christandade. Vendo os Reis que de novo tinham vindo de quanto effeito fora aquella traça, e adiante podia ser de grande proveito para toda a dita Christandade, os deixaram ficar na mesma forma, e n’elles fundou a Comunidade, e Congregação dos Cathoquitas que hoje he, mudando-lhe a tração puramente em obediência aos Reis, e a quem elles lhe quizessem em seu lugar. E porque aquella familia se avizinhava da montanha, deixaram na Corte africana por Superior daquella Casa, e mandava affracio residir em Chino, e o Superior da Casa, que foi em ella, se andou para Guia por Superior da Casa, que foi em Dam, compoder, e ordenou para se cobrem todos os que lhes parecessem idóneos, senhando cada anno algum que o N.º envie, dellas a fazer a Congregação numerosa. A qual foi, she começo mais efficaz demonstrim portancia para a muita Conversão que tem havido naquella Christandade.
O dito Padre que ficará de vertirão logo ao modo da terra, sem particulares, tomara húa Cabaya de Cor Rosa, com que fevai ao Paço do Rey, e ver fez podia emendar acto dos primeiros, que se effectuaraõ do Paço. Tomavaõ tambem a dita Cabaya para com ella livrem aos Ministros, e não fesem tal notador comodantes, porque quando or via com aquelle Cabaya cuidava que ou vinha, ou levava ao Paço.
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Baco, egor experiencia acharão que ahida para o Paco era
o melhor onçe hiriamos para se conseruarem na ellejad
a authoridade de S. Santidade, em mea federa deixar. Etinha
no Paco tanto respeito ao Padre, e El Rey lhe fazia tantas
honras que tinha entrada franca quando queria; estava
entre os grandes Mandarins do Reyno, sendo o bembuco
da Cabaya; pelo tempo adiante tornarão o barrete desbarado,
em Cordoem insignias do dobrador, abençarão em seu cabello
e barba como Nazareos para de todo se accommodar aos Naturaes.
A casa em que moraua foi ao principio de alequel
no Paco de Mandarim Vifoma Tuyen, depois em terra que elles
lhe deron fizeram huã de bambus coberta de palha. O segundo
anno morará em hua de Madeira, que comprara por dez
Taeis, quermando fe lhe. El Rey deo edito que hojirdemos em
Hangcheu para os de Macao fazerem huma gead de folha em que
guardasem duas fazendas por amor de fogo. A sombra deste
gedad fizemos as Casas de Hangcheu de folha, emiate novetio,
em que hoja esta, que he o em que moraua edito Mandarim
genro del Rey, e jòice distantes daquelle em que tuzemos
as primeiras Casas.
[Signature]
x Fizermo anno de 31 em Outubro de.
garad de Macao o Padre Jeronimo Maiories etheapolitano
cob. Bernardino Regio Lombardo. Deicho. o El Rey com
muita alegria, elogo lhes deu Cabaya Lord, eficarão no Reyao
elogo no anno seguinte de 32 foi o P. Jeronimo Maiories
para
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para a Província de Índia a fundar a Residência que fez
em Rum. E para Siam foi o P. António de Fontes fun-
dar, e fazer a Casa de Sto. Paulo, ficando na Corte o P. Bernar-
dino Regio, e o P. Gaspar de Amaral Superior da Missão,
que foi continuada até ao anno de 34, em que decol-
leu para diante ao P. Bernardino Regio, e foi sepultado às 25.
condedas na Igreja, ou Capella das Nossas Casas antigas,
onde sepultados três annos, foram por Opor levados, e enterra-
dos em Macau. Neste anno de 36 levando decol para diante ao
Padre André Calvo. Me succedeo o P. Manoel Dias Senior,
que no mesmo anno de 35 mandou de Macau o P. Martim
Culho, o qual tornou a este Collegio com Gregório daquella
Missão aos 3 domes de setembro de 1636, em 8° anno ao
P. António Barbosa, e ao Félix Mofely, e no de 37 mandou
por Vig. daquella Missão ao P. João Baptista Bonchy Mil-
lanis, sendo Reitor em Macau S. J.
No anno de 1663 aos 2 de Novembro foram desterrados
de Cantão os PP. Broto Borgias, José Tifanier, Pedro d’A-
vez, e ficou aquella Missão sem Padre, no qual tempo
apesar no anno de 1666 entrou lá hum Chirurgião Francex,
Francisco Dedon, e depois entraram 3 outros H. P.
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[Title]
Do princípio da Missão de Camboja.
[Main text]
O Primeiro da Companhia que entrou em o Reino de Camboja foi o P. Pedro Morey, natural de Lião, o qual em o ano de 1623, ou 1624, voltando de Roma onde tinha sido por Procurador da Província de Japão, tomou em Navegação a derrota para o Reino de Camboja a fim de animar, consolar aos Japões Christãos desterrados pela fé, os quaes da Holanda e outra partes vinham morar em Camboja por ser terra cómoda para sustentar vida. Depois de estar neste Reino três mezes, foi para Ucão, onde informou aos Superiores do Japão, em que ficarão os Christãos Japões sem Padre, que os ajudassem, e do fructo que se podia fazer em outros Japões que vinham a Camboja em feor juntar embarcações, armas, contra façanhas. Pelo que mandou a esta Missão o P. Justo, natural de Japão, onde trabalhou pouco tempo pelo atalhar a morte.
Neste tempo vierão quatro Religiosos da Manila da Ordem dos Dominicanos, os quaes aprenderão a lingua, trabalharam como Varões Apostólicos, colherão poucos, ou nenhum fructo da Conversão dos Cambodjanos, que se mostravão sempre duros em ouvir, abraçar as Cousas da sua Salvação; pelo que os Padres trataram de voltar para Manila, ajudando para isso negar o Rey licença para pregarem soja Santa fé, baptizarem os infantes, em pedimento.
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impedimento que parece fechar de todo as portas da pregação do sagrado Evangelho naquelles Reynos por ser agente Cambaya muito cobarde, dependente da vontade do Rey.
Em o anno de 1631 veio o P. Francisco Bugoni della Mâmpá a Cambaya buscar soccorro para os Companheiros, que lá ficavão captivos, e instantanea do mesmo Rey de Cambaya partio para Macao, e tornou o anno seguinte de 1632, esteve até o anno de 1634, emque foi charrado do Rey de Cochinchina, neste tempo trabalhou muito com hum Cathrequista chamado Agostinho, e se converterão cinco, ou seis Cambayas.
Neste tempo pelo anno de 1632 veio o P. Manuel Romão em companhia de alguns Japões, que se acolherão a Cambaya fugindo do novo Rey, que então velavam tava emliado, oqual por nada vi que degosta procurou haver visto ao Maom para se vingar delles. O P. Bugoni vendo seu bom talento para ajudar aos Japões seus naturaes fez que vindo a Macao tornasse a Cambaya sacerdote, onde esteve sette, ou oito annos, orfim dos quaes forão della usar a Cambaya o P. Alberto Mininsky Polaco, e o P. Antonio Capechi Neapolitano para com o P. Romão apprehenderem a lingua de Japão, e da hi porem secretamente a acudir aquelles Reynos, e Christandade tão perseguida. No fim do primeiro anno, emque o dito Padre chegara morreo o P. Romão, e para que não fique Cambaya sem Padre Suppo.
[Rubric]
To
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[Main text]
Supposto ordenar haverá de ser para Japão mandou o P.
Gonçalo de Amaral ao P. José Agnes, onde esteve até o ano
de 1548, em que voltou para a Colónia e daí p. Macao,
ficando em seu lugar o P. Francisco Ribeiro Neapolitano.
Continuou depois nesta Missão o P. José da
via Leiria desde o anno de 1651 até o anno de 1659 por,
te estando só, parte sendo superior, até que vindo neste
anno de 59 o P. Carlos da Rocha por Superior com o P.
António Lopes, succedendo as guerras em que o Rey de Cochim
chegou conquistou aquele Reino, e trouxe preso o Rey
Cambayano, e hindo os mais dos Christãos para várias par-
tes forçará também todos os P. para Macao.
Tornou o mesmo P. Carlos da Rocha por Sup.
em o anno de 1662 onde achou o P. Jerónimo Maciel, e
tinha vindo com muitos Christãos Lancados de Malaca,
embora ficará continuando a Missão, e no anno de 1669
vindo desembarcar o P. Carlos da Rocha fez Naufragio, e veio
dar à Cintad onde morreu.
No anno de 1676 partirão deste Collegio de Macao
por ordem do Março os P. José Baptista Maldonado, e José de Barros
Português em hum barco dedicado para dali passarem a Cambaya
e tbm com tenção de tornarem a abrir Missão de Laos, off já
tinham hido no anno de 1642 o P. José Maria Leiria onde
estiveram alguns annos sem muito fructo.
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[Title]
Cap. 8. Do princípio da Missão da Ilha de Hainan.
[Main text]
Deo se principiou esta Missão o anno de 1593 pelo Padre Pedro Marquez Portuguez, e pelo Irmão Domingos Mendes de nação china nascido em Macao, onde falleceo depois o anno de 1652. Sucedido de fei Abrix esta Missão foi frand Christão Mandarim chamado Paulo filho de outro que levou a China o P. Matheus Ricci, o qual era natural daquella Ilha, e vindo a Macao com certos Negocios antes de partir para Hainan para onde hia degredado alcançou do P. Visitador este de Palmo lhe desse Permissão para fazerem Christandade em sua Patria. E posto que levando os de arriscava a ser acuzado de meter Liturgicos naquella Ilha, e perder por isso o officio, etc. outros muitos trabalhos, Cortou por tudo, e meteo os P. em Hainan onde logo em dia de Pascoa baptizaram aquelle, a Nord, quatro sobrinhos, contra quinze jefoes da casa deste Mandarim.
Esta Missão correu por conta da P. Provincia da China até o anno de 1641 em que o N. P. Geral por petição do P. Alvaro Venedo Procurador da mesma Provincia em Roma applicou a Japão, por não ter a Provincia despeitos bastantes para agrouer, eferm. Difultosos visitar a Provincia que veio de dentro da China, e por outros Lagoens de Confiurança.
[Signature]
Entrou depois do P. Pedro Marquez o P. Bento de
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de Mattos, que esteve naquella Missão acompanhado por
o tempo dos P. André Libelli, Miguel Boim, e Padre Nunes,
e ornais tempo do até o anno de 1640, quando hua Arma-
da vindou em forma de guerra contra a Ilha, sendo o P.
Fratres de Concentor, ficou detido, e botarão com os grilhões
aornar por vir logo obertaro afugentar, como fugirão
a Ilha, e ficou activo fem Padre alguns annos, e em
Março de 1653 partio para esta Missão o P. Mathias de Mayo
levando para Companheiro o P. João Pereira, que ainda
era Noviço, O qual P. Bento de Mattos assim referido en-
trou no anno de 1633, e no anno de 37 tornou para Macao
por ordem dos Mandarins, e no anno de 1644 tornou para
Hakun, onde este esteve até 1646, por conta da sua letra,
dois mil cento, e sincoenta baptimos feitos por elle, e fes
Catequiztas. Neste meio tempo falleceo em Macao por Vi-
zitador sendo já morto.
Não pode neste anno de 1653 restaurar
aquella Missão porque o barco desmentindo, em que o P. Fria
para desembarcar nas praias de Hakun, elide foi por
fora, e a Vinda inda que se desembarcou, era praya omico
que le vava por jutubazes, e tinha estado em Hakun fun-
do do mar falta do estado de terra, Voltou dizendo que não
podia entrar o P. por hir em traje destartado, e assentado
debartar, o qual houve pouco mezes erá dancado
da Ilha, e ago vernavão os Chinas, o qual grito gera falso
omoco
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vmaço apoube tão bem pintar que perfeccionou ao P. Caos
de Navio, mas poderá ficar por então na Ilha; será forçado
tornar-se embarcar logo.
Ficou aquella Missão, a Christandade sem ter Padre algum
até que em 24 de Junho, dia de S. João Baptista, de 1656 entrou
nella por Superior o mesmo P. Mathias da Maya, demarcado
Portuguez, com o P. José Baptista Brando, Neapolitano, em
companhia do P. João Nicolao Smogolenski, Polaco, q. falava
lingua, escrito de China de Guangtão, levou ao P. q. terra
a Mainad, donde voltando depois q. a sua Provincia mor-
reu em Macao no mesmo anno; estambeem foi o P. Estanis-
lao Torrente com o P. Mathias da Maya.
Entrando depois em 30 de Abril de 1657 na mesma
Missão o P. José Forjet, subdiaco Lyolon Francês, e por f.
ao P. Mathias da Maya veio patente para Provincial de Japão;
sucedeo em Superior o P. José Forjet, que morrendo em 23 de
Outubro de 1660 ficou o P. Estanislao Torrente, Italiano de
Macau, por Superior de toda a Missão, para onde partio de
Macau o P. Antonio Lopes, Portuguez, em companhia do P.
Pascoal Frideric, denunciad Vina, em 22 de Julho de 1661.
No anno de 1664 entrou a perfeiçionar; ficou a Missão
sem Padres. No anno de 1671 o mesmo P. Estanislao Torren-
te voltou para Kajrad, ficou por Superior até o anno
de 1680, aonde defunto, em que morreo o P. Estanis-
lao Torrente, succedeo o P. Francisco Capadi, que
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digo tuecidos a P. Francisco da Veiga, que ficou do até
o anno de 1685, em que foi mandado de Cantão, onde estava
o P. Joaquim Caldas, que morreu em 86; morreo, e ficou
outra vez do até o anno de 91, no fim em que os Mores se
mandarão para Haynão o P. Francisco Cabral, que no anno
de 93 tornou para Tonan, ficando outra vez do, e no anno
de 94 mandarão para Haynão ao P. João Pacheco; em anno
de 96 veio patente de Provincial de Japão ao P. Francisco
da Veiga, e em seu lugar foi gerado Superior da Missão de
Haynão o P. João Pereira, ficando por seu Companheiro
o P. João Pacheco.
[Heading]
Cap. 9. Dos principios da Missão de Laos.
[Main text]
O Primeiro que intentou entrar nesta Missão do Reyno de
Laos, que como se tem dito, chamam os de Laos, foi o Padre Ba-
ptista Bocarro, o qual depois, deterido algum tempo em
curador da Província de Japão, eleitor do Collegio de Ma-
cao, sendo por Visitador da Missão de Funai, no anno
de 1637 cometteu a jornada por via da Província de Indos,
que esta vizinha a Corte, o Japão dos Laos, governados
dos Burins agros daquellas partes. Me adoeceu nove Mes-
sias, que acompanhavam, em morte de dois, cedendo
como Padre morreo tambem em 4 de Setembro de 1638.
Depois em Abril do anno de 1642 por via de
Camboya
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Camboya. Campanha em Caga do novo Rey de Camboya,
filho de Humão hao. Se embarcou o P. João Maria de Iría.
Depois de três mezes chegou com muito trabalho ao porto
do Laos, onde esteve alguns annos padecendo muito com
pouco fructo.
Cap. 10. Do princípio da Missão de Cochinchina.
Começou a Missão de Cochinchina em 18 de janeiro do
anno de 1616. Vende Reitor do Collegio de Macao o Padre
Manoel Dias Demore, Provincial de Japão, ao P. Valentim
Carvalho. O primeiro da Companhia que nella entrará
fora o P. Francisco Bordoni Neapolitano, que depois
morreo neste Collegio, e o P. Diogo Carvalho Portuguez, Na-
tural de Coimbra, que depois morreo Mártir em Japão, e
o P. Fr. Antonio Dias, que depois morreo degredado em
Camboya.
Em anno de 1617 foi por Vigilador daquella Mis-
são o P. Manoel Barreto, que depois morreo em Japão,
e no anno de 1618 por Superior o P. Pedro Marques, que
tambem morreo em Japão. Vgo.
Em anno de 1619 elevou-se húa grande per-
seguição, em que hum Bonzo Môr, grande inimigo da
Nossa Santa Ley, fez com hum Privado do Rey para que
mandasse desterrar os Padres, derrubar as Igrejas
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ficarão porem em pé hua em Casão com titulo de
Casa da Ethay Joasina & fora formão, ou sobrinha de
hum Mandarim muito grave, tambem ficarão
alguns Padres escondidos posto que com m. trabalho.
Depois de varios successos em o anno de 1539 cobrou a
Missão por via depressa algũa paz, mas nãò flogeou
muito porque o P. João Maria dizia que era supe-
rior: succedeo ao P. Gaspar Luis foi denovo lançado da
Caza de Cochim depois de amarrado, e espanqueado. O
Anno seguinte de 1540 foi de Macao o P. Alexandre
Rhodes, e fez amizade com o Capitão dos Japões, e ape-
rimentou favor com o Rey porem tambem durou pou-
co esta esperança, porque falleceram os mais tempes-
tade o anno de 1541 em que o Rey mandou matar pela
Confissão da sua patente Fe o Catequista André.
Depois ate o anno de 1552 nãò conseruio o Rey os
Padres estarem ordinariamente no Reyno mais que o
tempo que nelle estavão os Portugueses com suas em-
baxadoras, que seriam cinco, ou seis mezes em que os
Padres visitavão, enjudavão alla Cristandade como podião,
que eraõ prais que dous. E Superior destes estes annos
foi o P. Methoscano Siciliano, demarcad.
Panno de 1552 comparêstou o Rey da Cochinchina de
Champa, e abrandou algum tanto a perseguição, con-
sentindo que hum P. ficasse no Reyno, e que outro viesse
a Macao
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a Macao nab como desterrado, mas para ajudar ao
desamparado logue com a cidade pertendia ficou o Pe. Superior,
tendo ab P. Pedro Marques que voltou no anno de 1653.
p. 978.
Cap. II. Do principio da Missão de Cantão
Começou haver Igreja e Padres na Cidade de Cantão pe-
lo anno de 1649 em occasião da gente de Macao, que foi em be-
corro do Rey Vem dije, a quem obedecia a Provincia de Can-
tao com outras que ainda não estavaõ sugeitas aos
Tartaros, em tempo morreram ahi desdença os Pe.
Francisco Vaez e Joam Ferreira. Depois os Tar-
taros em Dezembro de 1650 tomaram a possessão de Cantão
porque ainda ahy ficavão alguns meços ab Alvaro Ve-
medo, e alguns Padres que hião p. a China dentro, e pa
Haynão, depojs gem acodiam aos Christaos que ali fi-
cavão, e tinham a sua Igreja ou Ermita, em que os Pe.
Meess Simeão de Mira e Misja, eram sacramentavão, sem ausencia
delle, pojuntavão os Christaos a orar.
Em anno de 1658 sendo Vig. ab Simão de Lunda
Provincial de Japão ab M. Matias d'Almeyda, vejo orden
do N.M.R. Geral Jozevino Nichel para que as duas Pro-
vincias de China, Cantão, e Quansi, ou Confui ficassem
a conta da Provincia de Japão, e esta as proveje de
Missionarios, La sim foi mandado pelo D. Superior.
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aceitou a Missão o P. André Lubelli em Março de 1659.
fez Igreja com laza, & herdancia fixa, a qual porem
ficou por ordem do P. Provincial annexa ao Collegio,
e o superior della subito Collectar do Collegio de Macao. 84.
[Heading]
Cap. 12 da Missão de Shiab.
[Main text]
Posto que no Reyno de Shiab estiveram P. de Nossa Companhia
em varias occasioens, o primeiro que nelle entrou pelos
annos de 1638 foi o P. Balthazar de Sequeira da Provincia
de Fochim, com tudo alarã, & herança informada fez
mecou em anno de 1656 pela Provincia de Japão, fez
de apetição, e instancia dos moritos Christãos que ali
moravão, em que entravão alguns Japoneses, os quaes
davão por razão de sua frieza na Christandade, a falta
da doutrina dos Padres da Companhia, com quem se criavão,
e com quem só se entendião, erão jepodiam accomodar
com outro Ministro, que naquelle Reyno havia, esforçado
todos em sua Carta ao P. Pez. alcançarão o dese-
jado; foi o P. Thomaz Valguarneira por superior, depois
em anno de 1659 lhe succedeo o P. João Cardozo & junto
com o cargo de superior davão ordem para he começar
nova Legidencia em Tonnaparem, Porto ordinario onde
erão os Navios da India pertencente ao mesmo Reyno
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Ao Meemo Reyno de Vead onde hua Igreija chamada
Maria Carneiro fariam doação da parte desafazerem
em vida, aparte em Morte para se fazer ali huma
Igreja, caindo da autoridade do Padre, e por que
ob. Logo partio, chegou a dito Porto, constuido por
acar ali já ob. Manoel Carvalho da Provincia de Co-
chim, adou algua dificuldade em fazer Igreia em
Tamafarim, e determinou fazer Igreja em outro
lugar chamado Merquim, para ficar mais desembara-
cado ao intento principal da Conversão dos gentios natu-
raes, entre tanto que da Provincia de Cochim se esperava
ordem sobre ficarem ali alguns da mesma Prov. que lhe
cederem ao B. Manoel Carvalho, o qual neste Tempo
Deos elevou para si, em P. de Cochim largarao aquella Igreja,
e de lá para Vead. logo decidido para lá foi o B. Joao Cardozo por
tres annos pouco mais ou menos, e depois delle outro dous an.
esteve o B. Manoel Soares, finalmente por nao ter que fazer
e por vir obrigario da Lara del Thomé os nossos B. largarao
aquella Igreiencia H. 1540.
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[ILLEGIBLE: entire body of text due to faded ink and poor contrast]
[translation]
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— PAGE —
1
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CXVI
2–11, no. 46
000396
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CXVI
2–11
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1
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[Circular stamp: BIBLIOTECA PÚBLICA E ARQUIVO DISTRITAL DE ÉVORA]
(Public Library and District Archive of Évora)
[Stamp — right margin, upper position]
[Circular seal bearing a coat of arms and partially legible inscription: [UNCLEAR: text fragment visible] .A.R.C.H.I.V.O.]
[Marginal annotation — top left]
CXVI
2–11
[Main text]
This volume, recording the names and benefactions of the Superiors and Patrons of the College of the Mother of God in Macau, belongs to the Procurators of the said College, in accordance with Rule 2 of their office, which prescribes its maintenance as an instrument of acknowledgment and gratitude—duties expressly enjoined by our Constitutions in relation to our Patrons.
Chapter I: On the foundation of this College (or House) and on the Superiors who governed it up to the year 1617.
Chapter II: On the foundation of the Mission and Christian community in Japan, and on the principal Superiors who promoted it.
The foundation of this Christian community dates to the Blessed Father Francis Xavier in the year 1549; he was the first to undertake this mission, to preach the Holy Gospel therein, and to serve as the first Superior of the Society of Jesus in Japan. The second Superior was Father Lourenço de Torres, whom Xavier appointed in his stead, accompanied by Brother João Foz—whom Xavier had brought with him from India. From Japan, Torres returned to India to recruit further companions for the mission; and, returning thence to Japan with eager anticipation and hopeful resolve, he sought also to extend our Holy Faith throughout that great land.
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Aleixo died within sight of China on the island of Lamchão on 2 December 1559, aged twenty-two years. He had departed from Portugal in 1541 and arrived in India in May 1542, having wintered in Melaka en route. During this decade, he traversed almost all the territories in India that the Portuguese had then discovered, and founded Christian communities along both coasts of Travancore, the Deccan, the Moluccas, and Japan—foundations which his spiritual ‘sons’, the Jesuit Fathers of the Society of Jesus, subsequently expanded.
In the meantime, Father Master Belchior, Superior of all the Jesuits in the East, set out from Goa for Japan in 1554, wintered in Melaka, and reached Japan in 1556. There he visited and consoled local populations and the nascent Christian community before returning to India later that same year, taking with him nine individuals deemed personally suspect.
The third superior was Father Francisco Cabral, who baptised Dom Francisco, King of Bungo.
The fourth was the Blessed Gaspar Coelho: though appointed by the Jesuit superiors, he was the first to govern the Society in this mission territory under the formal title of Vice-Provincial.
The fifth was Father Pedro Gomes, Vice-Provincial.
The sixth was the Blessed Francisco Raffio, Vice-Provincial; he was succeeded in July 1611 by the Blessed Valentim Carvalho, who assumed the title of Provincial—by then, the Province of Japan had been formally separated from the Provinces of India. Simultaneously, the Blessed Francisco Raffio began serving as Visitor of this Province; he later died at the College of Macau in August 1612.
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No doubt whatsoever may be raised against this account.
Letters.
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Extracts from letters sent by Father General Claudio Aquaviva to Father Francisco Paio in 1611, 1612, and 1613, addressing him as Provincial of the Province of Japan and China—though he had not in fact held that office. Rather, he had been appointed directly from Vice-Provincial to Visitor (Visitador) in the same year, 1611. This anomaly arose because the Province of Japan and China had, several years earlier, been formally constituted in Rome as an independent province, separate from the Provinces of India; however, this reorganisation remained unknown in Japan. The delay stemmed both from the vast distance between Japan and Rome—letters typically took four, and sometimes as many as five, years to arrive—and from the inherent uncertainties of maritime navigation. Indeed, some of the official letters conveying the General’s decree establishing Japan as a distinct province were lost en route. Consequently, although the letters eventually reached Japan, knowledge of the change did not arrive until 1611, when the order arrived appointing Father Valentim Carvalho as Provincial and assigning Father Francisco Paio the role of Visitor—a directive which was duly implemented. Thus, Father Valentim Carvalho served simultaneously as the first Provincial of the newly constituted Province of Japan and China and as Superior Major (Superior maior) of the Order of the Jesuits (Ordo Societatis Iesu) in the region referred to above.
In 1614, there were 150 Jesuit religious (i.e., members of the Society of Jesus) resident in Japan. Of these, 23 were exiled to Manila and 73 to Macau; the remaining 54 remained in Japan clandestinely. Father Valentim Carvalho served as Provincial of the Province of Japan and China from 1611 until 1619, when he was succeeded by Father Matheos de Couros. However, a patent (i.e., formal appointment document) issued for Father Jerónimo Rodrigues (senior) was rendered ineffective, as he was prevented from travelling freely to Japan due to his presence in Macau; accordingly, Father Francisco Vieira, acting as Visitor, assumed administrative responsibility pending further instructions from Rome.
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Successions in the Province of Japan:
The first succession occurred when Father Matheus de Carros served as Provincial until the year 1621, in which year a patent appointing Father Francisco Pacheco as Provincial was issued. Father Pacheco was martyred on 20 July 1626 and was the first Provincial of Japan to die a martyr’s death. He was succeeded by Father Matheus de Carros, who thus assumed the office for the second time—on 29 October 1633—and died shortly thereafter near Euximi (present-day Ōmura), exhausted by excessive labours and the severe hardships endured during the persecutions instigated by the *daimyō* Dom Bay (i.e., Arima Harunobu) and subsequently intensified under his successor, Tenka (i.e., Matsura Takanobu).
Upon Father Carros’s death, Father Sebastião Vieira was appointed Vice-Provincial by order of Father André Palmeiro, SJ, the Apostolic Visitor to the East Indies and former professed Jesuit of the Province of Japan. Father Vieira held this office from 13 October 1633 until his arrest and subsequent martyrdom at the shogunal court in Edo (modern-day Tokyo) on 6 July 1634.
During this period, the office of Provincial remained vacant, and governance of the Japanese mission devolved upon the Apostolic Visitors, as the Society lacked sufficient information regarding the number and whereabouts of its members remaining in Japan—a situation necessitated by the increasing severity of persecution and the consequent breakdown of regular communication. Successive Visitors administered the province until 1638.
At the beginning of that year, Father Manuel Dias, SJ, then Apostolic Visitor, appointed Father Gaspar Luis—then stationed in Cochinchina—as Rector of the College of Macau and simultaneously declared him Vice-Provincial of Japan, in accordance with Canon 22 of the Fifth General Congregation (1608). Father Gaspar Luis accordingly travelled from Cochinchina to Macau, where he assumed both offices and served a three-year term as Vice-Provincial. At its conclusion, he undertook a visitation of Miyako (a district within the domain of Funai, in present-day Ōita Prefecture, Kyūshū).
On returning from Funai on 22 October 1641, Father Gaspar Luis—acting under instructions from Father António Rubino, SJ, Vicar Apostolic of the East Indies—appointed Father Gaspar de Amaral, Rector of the College of Macau, as his successor and Vice-Provincial.
To the Father…
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Father Gaspar de Amaral was succeeded in the rectorship and provincialate by Father João Cabral in 1645, appointed by the Blessed Father Melchior de Azevedo; he governed for one year.
Father João Cabral was in turn succeeded—both as rector and as provincial—by Father Sebastião d’Almeida, by patent issued by the Blessed Father [Melchior] de Azevedo; he governed for three full years. Upon completion of this triennium, the ‘Vias’ (canonical pathways or formal procedures) for appointing the provincial of Japan were opened at the instruction of Father Manuel de Azevedo, and through these same ‘Vias’, Father João Cabral was formally reappointed on 26 July 1649. By order of the same Blessed Father Melchior de Azevedo, acting as vicar general (*Vicarius*), Father Cabral was simultaneously confirmed in office as rector.
Upon conclusion of Father João Cabral’s triennium and the opening of the succession process for the provincialate of this province on 28 August 1652, a delay occurred while awaiting official confirmation (*Mea*) from Rome, as a ship from India had recently arrived bearing correspondence—but no suitable candidates for appointment were among its dispatches. When it became clear that no further instructions or nominees would arrive imminently, the ‘Antigas’ (the traditional electoral procedure involving consultation of senior members of the province) were convened. In the first ballot, Father João Cabral was again elected; in the second, Father Jerónimo Mayrea—who was then residing in Tuncum (Tongking)—was elected provincial of this province. Although Father Mayrea could not immediately assume office due to the requirement that provincials reside within their jurisdiction (*viação*), he was nonetheless able to be formally installed (*avivado*) at the College of the Jesuits in Macau (referred to here by the archaic toponym *Jeronimes*, i.e., *São Jerónimo*, the name of the Jesuit college in Macau). This procedural accommodation was justified by the papal brief of Pope Innocent X (1644–1655), which stipulated that members of the Society of Jesus serving in overseas provinces were not required to observe the standard three-year term (*trienno*) before reappointment—thus permitting Father João Cabral to remain in office until 3 March 1653, when the newly appointed commissary (*avogo*) from Tuncum finally arrived. As Father Jerónimo Mayrea had already accepted his election, he formally assumed governance on 14 April 1653.
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Father João Cabral was succeeded by Father Jerónimo de Mayorica, who assumed office both in the Tuntim Mission—where he had already arrived as heir apparent—and as Provincial of Japan on 14 April 1603. He died in the Tuntim Mission on 29 January 1606, while still holding the office of Provincial. However, as he was absent from this College, news of his death did not reach us until the end of that same year, when a letter—dispatched overland—arrived. It was brought by several individuals who had travelled overland and survived a shipwreck; the vessel in question was the *Navio de António da Cota Beirnude*, which had been en route back to this city.
Father Jerónimo de Mayorica was succeeded on 16 April 1606 by Father Martim Coelho, as no Vice-Provincial was then in office. The latter arrived at the beginning of July of that year. It appears that the appointed Vice-Provincial had either died or was otherwise incapacitated, and the Visitor’s triennial term expired before the impediment preventing the Vice-Provincial’s assumption of office had been resolved. In accordance with the papal brief issued by Pope Innocent X governing such vacancies, it was deemed appropriate to appoint a new Vice-Provincial on 10 July 1606, effective from nine o’clock in the morning.
On 19 August 1608, Father Mathias de Araya entered upon the office of Provincial of Japan by virtue of a papal patent issued in Rome. He governed for three years, during which he died. Upon the opening of the lines of succession, Father José Máriz de Sá was designated as his successor. As Father Máriz de Sá was then resident in Macau—whence a vessel was expected daily—the Provincial Consultors judged that, in these circumstances, a dispensation was warranted.
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Pursuant to a dispensation granted by His Holiness Pope Alexander VII, and a declaration issued by the Most Reverend Father General, the Provincial superiors were permitted to remain in office beyond the customary triennial term on account of grave and pressing necessity (*gravissima causa*), and for a brief period only (*ad breve tempus*). Accordingly, the Venerable Mathias d’Araya continued in office for a further seven days, until 26 August 1661, when the Venerable José Maria Leiria—having arrived from Lisbon—was appointed Provincial Superior in the chapel assembly (*in capella*) and formally received the *via successio* (the canonical process of succession) and the administration of the community.
On 26 August 1661, upon conclusion of the triennial term of the Venerable José Maria Leiria, the *via successio* was opened. The name of the Venerable Wifrio Borges appeared first on the list; however, as he had already died previously in Jacatra, the second candidate on the list—the Venerable Héctor M. Ruiz—assumed the office of Provincial Superior. He governed the province until 24 March 1667, the date on which he passed away while still holding office.
On 27 March 1667—three days after the death of the Venerable Héctor M. Ruiz—the Venerable Pedro Marques was elected Vice-Provincial. This appointment followed the prior death of the Venerable Helbelo Vaccaro in Cochinchina; Marques thus stood third in the established order of succession (*tertia via successio*).
On 26 August 1667, the second *via successio* was opened for the office of Provincial Superior. The name of Father Pedro Kuzarte appeared therein; however, as he was absent in Europe, the Most Reverend Visitor Luís da Fama appointed the Venerable André Gomes as Provincial Superior *ad interim*.
On 21 July 1670, upon opening the *via successio* for this province, the name of the Venerable Filippo Marino was found listed, and he assumed the office of Provincial Superior on that same day.
Upon completion of his triennial term, the Venerable Filippo Marino was succeeded in the office of Provincial Superior by the Venerable José Cardoso on 21 July 1673.
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Upon the conclusion of Father João Cardoso’s triennial term, the prescribed canonical procedures (‘Vias deduzidas’) were initiated. The appointment was then conferred upon Father André Dubellis; however, as he was absent in China, the administration remained—by necessity—under Father Cardoso’s continued authority for a further year. Father Cardoso himself was also absent, having travelled to India and subsequently to Cochinchina, where he perished in a shipwreck in 1576.
Father André Dubellis arrived in Macau from China on 22 July 1577 and assumed governance for a full triennium. At its conclusion, he was again absent—this time engaged in missionary work in China—and thus the third-ranking candidate, Father Francisco Pimentel, was appointed in his stead. Father Pimentel likewise died in Tonkin. The next designated appointee was Father Francisco Davies Philypues, who commenced his governance in Canton on 1 December 1580, before relocating to Macau later that same year.
The first provincial election (‘1ª Via de Provincial’) concluded in December 1583, during which Father André Gomes—already deceased—had held office. A second election (‘2ª Via’) was then convened, resulting in the nomination of Father Manuel Ferreira, who was then stationed in Tonkin and had already been summoned to Rome. Following deliberation in consultation (*in Consulta*), he was deemed impeded (*impedido*) from assuming office. A third election (‘3ª Via’) followed, yielding the appointment of Father José Díaz Nier, who assumed governance on 6 December and served until 25 July of the following year, when he received a papal mandate appointing him Apostolic Visitor.
On 25 July 1584, the ‘Maço de Roma’ (i.e., the official dispatch from Rome) was opened, containing the papal bull appointing Father Vicente Varrão as Provincial. His triennial term concluded on 25 July 1587.
Upon the expiry of Father Vicente Varrão’s term, Father Francisco Sogueira—having arrived promptly from Goa bearing formal letters patent (*Patente*)—was due to succeed him as Provincial. However, Father Sogueira declined the appointment. Consequently, on 31 July [1587], the first provincial election (‘1ª Via de Provincial’) was reopened, and Father Filippo Fregosi was elected. He took formal possession of the office on that same day.
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Office dated 31 July 1607. Upon completion of the triennial term of Fr Philip Fierqui, His Majesty directed that the Father who had served as Provincial—then Fr Francisco Xavier Felipuchi—should succeed him. Fr Felipuchi had recently concluded his tenure as Vicar General and Provincial on 6 January 1611.
Fr Francisco Nogueira succeeded him as Vicar General and Provincial of Japan on 6 January 1611. Upon the expiry of his triennium, the office of Vicar General lapsed, and the customary process for appointing a new Provincial of Japan was initiated. In the first round of nominations (‘first via’), Fr Francisco Xavier Felipuchi was named—but he had already died. The second ‘via’ was therefore opened, naming Fr Alexandre Ciero; however, he was so severely impeded in the imperial court at Peking that he could not assume office. The third ‘via’ was then opened, designating Fr Francisco da Veiga—who was then serving as Superior of the Mission in Hainan—and he accepted the appointment. Consequently, Fr Nogueira continued in office *ad interim*.
He remained in this capacity until the year 1695, when fresh nominations arrived: in the first ‘via’, Fr Reginaldo Burger—then residing in Goa—was named, and His Majesty renewed his appointment. Fr Nogueira thus continued provisionally until the fourth ‘via’ arrived in 1696, bearing Fr Burger’s formal excuse (‘escusa’) for non-acceptance. At that time, a new royal patent (‘patente’) was issued in July 1696, together with three further nominations (‘viás’). The patent appointed Fr Francisco da Veiga—still stationed in Hainan—as Provincial of Japan. He requested clarification (‘recado’) regarding the terms of his appointment and, though reluctant, was obliged to accept. He arrived at this College on 10 October 1696 and formally took possession both of the office of Provincial and of that of Rector.
By then, Fr Tomé Paz—who had been acting as Provincial of Japan in place of Fr Francisco Nogueira—had already died in Macau. Fr Nogueira himself had likewise died on the same day—5 November 1696—in Tonkin; Fr Paz followed him in death the next day, 6 November, in Macau.
Thereupon, Fr Francisco da Veiga was admonished: having made certain administrative dispositions in Canton prior to his departure for this College, he was required to conclude those matters before assuming full authority.
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… and, in fact, his triennial term concluded on 3 October 1609.
The Venerable Francisco da Veiga was succeeded in the office of Provincial of Japan and Rector of this College by the Venerable Manuel Carvalho y Patente, who arrived from the Province of Goa, having been dispatched to Macau by the Most Reverend Father General for appointment as Provincial of Japan and Rector of this College. He assumed office—having been elected Provincial—on 3 September 1609.
Upon the conclusion of the Venerable Manuel Carvalho’s triennium, the first succession clause (*suceçad*) of his patent was opened, and therein the Venerable Miguel de Amaral was named as his successor. Amaral took possession of the Provincialate—having been elected Provincial—on 3 September 1622, and continued in governance until 6 January 1624, on which date he embarked for Goa, having received, on 7 August 1623, formal instructions and a patent (*patente*) from the Most Reverend Father General appointing him Visitor (*Vigário*) of the Province of Goa. Moreover, since the said Venerable Amaral had previously declined, in 1618, another patent by which the Most Reverend Father General had intended to appoint him Visitor of both Goa and Malabar, the Father General now added, on this second occasion, an explicit precept of obedience requiring acceptance of the said office of Visitor of Goa.
On 8 August 1623—i.e., one day after receiving the aforementioned patent appointing him Visitor of Goa—the Provincial Miguel de Amaral convened a consultation, during which the second succession clause (*suceçad*) of the Venerable Manuel Carvalho’s patent was opened. Therein, the Venerable António de Barros—then Vicar of the Province of Goa and currently serving as Provincial of Malabar—was named Provincial of Japan and Rector of this College. As Barros could not be despatched from Malabar to Macau before the departure of the Father from Goa (i.e., Fr Miguel de Amaral), and as no further succession clause for the Provincialate of Japan remained extant at the time of Amaral’s departure for Goa, the latter appointed…
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He appointed as his successor the Provincial of Japan, together with other members of this College of Macau, Father Manuel Olório; however, the said Father António de Barros—who had been designated—declined the appointment on grounds of advanced age. Father Provincial Manuel Olório therefore assumed office on 6 January 1604.
In August of the same year (1604), two letters patent (*patentes*) issued by the Most Reverend Father General arrived for the governance of the Province of Japan. Neither bore a named successor. One was explicitly marked *‘aberta’* (‘open’), intended to be delivered immediately to Father Diogo Vidal—who had previously served as Procurator of Japan in Rome but had not yet returned to the East. The second was marked *‘para abrir causa mortis’* (‘to be opened upon death’) or, alternatively, *‘upon conclusion of the term of office of the said Father Diogo Vidal’*.
As Father Vidal neither arrived nor was expected to do so imminently, Father Provincial Manuel Olório—acting upon consultation with his council—determined that the second letter patent should be opened. Upon doing so, it was found to appoint Father Francisco Pinto, who was then absent from Japan, serving in the Province of Saint Francis Xavier (Santinho) as Administrator of the China mission at the Missionary Convent in Canton—a post he had held for many years. Immediate notification was dispatched to him; yet, as he failed to arrive, Father Provincial Manuel Olório continued to govern.
The aforementioned Father Diogo Vidal had obtained permission to depart for Japan in March 1604, setting sail from Lisbon via Goa. He died during that same voyage en route to Goa; news of his death did not reach Macau until August 1605.
Father Francisco Pinto arrived in Canton, where he formally assumed the office of Provincial on 24 February 1605. He reached Macau on 6 March of the same year and continued to hold both the office of Provincial of Japan and that of Rector of this College.
In August 1608, a further letter patent appointing a Provincial of Japan and Rector of the College of Macau arrived for the said Father Miguel de Amaral, who was then residing in Goa, holding the office of Vicar-General (*Vigilante*) of that province.
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Order of His Most Reverend Father General appointing Father Francisco Pinto to continue in the same offices of Provincial of Japan and Rector of Macau until the arrival in Macau of the aforementioned Father Miguel de Amaral, whom His Most Reverend Father General had previously notified—by the present patent—of his appointment to those offices. It was understood that, upon concluding his term as Visitor of the Province of Japan, Father Amaral intended to proceed to Macau at the earliest opportunity. Having completed his term as Visitor, Father Amaral departed from Goa for Macau in May 1610 and arrived in this city and college on 26 July of the same year. On that very day—26 July 1610—Father Miguel de Amaral assumed office as Provincial of Japan and Rector of Macau. This followed the conclusion of the triennial term commencing in April 1607, during which the first succession had been held in consultation: the late Father Jerónimo de Moraes (who died in Goa) had been elected Provincial; upon his death, the second succession was convened, and Father José Peres—then absent in Cochinchina—was elected. Consequently, Father Miguel de Amaral continued to discharge the duties of Provincial and Rector pending formal notification of Father Peres and his subsequent assumption of office. Father Peres, however, declared himself unable to take up the post in Macau owing to insuperable impediments, and—as no further successor was available—the appointment devolved upon Father Miguel de Amaral, who thus continued in the office of Provincial.
In 1616, on 10 July, a patent appointing a Provincial of Japan arrived in Macau, containing provisions for two successive appointments. The patent named Father José Monteiro—designated for the Province of China, then experiencing administrative difficulties—as the principal appointee; this appointment was duly implemented. Upon convening the first succession, Father José Peres was again elected and formally notified; yet, returning from Cochinchina, he reiterated the same impossibilities cited above. In the following year, the second and final succession was held, and Father Stanislaus Machado was elected.
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Machado, Lieutenant in Funai, likewise assumed office there, having arrived under a mandate of obedience issued by Provincial Miguel de Amaral, who served as secretary. Machado formally assumed the office of Provincial at Funai on 12 June 1578. News of this appointment reached Macao on 20 August of the same year (1578), whereupon Father Miguel de Amaral concluded his term as Provincial—having held that office continuously for eight years and twenty-five days. Father Estanislau Machado continued to govern from Funai; meanwhile, in Macao, he had appointed Father João Pereira as his duly constituted Provincial Vicar.
Perceiving, however, that all regarded it as impracticable for him to govern the Province effectively from Funai—and that administrative oversight from that location was unworkable—Father Provincial Estanislau Machado, while still in Funai, issued formal powers to the Provincial Consulta, authorising it *ad plenum* to appoint his successor in the office of Provincial. This delegation followed upon receipt of another papal brief (*humiliatio*) from Rome. Acting under this commission, the Consulta elected Father Miguel de Amaral as Provincial. He succeeded Father Estanislau Machado and formally assumed governance once again on 26 August 1578.
[Heading]
Chapter III: The Visitors Appointed by the Generals of the Society of Jesus for the Province of Japan and China
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§1. Father Gonçalo Álvarez was appointed Visitor for this Province of Japan and China by the General of the Society, Father Francisco de Borja, in 1568, in response to the summons issued by Dom Luís de Ataíde, Viceroy of Portuguese India. After conducting his visitation of the Society’s houses in India, Father Álvarez proceeded to inspect the Jesuit mission in China; thence, he embarked for Japan in December 1569, where he carried out a full visitation of the Province of Japan—by which time the Japanese mission was already well established.
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With a most violent typhoon, not a single soul survived this shipwreck—save one individual, who, having drifted at sea, managed to board a passing junk that happened to be carrying letters from the *Nau* [Portuguese carrack]. The said Father died in July 1573, accompanied by his companions: Father Manuel Lopes (his coadjutor and substitute), Father João Velho, Father Diogo Fox, and Father António Paes.
The second Visitor was Father Alessandro Valignano, who had been dispatched by the Father General, Father Everard Mercurian, in 1573 and arrived in these parts in September 1574 with four Fathers and Brothers of the Society of Jesus. Having first undertaken a canonical visitation of the Society’s houses in India, he proceeded to China in 1578; he made his initial, informal entry into the country in 1579. Following his subsequent visitation of the Fathers stationed in this mission—and having instituted numerous administrative and pastoral reforms for the good governance of the Vice-Province—he returned to India in 1583. On his departure, he brought with him four Japanese *marchiones* (a term used in contemporary Jesuit correspondence to denote high-ranking samurai or noble retainers), all staunchly loyal to Christian daimyō: Dom Manoel (a kinsman of Francisco, daimyō of Bungo); Dom Miguel (a kinsman of Ōtomo Yoshishige, daimyō of Arima); Dom Bautista and Dom Martinho; and Dom Feliciano (all devoted adherents of Ōmura Sumitada, daimyō of Yonaguni). Dom Bartolomeu also accompanied them. These envoys embarked at Cochin in February 1584 aboard a Portuguese vessel bound for Portugal, under the guidance of the esteemed Father Jerónimo Rodrigues—then Procurator for Rome, elected at the Second Congregation of the Province of India, and affiliated with the College of St Paul—and in the company of Father Diogo de Mesquita. They arrived in Lisbon in August of the same year. Having been received by Cardinal Alberto, Governor of Portugal, they departed for Rome the following year, in 1585, and reached the Eternal City at the end of March of that year. There, they were accorded the full ceremonial honours due to official ambassadors by Pope Gregory XIII, who granted them an audience of singular distinction.
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Holiness and obedience, in the name of the three Japanese Christians,
and with devotion to this nascent Christian community, and at the very time of the death of the aforementioned Pope, Father Alessandro Valignano was elected the sixth Visitor to the Jesuit missions in the East; thus coinciding the death of one pontiff and the election of another. Having completed this extensive pilgrimage—through Italy, Castile, Portugal, and India—the party returned to Japan in 1590, laden with honours and accolades, accompanied by the same Father Alessandro Valignano. At that time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (known in contemporary Portuguese sources as *Jordão Tenca Taico*) was the de facto ruler of Japan. The said Father, together with these Japanese noblemen, visited Hideyoshi’s court on an embassy from King Dom Duarte de Meneses of Portugal, and was received with great honour and ceremonial splendour.
However, this favour accorded by the Japanese authorities proved short-lived: shortly thereafter, Hideyoshi launched a severe persecution against the Christian community. Consequently, the Blessed Visitor Alessandro Valignano departed Japan for Macau for the second time in 1592. From there, he immediately appointed the Blessed Gil de Mala (also recorded as *Gil de Malta* or *Giles de Malta*) as his Procurator for Japan. Father Gil de Mala accordingly travelled to Japan for the second time, arriving there in March 1595; and in September of the same year, he received a letter from the Blessed General of the Society of Jesus confirming his appointment as Visitor of the Indies, while restricting his jurisdiction solely to Japan and China. He ultimately relinquished this office in 1597, and then embarked upon his third journey to Japan in July 1598, in the company of the Blessed Bishop Dom Luís Cerqueira.
Finally, he returned from Japan to Macau for the third—and last—time in 1603, accompanying Dom Paulo Portugal, Captain-General of that voyage. Upon his arrival, he assumed oversight of the College of Macau, a post he held until his death on 20 January 1606. During his tenure, he governed the Jesuit Province of India—including Japan—as Visitor for thirty-one years; of these, twenty-one years were spent administering both the Indian and Japanese missions concurrently. During this twenty-one-year period, the said Father served successively as Provincial and Visitor, from September 1583 until April 1588.
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The second visitation to Japan occurred following the deaths of the Vice-Governors of the Province of India: the Venerable Francisco Mijão in 1581 and the Venerable Pedro da Silva in 1583. Both had returned from India and subsequently served as Provincial Superiors in Japan. During this period, the Venerable Visitor resided in Japan for one year—namely, eleven months—during which he also fulfilled the office of Visitor.
The third Visitor of this Province was the Venerable Francisco Cajó, appointed by a letter dated July 1611 from the General Superior, Father Claudio Aquaviva, S.J. He assumed the office of Visitor immediately upon relinquishing his prior post as Vice-Provincial of this Province. At the same time, the Venerable Valentim Carvalho was declared Provincial of this Province, as it had by then been formally erected into an independent Province—separate from the two Indian Provinces of Goa and Malabar—as stipulated in the original papal brief received from Rome. The Venerable Visitor Francisco Cajó departed Japan for the College of Macau in 1612, where he died on 31 August of that year.
The fourth Visitor was the Venerable Francisco Vieira, appointed in India under a patent issued by General Superior Claudio Aquaviva; this document was dispatched from Rome in January 1615 and reached Goa in October of the same year. Having handed over the office of Provincial of Goa to the Venerable Jacomo de Medeiros in October 1615, the Venerable Vieira departed Goa for this Province in May 1616 and arrived at the College of Macau on 13 July of that year.
The fifth Visitor, the Venerable Francisco Vieira, died at the College of Macau on 28 December 1619, shortly after returning from Japan, where he had resided for just over one year. His death followed the serious illness of two senior superiors—or Procurators—of the Province (then still structured as a Vice-Province): the Venerable Sebastião d’Almaya fell gravely ill, and the Venerable Jacomo de Medeiros succeeded him in administrative responsibility; the aforementioned Provincial remained otherwise in post.
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Provincials and Vice-Provincials were to act independently, as though they had already conducted a canonical visitation. Subsequently, the Provincial of Japan issued the aforementioned directive to Dom Professor; the other members of the Consultative Council accordingly agreed that the instruction should be suspended until clarification was received from Rome on this matter—and such clarification was duly awaited. This decision was formally enacted on 27 January 1650.
On 9 July of the same year (1650), news arrived concerning successive letters of appointment for Visitators—arriving by a different route from that taken two years earlier, when similar letters had been dispatched to Father Francisco Furtado, who was then residing in China as Superior of the Northern Houses. At that time, however, the region was entirely in turmoil due to the Tartar incursions; no reliable intelligence had reached the Society regarding whether Father Francisco remained alive or had perished, nor whether any of the letters we had previously sent him on this matter had successfully arrived.
Father João Cabral, Provincial of the Province of Japan, together with the other members of the Provincial Consultors’ Council, judged it appropriate—indeed, obligatory—to open the newly arrived Successions. Accordingly, they were opened during a formal consultation meeting. Upon examination, more than two such letters were found, both bearing the superscription *‘Second Succession’*. Observing this, the Provincial—already uncertain whether both letters ought to be opened, given the unprecedented nature of the case and the lack of consensus among the Consultors—proposed that the matter be referred to all professed Fathers present at the College. They were asked two questions:
1. Whether the said Successions ought to be opened, in order to determine which held precedence; and
2. Whether, in the event that Father Francisco were deceased, a new Superior should be appointed for the House in question.
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**Translation (UK Academic English, British spelling and conventions)**
In the event of Father Furtado’s absence—or should any other impediment arise—the question arose whether one ought to await fresh instructions from His Grace, whether deceased or still living; or whether, given the urgency of the situation—particularly the logistical difficulties occasioned by ongoing hostilities—one might proceed *pro mortuo* (i.e., as though he were deceased) for this specific purpose. The Professed Fathers submitted their written opinions (*parere scriptis*) to the Provincial Secretary, who, having taken note thereof, reported the matter to the Provincial Council (*junta*).
The first point raised in these opinions concerned the opening of the respective successions: it was resolved that such successions should indeed be opened.
The second point addressed the status of Father Auranta, who—though impeded from exercising his office—was *not* to be regarded *pro mortuo*, nor even as having resigned. Acting upon the oral testimony presented before him, the Provincial ordered that the aforementioned successions be opened forthwith; and, in the first instance, appointed Father Sebastião de Itmaya to assume governance. Full account of these proceedings was rendered to Our Reverend Fathers General (*N. R. P. G.*), and further guidance is awaited regarding the formal approval—or possible re-approval—of analogous cases in future.
Father Sebastião de Itmaya governed the Province from 10 July 1650 until approximately 2–3 June 1651. At that time, a letter from Father Francisco Furtado arrived at the College in Macau, confirming his safe arrival in Canton and reporting that he had received official notification (*aliento*) from the Visitor on 7 July 1650. Thereupon, he immediately commenced visiting the Jesuit residences (*Casas de Residências*) throughout China.
As Father Sebastião de Itmaya had already begun governing *before* the formal opening of the succession process, the Provincial, Father João Cabral, sought—and obtained—the unanimous written counsel (*parecer*) of all the Consultors who had served immediately prior to Father Sebastião’s appointment. Their opinion affirmed that the governance of the Province—and the office of Provincial itself—had been duly entrusted to Father Sebastião de Itmaya, whose appointment had been formally ratified (*lavía*) and whose authority was thus fully established (*aberta jnternous affectuos*—i.e., internally accepted with goodwill and consensus). This opinion was transmitted both to the Consultors of this Province and to those of the Province of Cochin, where the same question had likewise been referred for consultation.
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On 21 November 1563, a report was submitted to the Venerable Father Francisco Furtado. In accordance with the foregoing strictures, the Venerable Father Sebastião d’Ehnaya was not appointed, owing to the absence of a newly constituted administration for Macau; the relevant papers were formally taken up on 22 November of that same year, Anno Domini 1580.
— HEADING —
Chapter I: On the Origins of the Mission to the Kingdom of China and on the Universal Superiors Who Served Therein
— MAIN TEXT —
Father Visitor Alessandro Valignano, en route from India to Japan in 1578, paused at the College of Macau while awaiting formal appointment to Japan. During this sojourn, he commenced preliminary preparations for the mission to China, drawing upon diverse testimonies and intelligence furnished by both Portuguese residents and Chinese interlocutors—individuals who held out hope for the propagation of Christianity within this realm. To initiate this undertaking, he petitioned the Reverend Father Rui Vicente, Provincial of the Indies, for the assignment of a priest of exceptional ability to serve as pioneer at this ‘gate’ to China. In response, the Venerable Father Michele Ruggieri was dispatched. Upon his arrival in Macau in 1580, he immediately commenced intensive study of the Chinese language, script, and customs, engaging a native Chinese tutor and accompanying Portuguese merchants on several occasions to the Canton fair. Through these efforts, he cultivated friendships and established rapport with certain Chinese individuals; with their assistance—and under their counsel—he succeeded in securing an audience with the *tútān* (i.e., the local magistrate or prefect of Guangdong Province). Ultimately, he obtained official permission to reside within the city, initially renting premises for use as an apothecary’s shop; later, with the same *tútān*’s approval, he purchased the property outright.
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to establish a small settlement—roughly one league distant from the city—whereupon, in 1582, Father Matteo Ricci joined him; together, they made a number of converts to Christianity. However, the local authorities subsequently expelled them from this location and ordered their return to Macau. Upon learning of this, Father Alessandro Valignani—who was then residing at this College, having arrived for the first time from Japan in 1583—exerted considerable pressure upon the authorities, urging them to do all in their power to prevent the missionaries’ expulsion from China. At the same time, he petitioned the provincial administration to restore to them the lands along the route to Canton (Guangzhou) which they had previously been granted, and dispatched a formal instruction to the magistrate of Zhaoqing (then rendered in Portuguese sources as *Ravcheo*), directing that suitable accommodation be provided there for Father Matteo Ricci and his companion, Father António de Almeida. By this point, Father Rogério (de Azevedo) had already departed for Macau; Father Alessandro then sent him on to Melaka (Malacca), whence he embarked aboard a royal galleon bound for Lisbon, and thence proceeded to Rome to report to our Father General on this mission and other matters pertaining to the Society’s activities in East Asia. He remained in Italy for some time.
Meanwhile, Father Matteo Ricci and his companions resided for a period at the said residence in Zhaoqing. During this interval, Father António de Almeida died; thereafter, Father Francisco Petri remained with Father Ricci. In 1588, upon Father Alessandro Valignani’s second return from Japan, he assigned Father Lázaro Catanho (Cattaneo) as Ricci’s new companion. After both men had spent some time together in Zhaoqing, Father Matteo Ricci proceeded to establish a residence in Shaozhou (rendered in contemporary Jesuit correspondence as *Xanghã*).
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leaving this Mission, having already disembarked
at these residences—and at the others subsequently established—up to the year 1610, in which he died in Beijing, the imperial capital of China; thus he was both the first Superior of the Fathers in this Mission and its principal founder.
The second Superior was Fr. Nicolò Longobardo, who assumed office following the death of Fr. Matteo Ricci and held the post until 7 February 1619; all details concerning his tenure are amply documented in the history of this Mission, initiated by Fr. Matteo Ricci, to which I refer the reader.
Fr. José da Rocha succeeded Fr. Nicolò Longobardo as Superior of the China Mission in June 1622.
Fr. José da Rocha was in turn succeeded by Fr. Manuel Dias Jr., who served first as Vice-Provincial (following the dissolution of the China Province and the death of its last Provincial), and then as de facto provincial administrator for several years.
He was succeeded by Fr. Francisco Furtado, who likewise served as interim administrator for a number of years. At the conclusion of his term, Fr. Giulio Aleni was appointed Second Provincial for the southern region (‘do Sul’), while Fr. Francisco Furtado continued in office in the northern region (‘do Norte’) in place of Fr. José Vaz, who had already died.
In 1646, a patent issued by the Provincial of this jurisdiction appointed Fr. Álvaro Lamego as administrator; he governed for nearly four years, owing to the disruption of overland routes caused by the Tartar wars, which prevented communication from reaching Fr. Manuel Dias Jr., who ultimately succeeded him.
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He assumed office in the year 1550, governing—interim—throughout this entire period over the northern regions of Japan.
The foundation was established by an overwhelming number of vassals, whose power had grown excessive; hence the notification concerning the new provincial successions.
By decree of Father Manuel Dias Junior—on account of his blindness—he was relieved of the office of Provincial. His successor was appointed by Father Sebastião de Armea, Visitor of the Province, and confirmed by Father Álvaro Semedo, then Provincial, in 1605. Upon completion of his triennium, Father Estêvão Fabro succeeded him; however, upon receipt of the official notification of his appointment, he was already deceased. Consequently, Father Simão da Cunha assumed the office of Provincial. After governing lawfully for one year, he departed on a visitatorial mission on 28 October 1658. In that same year, dispatches arrived from Rome appointing Father Estêvão Fabro and Father Álvaro Semedo to the provincial office—both of whom, however, had already died. Father Simão da Cunha, who had previously succeeded as Visitor following the death of Father António Veloso, was thus the first to undertake this new visitatorial mandate; he was succeeded in turn by Father Inácio da Costa.
Upon completion of Father Inácio da Costa’s triennium in 1661, the succession process opened. On the designated day, the senior Visitor (Primus Via) Father Matias de Armea—then recently concluded his own term as Provincial of Japan—closed the proceedings. He could not assume the new provincial government without first vacating office for the requisite number of years, as stipulated in the papal bull issued by Pope Innocent X. Thereupon, by formal consultation (*consulta*), Father Diogo was elected to the office of Provincial.
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The Reverend Father Diogo Fabbro served as Provincial of the China Mission during the period in which the aforementioned impediment remained in force. His appointment was made in accordance with the Ordinances, and the Most Reverend Father General had previously authorised such provisional arrangements for comparable circumstances. Upon the removal of the impediment, Father Mathia d’Arriaga assumed office; however, Father Diogo Fabbro vacated the post shortly thereafter, as persecution commenced in September 1614.
In 1615, Father Feliciano Pacheco was appointed Provincial. In 1618, Father António de Gouvea succeeded him; Father Pacheco then resumed the office for a second term in 1621.
In 1624, following the reopening of the overland route to Rome (i.e., the overland postal and diplomatic channel between Macau and Rome via Persia and the Levant), Father André Lubelli concluded his tenure as Provincial of China. He governed for two years and six months but did not complete the full triennial term, as the governance of the Province of Japan became available and he was consequently reassigned as Provincial of that province.
Father Fernando Rypiero succeeded Father Lubelli, having been appointed via the Roman route. He completed the full triennium. In March 1630, Father Gabriel Gabian—also known as Domingo Gabian—succeeded him as Provincial.
Upon the conclusion of Father Domingo Gabian’s triennium, Father José Vallois, who was then en route to China (‘nas Vias’, i.e., travelling along the established Jesuit communication routes, most likely via Goa and Macau), assumed the office of Provincial and governed for the entire three-year term. Upon Father Vallois’s death, Father Prospero Lacerda succeeded him as Provincial, taking up the office on 30 June 1636.
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Upon the conclusion of Fr. Brogyero’s term of office, Fr. Domingos Gabeán succeeded him as Provincial of China, assuming governance on 30 June 1609.
Upon the completion of Fr. Gabriel’s three-year term, Fr. Tomás Pereira succeeded him as Provincial of China, commencing his administration on 1 July 1612. Fr. Tomás Pereira was in turn succeeded in the office of Provincial by Fr. Filippo Grimaldi, who began his governance on 1 July 1615 *de facto*, as the official patent appointing Fr. Francisco Vimeon as Provincial had arrived posthumously—Fr. Vimeon having already died. Consequently, Fr. Grimaldi continued in office; and in 1616, a further patent was issued appointing Fr. Brogyero as Provincial—though he was by then terminally ill, &c., &c., &c.
Chapter 5 treats of the Bishops of Ega.
Chapter 6 treats of the origins of the Fujian Mission and its superiors.
According to information provided by our Fathers engaged in cultivating the Christian community in Cochinchina, the Visitor Fr. Jerónimo Roiz (senior) learned—given that both that kingdom and the province of Fujian had, for some years past, been open to evangelisation—that the Kingdom of Fujian exhibited favourable dispositions towards the propagation of our Holy Faith. Year: 1626.
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In 1626, Father Giuliano Baldinotti of Florence dispatched Brother Giulio Beany aboard the vessel of Gaspar Borges da Fonseca—a citizen of this city of Macau—to travel to that kingdom (Tonkin) in a state of fasting, in order to ascertain, through direct observation, the disposition of the native population towards the establishment of a missionary enterprise. The Father proceeded thither and found the local people so favourably inclined that the king—named Thanta—petitioned him to remain in his realm, extending numerous favours and honours in support of his request. Nevertheless, Father Baldinotti declined to stay, having received explicit instructions to return to Macau and report on his findings concerning conditions in the kingdom.
He returned from Tonkin with the aforementioned Brother Beany in September of the same year, leaving behind no baptised converts other than a few children; the indigenous population remained, for the most part, adherents of traditional (non-Christian) religious practices.
By that time, Father André Palmeiro had already assumed office as Vicar Apostolic; he had arrived from India in the preceding month, bearing a patent from the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide). Having been duly informed by the aforementioned Brother Beany of the candid and highly promising disposition of the local people towards receiving ‘our Holy Faith’, the newly appointed Visitor resolved to inaugurate the mission and advance it without delay.
To this end, in the following year—1627—the Visitor dispatched Father Pedro Marques, a Portuguese priest, as Superior of the Mission: he was its first incumbent in that office. He was accompanied by Father Alexandre de Rhodes (of the Society of Jesus), who served as his companion. Father de Rhodes possessed a proficient command of the local language, having previously resided in Cochinchina; he had been specially summoned thence for this expedition. They arrived in Tonkin on 19 [day unspecified].
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19 March, the feast day of St Joseph—hence the entire host (i.e., the local community) knew him to be their patron saint. Upon entering Cadre from the Barra and the port of Pung, the missionaries arrived at the same port of St Joseph. They were received with great courtesy by the king, Ornerno, who treated them with marked honour, conferred upon them substantial favours, and assigned them lodgings—including a chapel—adjacent to his royal palace.
The lead missionary priest, animated by fervent zeal, mistakenly supposed that the time spent in assisting with the construction and embellishment of the palace was being well employed. He therefore wrote to the king—deeming it an opportune moment to introduce him to the tenets of our Holy Faith (a chance which, regrettably, was not subsequently repeated). However, as the missionaries gradually withdrew from the palace precincts and devoted themselves fully to pastoral work—baptising members of the local populace, who gathered in considerable numbers—they achieved remarkable spiritual fruit within a short period.
Yet when news reached the king of the missionaries’ growing influence—and particularly of the large assemblies convening regularly at their residence—he began to harbour suspicions regarding the implications for the stability of his realm. Observing such a multitude thronging daily to two foreign ecclesiastics, King Ornerno issued strict orders prohibiting native officials (‘feos Vapallos’) from approaching beyond the missionaries’ residence. Ultimately, following the failure of the annual Macau-bound ship to arrive—thereby diminishing local reliance upon the missionaries’ presence—the king’s apprehensions intensified. He consequently proscribed entirely the practice of the Christian faith, dismantled the missionaries’ dwellings and chapel (which stood directly opposite the royal palace, on the left bank of the river), and expelled the priest, dispatching him aboard a well-equipped galley to Bucim, on the frontier of Cochinchina.
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…so as to proceed thence to Macau. The Christian community—particularly those stationed at the fortress on this side—was deeply distressed by this development; to comfort them, the missionaries appointed Francisco, a former Buddhist priest (bonzo) who had converted to Christianity and was well instructed in the doctrines of our Holy Faith, as their catechist. The Fathers arrived at Bucino, where they remained for some time in relative comfort before proceeding to Cochinchina; subsequently, they returned to the province of Guira, having already converted and baptised nearly all the soldiers and boatmen under their care.
News reached Macau—via Cochinchina—of another location where the Fathers were stationed; upon learning of this, Fr Pedro Morjón, Rector of this College, dispatched Fr André Palme to render assistance, since Fr André de S. Paulo—later to become a glorious martyr—and Fr Gaspar de Sotomayor were then residing there. (Fr André Palme undertook this visitation in September 1629.) Having selected the province of Guira as their base of operations aboard ship, the two Fathers proceeded to the royal court, where the King received them with great honour. Yet during their stay—which lasted until April 1630—the monarch refused to permit either his vassals to attend the Fathers’ residence or the Fathers themselves to celebrate Mass. Instead, he issued a formal, high-level instruction directing them all to return to Macau, and wrote to the Visitor Father stating that these missionaries were disturbing his realms, demolishing pagodas, and constructing temples and churches. He requested that His Paternity appoint other missionaries—without recourse to a vessel—and affirmed that he would receive them willingly, provided they came unaccompanied by ships, as he regarded such vessels as impediments.
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with goodwill. The Father deferred his ordination for three years; during that time, he baptised some four thousand souls.
He arrived in Macau in May 1603, reporting to the Father Visitor on the considerable spiritual harvest already gathered in that kingdom—and on the even greater harvest yet to be reaped. Prompted by this report, the Father Visitor dispatched, the following year, Father Gaspar d’Arriaga as Superior, accompanied by Fathers António Fontes and António Cardim as his companions. They reached Canton on 7 March and were received by the local authorities with extraordinary honour and favour, including full permission to preach the Christian faith. Nevertheless, although initial authorisation had been granted, after three or four months—by which time the departure of the ships had been determined—the authorities ordered the Fathers to re-embark, fearing that their presence might disturb the stability of the realm. The imperial court, however, was favourably disposed towards their preaching; upon their petitioning for a permanent residence, citing the need to provide pastoral care and maintain a Christian community, the authorities consented to allow at least one priest to remain, and further granted permission for one of his companions to stay with him. Thus, Fathers Gaspar d’Arriaga and António Fontes remained in Canton, while Father António Cardim returned to Macau.
The Fathers found the mission in Canton in a state of considerable neglect, owing to the prolonged vacancy in pastoral oversight. Prior to their arrival, Father Alexandre de Rhodes had entrusted the care of the local Christian community to three catechists—Francisco, Ignácio, and André—who, during those ten months, had diligently discharged their duties and re-baptised approximately four thousand individuals.
Moreover, in order to induce Father Mufóz to take three solemn vows:
1. to remain celibate;
2. to hold no personal property; and
3. not to withdraw from the mission.
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[BIBLIOTECA PÚBLICA E ARQUIVO DISTRITAL DE ÉVORA]
…separated from one another, yet remained united in discipline, in ecclesiastical fellowship (aggregatio evangelica), and in pastoral care for the Christian community. Observing the considerable efficacy of this arrangement—and foreseeing its potential for even greater benefit to the said Christian community—the monarchs permitted the structure to remain unchanged; upon it they formally established the Community and Congregation of the *Cathoquitas*—a designation still current today—though they modified its original foundation by substituting direct obedience to the Crown, and to whomever the monarchs should appoint in their stead. Moreover, as that religious household was situated near the mountains, the royal court in Africa appointed a Superior for that house and directed Father Afraçio to reside in Chino; meanwhile, the Superior previously stationed there was transferred to Guia to serve as Superior of the house established at Dam. There, he exercised authority and issued ordinances, mandating that all individuals deemed suitable be admitted to the Congregation; each year, he selected and sent candidates—approved by the Nuncio—to swell the ranks of the Congregation. This measure proved highly effective from its inception, serving as a principal instrument in the extensive conversions achieved within that Christian community.
The aforementioned Father, having been appointed to translate immediately into the local vernacular—without recourse to individualised or idiosyncratic renderings—donned a *cabaya* (a traditional outer garment) of rose-coloured cloth, with which he proceeded to the royal palace. There, he was able to rectify certain procedural irregularities that had occurred in the initial implementation of the arrangements emanating from the palace. The same *cabaya* was also employed when addressing royal ministers: it functioned as an official insignia, ensuring that his communications were received with due formality and gravitas. Indeed, whenever ministers saw him wearing the *cabaya*, they understood him either to be arriving on official business from, or departing on behalf of, the royal palace.
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Baptism and subsequent experience revealed that residence within the Imperial Palace was still deemed the most advantageous arrangement, enabling them to preserve the authority of His Holiness intact while remaining in the service of the Emperor. The Father enjoyed such high esteem at court—and the Emperor accorded him such honours—that he was granted unrestricted access to the palace whenever he wished. He ranked among the principal mandarins of the realm and held the office of *bembuco* (a title denoting a senior ceremonial or administrative official) of the *Cabaya* (a high-ranking advisory council). In later years, however, they abandoned the traditional clerical biretta and instead adopted the insignia of the *Cordoem* (i.e., the Dominican Order), receiving blessings upon their hair and beards in the manner of Nazarenes—thus fully adapting themselves to local customs and expectations.
The dwelling in which they first resided was initially situated within the palace compound of Mandarin Vifoma Tuyen. Subsequently, the authorities granted them land on which they erected a simple bamboo structure with a thatched roof. In the second year, they occupied a timber-framed house, purchased for ten *taels*, the cost being borne by the community. The Emperor issued an edict ordering that all missionaries resident in Hangzhou should henceforth reside in a single designated compound—termed a *gedad* (a transliteration of the Chinese term *jietuo*, here used administratively to denote a walled residential enclosure or compound)—within which two textile workshops were to be maintained, ostensibly ‘for the sake of fire safety’. Under the auspices of this edict, the Jesuit residences in Hangzhou were constructed as leaf-thatched buildings (*casas de folha*), located approximately nine *li* (c. 4.5 km) from the city centre. This is the same site currently occupied by the mission—the former residence of a mandarin who was the Emperor’s son-in-law—and lies at some distance from the location of the first dwellings established by the missionaries.
[Signature]
x Written in Macau, in October of the year 1631,
by Father Jerónimo Martínez, Apostolic Visitor,
and Brother Bernardino Regio Lombardo.
The Emperor dismissed them with great goodwill; shortly thereafter, he conferred upon them the title of *Cabaya Lord* (i.e., membership of the imperial advisory council). They remained at court until the following year (1632), when Father Jerónimo Martínez departed for…
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to the Province of India to establish the residence he founded at Rum. To Siam was sent Father António de Fontes to found and erect the House of St Paul, while Fathers Bernardino Regio and Gaspar de Amaral remained at the royal court—Father Amaral serving as Superior of the Mission. This mission continued until the year 1634, when Father Bernardino Regio was transferred elsewhere; he died on 25 November and was buried in the church—or chapel—of our former residences, where his remains lay for three years before being exhumed by order of the Governor (Opor) and reinterred in Macau. In 1636, Father André Calvo succeeded to the leadership of the mission; he was followed by Father Manoel Dias Senior, who—within the same year (1635)—dispatched from Macau Father Martim Culho. Father Culho returned to this College on the third Sunday of September 1636, accompanied by Gregório, a native catechist from that mission. At that time, Father António Barbosa and Father Félix Mofely were in their eighth year of service; and in 1637, Father João Baptista Bonchy Millanis was appointed Vicar of the mission, during which period Father S. J. served as Rector in Macau.
In 1663, on 2 November, Fathers Broto Borgias, José Tifanier, and Pedro d’Avez were banished from Canton, leaving the mission there without any priest. During this interval—and despite the banishment—the French surgeon Francisco Dedon entered Canton in 1666; subsequently, three further Jesuit priests (H. P.) gained entry.
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**Title**
On the Origins of the Cambodian Mission
**Main text**
The first member of the Society of Jesus to enter the Kingdom of Cambodia was Father Pedro Morey, a native of Lyon. In 1623 or 1624—having recently returned from Rome, where he had served as procurator for the Province of Japan—he diverted his voyage en route to Cambodia with the intention of encouraging and consoling Japanese Christians who had been exiled on account of their faith. These refugees, having fled persecution in Japan, were settling in Cambodia—deemed by them a hospitable and economically viable refuge—having arrived there from the Dutch East Indies and other parts of maritime Asia.
After residing in the kingdom for three months, Father Morey travelled to Ucão (modern-day Ô Kâmpôt or possibly a variant rendering of a coastal settlement), where he reported to the Jesuit superiors in Japan concerning the dire pastoral situation confronting the exiled Japanese Christians, who remained without priestly ministry. He also outlined the potential evangelising opportunities presented by the growing number of Japanese migrants arriving in Cambodia—notably those engaged in maritime trade, arms procurement, and military-related activities (‘contra façanhas’, i.e., counter-military or defensive preparations). As a result of his report, the Jesuit superiors dispatched Father Justo—a Japanese-born priest—to the mission; however, his labours were cut short by his untimely death.
During this same period, four Dominican friars arrived in Cambodia from Manila. Having acquired proficiency in the local language, they laboured diligently as apostolic missionaries. Yet they achieved little—or indeed no—success in converting the Khmer people, who consistently proved resistant to hearing or embracing the tenets of the Christian faith. Consequently, the Dominican fathers resolved to return to Manila, aided in their departure by the king’s refusal to grant them formal permission to preach the Holy Faith or to baptise infants—a stipulation they had formally requested.
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An impediment that appears wholly to close the doors to the preaching of the sacred Gospel in those kingdoms, arising from the fact that the agent in Cambaya was exceedingly timid and entirely dependent upon the will of the King.
In 1631, Fr. Francisco Bugoni della Mâmpá travelled to Cambaya to seek assistance for his fellow Jesuits, who remained imprisoned there; following urgent entreaty by the King of Cambaya himself, he departed for Macau and returned the following year, in 1632. He remained in Cambaya until 1634, when he was summoned by the King of Cochinchina. During this period, he laboured diligently with a catechist named Agostinho, and five or six Cambayans were converted to Christianity.
Also during this time, in 1632, Fr. Manuel Romão arrived in Cambaya accompanied by several Japanese refugees who had fled thither to escape the newly enthroned ruler of Japan—then engaged in intense persecution of Christians. This monarch, harbouring deep animosity towards them, sought by every means to apprehend the fugitives and exact vengeance upon them. Observing Fr. Bugoni’s evident aptitude for assisting his fellow Japanese, it was arranged that, upon his return to Macau, Fr. Romão should be ordained priest and then reassigned to Cambaya. There he remained for seven or eight years. Towards the end of this period, Fr. Alberto Mininsky (a Pole) and Fr. Antonio Capechi (a Neapolitan) joined Fr. Romão in Cambaya, in order both to acquire the Japanese language and—discreetly and under cover—to provide pastoral support to those persecuted kingdoms and Christian communities. At the end of the first year following Fr. Romão’s arrival, he died; and lest Cambaya be left without a priest, Fr. Suppo was appointed in his stead.
[Rubric]
To
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It was assumed that the mission would be ordered to Japan; accordingly, Father Gonçalo de Amaral dispatched Father José Agnes thither. Father Agnes remained there until 1548, when he returned to the Colony (Goa), and thence proceeded to Macau. In his stead, Father Francisco Ribeiro—of Neapolitan origin—was appointed.
Thereafter, Father José da Via Leiria continued the mission from 1651 until 1659. During this period, he served alone and held both pastoral and superior responsibilities. In 1659, however, Father Carlos da Rocha arrived as Superior, accompanied by Father António Lopes. Shortly thereafter, hostilities erupted: the King of Cochin invaded and conquered that kingdom, capturing the King of Cambay. As a consequence, the majority of Christians fled to various regions, and all the Jesuit missionaries were likewise compelled to withdraw to Macau.
Father Carlos da Rocha was reappointed Superior in 1662. Upon his return, he found Father Jerónimo Maciel already stationed there; Father Maciel had recently arrived with numerous *Lancados* (i.e., Portuguese lay settlers or traders resident in Asia, often of mixed descent and not under formal ecclesiastical authority) from Malacca. Although the mission was maintained in continuity, in 1669 Father Carlos da Rocha, while disembarking, suffered shipwreck and was cast ashore at Cintad (modern-day Chittagong, present-day Bangladesh), where he died.
In 1676, by order of the Marquis of Fronteira (Viceroy of Portuguese India, 1671–1676), Fathers José Baptista Maldonado and José de Barros—a Portuguese secular priest—departed from the College of Macau aboard a vessel specifically chartered for their passage to Cambaya (i.e., the Gujarat region of western India, then under Mughal rule). They also intended to re-establish the Jesuit mission in Laos, a project previously attempted in 1642 by Father José Maria Leiria; that earlier mission had persisted for several years but yielded little fruit.
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Évora District Public Library and Archive
[Title]
Chapter 8. The Origins of the Mission on Hainan Island
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This mission was inaugurated in 1593 by Father Pedro Marquez, a Portuguese Jesuit, and Brother Domingos Mendes, a Chinese lay brother born in Macau, where he later died in 1652. Following the death of Father Abrix, leadership of the mission passed to a devout Christian mandarin named Paulo—a native of Hainan Island and son of another mandarin who had accompanied Father Matteo Ricci to China. While in Macau on official business prior to his enforced relocation (deportation) to Hainan, Paulo successfully petitioned Father Visitador de Palmo—the provincial visitor—for formal permission to establish a Christian mission in his homeland. Although such action carried considerable personal risk—including accusations of introducing ‘liturgical’ (i.e., foreign religious) practices into the island, potential dismissal from office, and other serious administrative penalties—Paulo resolved to proceed regardless. He accordingly facilitated the entry of the Jesuit missionaries into Hainan, where, on Easter Day, they baptised him, his wife, four nephews, and fifteen members of the mandarin’s extended household (‘jefoes’ being an archaic Portuguese rendering of the Chinese term *jiāfǔ*, meaning ‘household retainers’ or ‘domestic dependants’).
The mission remained under the jurisdiction of the Jesuit Province of China until 1641, when the Father General of the Society of Jesus, acting upon a formal petition submitted in Rome by Father Álvaro Venedo—Procurator of the same Province—transferred its administration to the Japanese Province. This reallocation was made on account of the Province of China’s insufficient personnel resources to sustain missionary activity, particularly given the extreme difficulties involved in accessing Hainan—located deep within the interior of southern China—as well as other considerations relating to confidence, security, and ecclesiastical governance.
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Subsequently succeeding Father Pedro Marquez was Father Bento de…
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Translation (UK Academic English, British spelling and conventions):
Bento de Mattos, who served at that mission accompanied by Fathers André Libelli, Miguel Boim, and Father Nunes, remained there until the year 1640, when a fleet arrived off the island in a manner suggestive of hostile intent. At that time, Father Fratres de Concentor was detained and placed in irons; however, upon learning of the fleet’s approach, he was immediately released—whereupon he fled the island. He remained active as a missionary priest for several years thereafter. In March 1653, Father Mathias de Mayo set out for this mission, accompanied by Father João Pereira, who was still a novice at the time.
The aforementioned Father Bento de Mattos had entered the mission in 1633; in 1637 he returned to Macau at the command of the mandarins, and in 1644 he resumed his work at Hakun (i.e., Haikou, on Hainan Island), where he remained until 1646. According to his own account, during this period he administered 2,150 baptisms and conducted extensive catechetical instruction.
In the meantime, he died in Macau while serving as Visitor (a senior Jesuit administrative office), having already passed away before the formal conclusion of his visitation duties.
In the present year, 1653, it proved impossible to re-establish the mission, as the vessel carrying Father Fria—intended to land on the shores of Hakun—was driven offshore by adverse winds. Although the party did eventually disembark, they landed on a stretch of coast described as ‘praya omico’ (a local toponym or phonetic rendering, possibly referring to a specific beach or inlet near Haikou), which was obstructed by mangroves (*Avicennia* spp., here rendered historically as *jutubazes*, a Portuguese colonial-era term for mangrove thickets). Moreover, the coastal area lacked firm ground: the sea encroached deeply inland, leaving insufficient dry land for safe passage or settlement. Upon returning, Father Fria reported that he could not proceed inland because the terrain was impassable and the route unsuitable for travel—particularly given the disordered state of the local political and military situation. Indeed, shortly thereafter, the island was abandoned, and Chinese imperial troops subsequently arrived on the island—a development precipitated by false reports (or alarmist rumours) then circulating among local communities.
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The same individual proved so adept at painting that he attained mastery under Father Caos de Navio; however, he was obliged to remain on the island for the time being and would shortly be required to re-embark.
That mission—and the Christian community it served—was left without any resident priest until 24 June 1656, the feast day of St John the Baptist, when Father Mathias da Maya—a Portuguese Jesuit—entered it as Superior, accompanied by Father José Baptista Brando, a Neapolitan Jesuit, and Father João Nicolao Smogolenski, a Polish Jesuit who spoke and wrote Chinese (specifically the Guangdong dialect). Smogolenski had previously travelled to Mainland China (‘a Mainad’), returning thence before his province’s suppression; he died in Macau later that same year. Father Estanislao Torrente also arrived in the mission alongside Father Mathias da Maya.
Subsequently, on 30 April 1657, Father José Forjet—a French Jesuit subdeacon from Lyon—entered the same mission. Upon Father Mathias da Maya’s departure, Forjet received official appointment (‘patente’) as Provincial of Japan. He succeeded Mathias da Maya as Superior of the mission, but died on 23 October 1660. Following his death, Father Estanislao Torrente—an Italian Jesuit based in Macau—assumed the role of Superior over the entire mission. Later, on 22 July 1661, Father António Lopes (a Portuguese Jesuit) departed Macau for the mission in company with Father Pascoal Frideric (a Jesuit of Viana, in northern Portugal).
In 1664, the mission underwent a period of administrative reorganisation (‘entrou a perfeiçionar’); thereafter, it remained without any resident priests. In 1671, Father Estanislao Torrente returned to Kajrad (modern-day Kairāt, in present-day Karnataka, India), where he resumed his role as Superior and continued in that office until 1680, the year of his death. Upon his death, Father Francisco Capadi succeeded him as Superior.
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I state that Father Francisco da Veiga served as Superior of the Mission of Hainan until 1685, when he was recalled from Canton—where Father Joaquim Caldas was stationed—and replaced. Father Caldas died in 1686; upon his death, Father da Veiga resumed his post and served again until 1691. At the close of that year, the Moors dispatched Father Francisco Cabral to Hainan; he returned to Tonkin in 1693, whereupon the mission in Hainan once more fell vacant. In 1694, Father João Pacheco was sent to Hainan. In 1696, Father Francisco da Veiga received his patent appointing him Provincial of Japan; in his stead, Father João Pereira was appointed Superior of the Hainan Mission, with Father João Pacheco serving as his companion.
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Chapter 9. Origins of the Laos Mission
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The first Jesuit to attempt entry into the Laos Mission—the kingdom referred to by its inhabitants as *Laos*—was Father Baptist Bocarro. Having previously served for some time as curador (spiritual director and administrator) of the Province of Japan and as elector of the College of Macau, and later appointed Visitor of the Funai Mission, Father Bocarro undertook the journey to Laos in 1637 via the province of *Indos*—a region adjacent to the royal court of the ‘Japan of Laos’, a designation applied to the Lao kingdoms governed by the ‘Burins’ (i.e., the Burmese), whose harsh rule extended over those territories. During the expedition, nine missionaries accompanying him fell seriously ill; two died, and Father Bocarro himself succumbed on 4 September 1638.
Subsequently, in April 1642, another attempt was made, this time proceeding via Cambodia.
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**Cambodia. Campaign in Siam against the new King of Cambodia, son of Udaya I (Udaya Hāo).**
The Reverend Father João Maria de Iría embarked on this expedition. After three months—during which he endured considerable hardship—he arrived at the port of Laos, where he remained for several years, suffering greatly and achieving little tangible fruit for the mission.
**Chapter 10. Origins of the Cochinchina Mission.**
The Cochinchina Mission was formally established on 18 January 1616. On that date, Father Manoel Dias Demore—Rector of the College of Macau and Provincial of Japan—appointed Father Valentim Carvalho as its first superior. The earliest Jesuit missionaries assigned to this mission were:
- Father Francisco Bordoni, a Neapolitan, who later died at the College of Macau;
- Father Diogo Carvalho, a Portuguese native of Coimbra, who subsequently suffered martyrdom in Japan; and
- Father Fr. António Dias, who was later exiled to Cambodia and died there in banishment.
In 1617, Father Manoel Barreto was appointed Visitor of the mission; he too died in Japan. In 1618, Father Pedro Marques assumed the office of Superior; he likewise died in Japan. *Vide infra.*
In 1619, a major persecution erupted. A senior Buddhist monk (*bonzo maior*), a staunch opponent of the Catholic faith, conspired with a royal favourite (*privado do rei*) to secure an edict ordering the expulsion of the missionaries and the demolition of churches.
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Nevertheless, one residence remained standing at Casão, bearing the title *Casa da Ethay Joasina*; its occupant was a woman—either a former concubine or niece—of a highly esteemed mandarin. Several priests also remained concealed in the region, albeit with considerable difficulty.
Following a series of setbacks, the mission achieved a measure of stability in 1539, but this respite proved short-lived. Father João Maria claimed authority as superior; however, Father Gaspar Luís—who succeeded him—was once again expelled from the house in Cochin after being bound and severely beaten.
The following year, 1540, saw Father Alexandre de Rhodes arrive from Macau. He cultivated cordial relations with the Japanese captain (i.e., the Portuguese *capitão-mor* stationed in Japan) and secured initial favour with the king; yet this hope too was fleeting. In 1541, a period marked by renewed turbulence, the king ordered the execution of the catechist André for publicly avowing his Christian faith—a confession deemed tantamount to treason under the prevailing legal and political order.
Thereafter, until 1552, the king permitted no regular or permanent residence of priests within the kingdom, save during the brief periods when Portuguese envoys were present on diplomatic missions—typically lasting five or six months. During these intervals, priests visited the region to minister to the nascent Christian community as best they could; usually, no more than two priests were present at any one time. The superior overseeing this intermittent pastoral work during these years was Father Methoscano, a Sicilian Jesuit, who was subsequently demarcated (i.e., formally assigned or designated to this role).
In 1552, the king of Cochinchina (Champa) arrived in person and moderated the persecution to some degree, granting permission for one priest to remain resident in the kingdom and another to travel regularly between the court and Macau.
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Father [Pe.] Superior remained in Macau not as an exile, but to assist the destitute and abandoned. He stayed on in the city, having been joined by Father Pedro Marques, who returned in the year 1653.
p. 978.
Chapter II. On the Origins of the Canton Mission
A church and resident Jesuit priests first appeared in the city of Canton (Guangzhou) around 1649, during a period when residents of Macau travelled there in attendance upon the ‘King of Vem Di Je’—a title referring to the Southern Ming pretender Zhu Youlang, the Yongli Emperor—whom the province of Canton, along with several other regions not yet subject to Qing (‘Tartar’) authority, continued to recognise. It was during this time that Fathers Francisco Váez and João Ferreira died in Canton.
Subsequently, in December 1650, the Qing forces took formal possession of Canton. At that time, several young clerics (‘meços’) remained there under the supervision of Álvaro Vemedo, alongside a small number of Jesuit missionaries who had entered China proper and were stationed at Haynão (i.e., Hainan Island). Thereafter, these missionaries regularly visited Canton to minister to the local Christian community, which maintained its own church—or more accurately, a hermitage—where Fathers Mess Simeão de Miranda and Misja administered the sacraments. In their absence, the local Christians gathered there for prayer.
In 1658, during the vicariate of Simão de Lunda (Vicar Provincial of Japan), and under the provincial administration of Matias de Almeida, the Society’s Superior General, Father Jozevino Niccolini, issued a directive ordering that the two jurisdictions of China—namely the Canton mission and the Quansi (i.e., Guangxi) or Confui (i.e., Fujian) missions—henceforth be placed under the administrative oversight of the Province of Japan, which was likewise charged with supplying missionary personnel to them. Accordingly, the Superior in Macau dispatched personnel to Canton in accordance with this arrangement.
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Father André Lubelli accepted the mission in March 1659.
He constructed a church with land and an endowment (‘laza’ and ‘herdancia fixa’—i.e., a permanent benefice or ecclesiastical endowment), which, however, was subsequently placed—by order of the Provincial Father—under the jurisdiction of the College [of Macau], and its superior was forthwith appointed Collector of the College of Macau.⁸⁴
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Chapter 12: The Mission of Shiab
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Although Fathers of our Society had visited the kingdom of Shiab on several earlier occasions, the first to enter it permanently—around 1638—was Father Balthazar de Sequeira of the Province of Fochim (Goa). Nevertheless, no formal church or endowed mission was established at that time. It was not until 1656—under the auspices of the Province of Japan—that a permanent mission was founded. This initiative arose from the earnest petition and persistent entreaties of the resident native Christians (‘moritos Christãos’—i.e., indigenous converts, likely from the Malabar or Coromandel coasts), among whom were also some Japanese Catholics. These Japanese converts attributed their spiritual lukewarmness (‘frieza na Christandade’) to the absence of doctrinal instruction by Jesuit Fathers—the only ministers with whom they had been raised and with whom they could communicate effectively; they declared themselves unable to adapt to any other clergy then present in the kingdom. Urged by this collective appeal, the Fathers pressed their case vigorously in a letter addressed to Father Pez (likely Father João Pez, then Assistant for the East Indies); their request was granted. Father Tomás Valguarneira was appointed Superior of the newly constituted mission. In 1659, he was succeeded by Father João Cardozo, who—upon assuming office as Superior—also received instructions to establish a new residence (‘Legidencia’, i.e., *legatio*, a formal Jesuit administrative and pastoral station) at Tonnaparem, the regular port of call for ships travelling between India and the kingdom of Shiab.
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To the Memoir of Vead, where there stood a church dedicated to *Nossa Senhora da Conceição* (Our Lady of the Conception), commonly known locally as ‘Maria Carneiro’, certain individuals pledged during their lifetimes—by way of a *donatio inter vivos* (a gift made between living persons)—and also by testamentary disposition (*donatio mortis causa*, i.e., a bequest effective upon death), to found a new church on that site. However, this initiative fell under the ecclesiastical authority of the parish priest, and the project was soon abandoned.
Shortly thereafter, the aforementioned individual, Fr. Manuel Carvalho—a secular priest from the Province of Cochin—arrived at the said port of Vead. Having encountered some difficulty in establishing a church at Tamaforim (Tamarim), he resolved instead to erect one at another location named Merquim (modern-day Merkam, near present-day Vengurla, Maharashtra), deeming it more conducive to the principal missionary objective: the conversion of the local indigenous (‘gentio’) population.
In the interim, the Province of Cochin awaited formal instructions concerning the permanent assignment of personnel from its own jurisdiction to serve at Vead; such personnel were expected to assist Fr. Manuel Carvalho. However, before these arrangements could be finalised, God called Fr. Carvalho to Himself. Consequently, the religious community at Cochin relinquished the church at Vead and transferred its pastoral responsibilities thence to that location.
Thereupon, the Venerable João Cardozo was dispatched to Vead for a period of approximately three years. After his departure, the Venerable Manuel Soares served there for a further two years. Ultimately, owing to the absence of sustained pastoral activity—and, critically, because of an urgent summons issued by the *Lara del Thomé* (i.e., the *Lar do Santo Tomé*, the Augustinian convent and missionary house at St Thomas Mount, near Madras/Chennai, serving as a regional administrative hub for the Order in South India)—our venerable missionaries withdrew from Vead. This occurred in the year of Our Lord 1540.
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CXVI
2-11 Nº 46
000396
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CXVI
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CXVI
2-11
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Este Livro do princípio dos Superiores e Benfeitores deste Collegio da Madre de Deos de Macao pertence aos Padres Procuradores deste Collegio por ser conforme à Legra 2.ª do seu officio, ordenado para agradecimento, e gratidão, que nossas Constituições encomendão ter-se com Nossos Bemfeitores.
Cap. 1º Do princípio deste Collegio, ou Casa, e dos Superiores que nelle houve até o anno de 1617.
Cap. 2º Do princípio da Missão, e Christandade de Japão, e dos Superiores maiores, e principais, que a promoverão.
Do princípio desta Christandade foi o B. P. Francisco Xavier no anno de 1549, e elle foi o primeiro, que a ella poz mão, pregou o santo Evangelho, e o primeiro Superior dos da Companhia em Japão. O 2º foi o P. Lourenço de Torres, que elle deixou em seu lugar com o Irmão João Foz, tendo-o trazido comsigo da India. De Japão tornou à India buscar Companheiros para aquella Missão: E tornando da India alli com desejo, esperança de entrar, agregar também nossa Santa Ley naquella grande
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Aleixo, falleceo avista da China na Ilha de Lamchão aos
dois de Dezembro de 1559, sendo de idade de vinte e dous
annos, tendo partido de Portugal no anno de 1541, chegado
a India em Mayo de 1542 por terem invernado em Malaca.
Sabique, em que dez annos correo quase tudo o que os Por-
tuguezes na India tinham descoberto, e fundou as Christan-
dades d’ambas as Costas de Travancor, Decan, Maluco, e
Japão, que seus filhos, Padres da Companhia depois prosegui-
rão. Neste meio tempo Padre Mestre Belchior, Superior
de todos os da Companhia, partindo de Goa no anno de 1554
para Japão, e invernando em Malaca, chegou a Japão no anno
de 1556, avizitando e consolando os Povos, e aquella pequena Chri-
standade, retornou no mesmo anno para India, levando 9.
Ipsos particulares suspeitos. O 3º foi o Padre Francisco Cabral
que baptizou o Rey Dom Francisco de Bungo. O 4º o B. Gaspar
Coelho era ordem dos Superiores, mas o primeiro que com nome
de Vice-Provincial governou a Companhia nesta Christandade.
O 5º o Padre Pedro Gomes, Vice-Provincial. O 6º o B. Francisco
Rafio, Vice-Provincial; a quem succedeo em Julho de 1611 o B.
Valentim Carvalho, mas com nome de Provincial por ser já
então esta Provincia separada das Provincias da India, e no
mesmo tempo começou de ser Visitador desta Provincia o B.
Francisco Rafio, que depois falleceo neste Collegio de Macau
em Agosto de 1612.
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Nem façao contra isto duvida algũa
Cartas
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Cartas do P. Geral Claudio Aquaviva excerptas ao P. Francisco Paio em 1611, e 1612, e 1613 chamando-lhe Provincial da Provincia de Japão, e China, não notavendo elle ca dito, antes tendo papado imediatamente de Vice-Provincial a Visitador no dito anno de 1611. E foi a causa disto ser esta Provincia algum annos antes feita em Roma Provincia separada das Provincias da India, sem desta separação se saber em Japão, assim por estarmos ca tão longe de Roma, que tarda as Cartas quatro, eis vezes cinco annos, como pela incerteza das Navegações, dependerem alguas vezes as Cartas, como de facto deperderão aquellas Cartas, pelas quaes o P. Geral tinha feito Japão Provincia per si; de maneira chegarem a Japão, mas somente se soube esta mudança no anno de 1611 quando veio a Ordem, que o P. Valentim Carvalho fosse Provincial, ao P. Francisco Paio ficasse Visitador, como se executou. E assim o P. Valentim Carvalho foi juntamente o primeiro Provincial desta Provincia de Japão, e China, e o P. Superior maior na Ordem dos Deitro da periori acima referido.
Em 1614 estavão em Japão 150 Religiosos da Companhia, forão desterrados para Manila 23, e Macau 73, ficarão em Japão escondidos 54. Foi o Padre Valentim Carvalho Provincial desta Provincia desde o anno de 1611 até o de 1619, succedeo lhe o P. Matheos de Couros, mas f. Patente que esta vinda para o P. Jeronimo Rodi senior, que p estar em Macau impedido para poder hir livrem. a Japão, arrecolheo o P. Francisco Vieira Visitador, esperar aviso da
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suceçoens na primeira das quaes estava o P. Matheos de Carros,
que foi Provincial ate o anno de 1621, no qual anno veio patente
de Provincial ao P. Francisco Pacheco, o qual foi martirizado a
vinte de Julho de 1626, e foi o primeiro Provincial de Japão, que
morreo martyr. Sucedeo lhe o P. Matheos de Carros, e pela segunda vez foi Provincial de 29 de Outubro de 1633, em que
falleceo junto de Euximi cansado com excessivos trabalhos, exer-
cicios que padecio nas perseguiçoens do Dogum Bay, e filho delas
da Tenca. Sucedeo lhe por Vice-Provincial por hua ordem que
havia do P. Visitador André Palmeiro, que era o antigo professo
foje Vice-Provincial, e foi P. Sebastião Vieira em 13 de Outubro
de 1633 ate ser preso, e martirizado na Corte de Yedo a 6 de
Julho de 1634.
Fiqueo o Provincialado neste tempo, em que governa-
vão os Visitadores por não saberem os Padres que haviaõ em
Japão para conforme a antiguidade. Sucederom ate o anno
de 1638, no principio do qual o P. Manuel Dias demor Visitador
nomeou por Reitor deste Collegio de Macau ao Padre Gaspar Luis,
que estava em Cochinchina, e juntamente declarou que o dito Padre
era Vice-Provincial de Japão conforme ao Canon 22 da 5ª Cong.
Veio o P. Gaspar Luis de Cochinchina, foi Reitor, e Vice Provin-
cial triennio, no cabo do qual foi visitar a Miyako de Funai.
Voltando o P. Gaspar Luis de Funai em 22 de
Outubro de 1641, por ordem do P. Antonio Rubino Vig. no-
meou por seu successo e Vice-Provinc. o P. Gaspar de Amaral,
Reitor do Collegio.
Ao Padre
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Ao Padre Gaspar de Amaral sucedeo no Reitorado, e Provin-
cialado o P. João Cabral em 1645 por nomeação do B. Pe. Mel.
de Azevedo governou hum anno.
Ao B. João Cabral sucedeo o P. Sebastião d’Almeida assim no
Reitorado, como no Provincialado por Patente do B. Pe. e
governou tres annos inteiros, os quaes acabados de abrivar
as Vias do Provincial de Japão por ordem do P. Pe. Manuel de
Azevedo, e por ellas veio des do B. João Cabral em 1649 aos 26 de
Julho, e por ordem do mesmo P. Mel. de Azevedo Vizº ficou edito
P. juntamente Reitor. Acabado o trienno do P. João Cabral
e abrivadas as successões do Provincial desta Provincia aos
28 de Agosto de 1652, e esperou-se novamente Mea porquanto ti-
nha chegado embarcaço de India, mas quaes podia vir mo-
vos successores, e não havendo já esperança delle, se abriu
as Antigas, e a 1ª escolheu o mesmo P. João Cabral, e aberta a
2ª saiu por Provincial desta Provincia o P. Jerónimo Mayrea,
que estava em Tuncum, e não pôde ser impedido em Via-
ção de estar dentro da Provincia, e podei ser avivado em
Jeronimes, porque o Breve de Innocêncio X. Debe ordupe
viores da Companhia não gozarem do trienno até dez
período quanto as Provincias transmarinas, continuou
edito P. João Cabral ate 3 de Março de 1653, em que chegou avo-
go de Tuncum, e como o P. Jerónimo Mayrea tinha aceita-
do, começara a governar aos 14 de Abril do dito anno de 1653.
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Ao P. João Cabral sucedeo o P. Jerónimo de Mayorica, que tam em a Milícia de Tuntim, aonde lhe chegou avia de successão, como coa governar ao 14 domer de Abril do anno de 1603. Falleceo na Milícia de Tuntim ao 29 domer de Janeiro de 1606, sendo ainda Provincial, mas como estava ausente deste Collegio não soube mos annos da sua morte, senão no fim deste mesmo anno, em que chegou hua carta mandada por terra, a qual trouxeram algumas pessoas, das que vieram por terra, e escaparam do naufragio, e foi o Navio de António da Cota Beirnude, tornando para esta Cidade.
Ao P. Jerónimo de Mayorica sucedeo ao 16 domer de Abril de 1606 o P. Martim Coelho, porque não havia Vice-Provincial, as quaes chegaram no principio do mês de Julho do dito anno: bem como quer que o Vice-Provincial nomeador ou era morto, ou estava impedido, e o Visitador acabava o seu trienio antes de cessar o impedimento do anno, em cujo de Vacancia segundo o Breve do Papa Innocêncio X parece conveniente nomear outro Vice-Provincial ao dez do mês de Julho de 1606 dar vinta pelas nove horas da manhã.
Ao 19 de Agosto de 1608 entrou no officio de Provincial de Japão por Patente de Roma o P. Mathias de Araya, governando tres annos, em que morreu dos quais, abrindo-se as Vias de successão, desachou o P. José Máriz de Sá, o qual se viu obrigado a vir de Macau, donde se esperava a cada dia barco, pelo que os PP. Conselheiros da Província julgaram que neste Caso tinha lugar dispensação.
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a dispensação do N. Sto. P.e Alexandre 7º, declaracão do N. B.
P. Geral que podião os Provinciaes continuar mais do triennio
em gravissima Causa; et ad breve tempus, e assim continuou o
B. Mathias d’Araya mais sete dias até que em 26 de
Agosto de 1661 tendo chegado de Lisbã foi nomeado na Cappella
por Provincial o B. José Maria Leiria, e lhe entregou a via
de sua Successão à mesma Cappella & deo a Comunidade.
Ao 26 de Agosto de 1661 acabado o triennio do B. José
Maria Leiria abriu as Vias da Successão, era-lh’acharão
no B. Wifrio Borges, e por ser já fallecido o mesmo antes em
Jacatra, entrou no governo de Provincial o B. Hector M. Ruiz
que estava na 2ª Via da Successão, o qual governou até o 24
de Março de 1667, no qual dia o deixou Mto. P. G. S. sendo
ainda Provincial.
Ao 27 de Março de 1667 tres dias depois da morte do
B. M. Ruiz foi eleito Vice Provincial o B. Pedro Marques, por
ser já fallecido em Cochinchina o B. Helbelo Vaccaro & estava
na 3ª Via de Successão de Provincial.
Ao 26 de Agosto de 1667 abriu a 2ª Via de Provincial,
acharam nella ao Padre Pedro Kuzarte, e por estar ausente em
Europa foi o B. Visitador Luís da Fama Provincial ao B.
Andre Gomes. Ao 21 de Julho de 1670 abrindo a via de Provin-
cial desta Província acharam nella ao B. Felippe Marino,
que começou no mesmo dia a exercitar o Cargo.
Acabado o triennio logo Ao B. Felippe Marino sucedeo
no officio de Provincial o B. José Cardoso Ao 21 de Julho de 1673.
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Acabado o trienno do P. João Cardoso abrirá as Vias deduzidas,
dão, sacharão ao P. André Dubellis, e por estar ausente na China
esperou hum anno ficando no mesmo Cargo o P. João Cardoso
que tambem estava ausente na Índia que fora a Cochinchina
onde morreo no naufragio, que o barco fez no anno de 1576.
Em 22 de julho de 1577 chegou da China o P. André Dubellis,
o qual ficou governando aço triennes, ao fim do qual se oc-
cupou por estar occupado na China em 3º Lugar o P. Fran.
Pimentel que tambem morreo em Tonquim, ao P. estava
nomeado o P. Francisco Davies Philypues, que começou a
governar em Cantão ao primeiro de Dezembro de 1580, e de-
pois devito mezo veio para Macao.
Em Dezembro de 1583 acabou a 1ª Via de Provincial,
em que estava o P. André Gomes já defunto. Abrio-se a 2ª
via, e achou o P. Manuel Ferreira, estava em Tonquim,
e já chamado a Roma, julgou-se em Consulta e estava
impedido. Abrio-se a 3ª via, em que se achou o P. José Díaz
Nier, o qual começou a governar ao 6 de Dezembro, e aca-
bou ao 25 de julho do anno seguinte por lhe vir Pa-
tente de Visitador.
Ao 25 de julho de 1584 se abrio a Maço de Roma
em que achou Patente de Provincial para o P. Vicente Varrão que
acabou o seu trienno ao 25 de julho de 1587.
Acabado o governo do P. Vicente Varrão haverá de entrar
no Provincial o P. Francisco Sogueira que tendo sido logo
vindo de Goa com Patente, porem se escusou, e ao 31 de
Julho abrio-se a primeira Via de Provincial, na qual ficou
o P. Filippo Fregosi que ao mesmo dia tomou posse do
officio
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5
[Main text]
officio em 31 de Julho de 1607. Acabado o trienno
do P. Felippe Fierqui, mandou S.M. ao P. que foy feu
Provincial, que então era o P. Francisco Xavier Felipuchi, f.
acabou de ser Vig° e Provincial aos 6 de Jano. de 1611.
Sucedeo lhe por Vig° e Provincial de Japão o P. Francisco
Nogueira aos 6 de Jano. de 1611, acabado o seu trienno aca-
barão os Vigiladores, e se abrirão as Vias de Provincial de Japão,
e se achou na primeira o P. Francisco Xavier Felipuchi, q era
morto, abrio-se a 2ª e se achou o P. Alexandre Ciero q estava em
tão impedido na Corte de Pequim, abrio-se a 3ª Via o P. Fran-
cisco da Veiga que estava por Superior da Missão em Hainan,
que fe encarou, e assim continuou o P. Francisco Nogueira, que
tinha sido atendido até que no anno de 95 virão novas vias,
estava na 1ª o P. Reginaldo Burger, que estava em Goa, ella de
lhe mandou anova, continuando o P. Nogueira até a 4ª Via
porta que veio no anno de 96 com sua escusa, e lá ficou sendo
Composto de Caza, era aquelle julho veio Nova Patente, e 3 Viás,
era Patente de Provincial de Japão para o P. Francisco da Veiga
em Hainan, aq demandou recado, e foi forçado aceitar, achegou
a este Collegio em 10 de Outubro de 1696, e sofreu em como dia Tomou
posse afim de Provincial, como de Reitor, acabando já morto
em Macao o P. Thomé Paz, que servia de Provincial em lugar
do P. Francisco Nogueira Provincial de Japão, que no mesmo my
squaro dia do mesmo anno morreo em Tonkin aos 5 de Novo
de 96, e o P. Thomé Paz em Macao aos 6. Rego, deixou-se ameaça
o P. Francisco da Veiga que por ter feito alguas disposições de go-
verno em Cantão antes de vir della para este Collegio devia aca-
bar
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acabar, e defacto acabou o seu triennio em 3 de Outbro. de 1609.
Sucedeo ao B. Francisco da Veiga no cargo de Provincial
de Japão, e Reitor deste Collegio o B. Manuel Carvalho y Patente,
o qual veio da Provincia de Goa mandado por o N.M.R.P. Geral
para Macao para ser Provincial de Japão, e Reitor deste Col.
legio: tomou posse do Provincialado, eleitorado em 3 de Setbro.
de 1609.
Acabado o triennio do B. Manuel Carvalho se abrio a 1ª
suceçad da sua Patente, e se achou nella nomeado o B. Miguel
de Amaral, o qual tomou posse do Provincialado eleitorado em
3 de Setbro. de 1622, e continuou no governo ate 6 de Janro. de 1624,
no qual dia se embarcou para Goa por ter recebido em 7 de Agosto
de 1623 ordem, e patente do N.M.R.P. Geral para hir ser Vigº
da Provincia de Goa, e por se ter o dito B. Amaral escusado no
anno de 1618 de outra patente, em que o N.M.R.P. Geral o faria
Vigº de Goa, e de Malabar, lhe acrecentou desta segunda vez o
N.M.R.P. Geral preceito de obediencia para aceitar o dito cargo
de Visitador de Goa. Teve os mesmos o Provincial Miguel
de Amaral em 8 de Agosto de 1623, hum dia depois de receber
a dita Patente de Vigº de Goa, feita consulta, na qual se abrio
a 2ª suceçad da Patente do B. Manuel Carvalho, e se achou nella
nomeado para Provincial de Japão, Reitor deste Collegio o B.
Antonio de Barros, vigario da Provincia de Goa, que actual-
mente era Provincial de Malabar, e não podia ser enviado
e vir de baixo para Macao antes de partir de lá o P. de Goa o B.
Miguel de Amaral, o qual por nao haver ja outra alguma
suceçad de Provincial de Japão, quando se partio para Goa
nomeou
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nomeou por seu sucessor o Provincial de Japão, juntamente
com outros deste Collegio de Macau ao P. Manuel Olório, emigrou
ao dito P. António de Barros, o qual se escusou, sendo velho.
Começou pois o P. Provincial Manuel Olório o seu governo
em 6 de Janeiro de 1604. Em Agosto do mesmo anno de 1604
chegaram duas Patentes do S. M. R. Geral para o governo da Pro-
vincia de Japão sem trazerem successo, hua vinda aberta p.
de entregar logo ao P. Diogo Vidal que tinha sido já Procurador
de Japão a Roma, e ainda não tinha vindo, a outra vinda foi
chamada para de abrir causa mortis, ou acabado o governo do dito
P. Diogo Vidal. Como porem o P. Vidal não veio, nem se es-
perava chegar tão cedo, julgou o P. Provincial Manuel Olório
com a sua consulta, que se abrisse a segunda Patente do S. M. R.
Geral, sabendo-se achou que era para o P. Francisco Pinto, q. se
tava ausente na Provincia de Santinho servindo aí o Governo
da China no convento de Missionário havia já muitos annos.
Mandou-se lhe logo aviso, sem quanto não vindo continuou o seu
governo o P. Provincial Manuel Olório. Obteve o dito P. Diogo Vi-
dal em Março de 1604 partiu de Lisboa para lá por Goa, em me-
smo anno na mesma viagem para Goa morreu, e ainda de sua
morte chegou a Macao em Agosto do anno seguinte de 1605.
Chegou o P. Francisco Pinto a Cantão, e lá o mesmo tomou
posse do officio de Provincial em 24 de Fevereiro de 1605, com 6 de
Março do mesmo anno chegou a Macao, e foi continuando
no officio de Provincial, e Reitor neste Collegio. E Sofrira.
de Agosto de 1608 chegou hua Patente de Provincial de Japão
e Reitor do Collegio de Macao para o dito P. Miguel de Amaral,
que estava em Goa com officio de Vig.° daquella Provincia em
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[Stamp — left margin]
[Circular stamp: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL DE PORTUGAL]
ordem do S. M. o General para o P. Francisco Pinto continuar
nos mesmos officios de Provincial, e Reitor até chegar de Goa
o dito P. Miguel de Amaral, a quem o S. M. o General tinha avizado
da desta Patentte que lhe mandava ordenando. He
que depois de acabar o tempo de Visitadorado delgo, elle tinha
determinado vir-se na primeira occasião para Macau. Acabou
depois o dito P. Amaral o tempo do seu Visitadorado delgo ao
mesmo fim de Agosto de 1609 partio de lá para Macau em Maio
de 1610, chegou a esta Cidade, e Collegio em 26 de Julho do mesmo
anno. E no mesmo dia de 26 de Julho de 1610 tomou
o P. Miguel de Amaral posse dos Officios de Provincial de Japão,
e de Reitor de Macau, acabado o triennio de Abril de 1607 na
consulta a primeira successão do P. Provincial, e ficou nella
o P. Jeronimo de Moraes defunto em Goa, abriu-se a 2ª successão
e ficou nela o P. José Peres ausente na Cochinchina, com que
foi o dito P. Miguel de Amaral continuando no dito Provincial-
lado, e Reitorado até ser avizado o P. José Peres, e vir a sua deporta,
o qual allegou impossibilidade para não vir para Macau, sendo Provincial, e
por não haver outra successão foi o P. Miguel
de Amaral continuando o dito Provincialado.
No anno de 1616 aos 10 de Julho chegou a Macau Patentte
de Provincial de Japão com duas successões, mas Patentte vindo
nomeado o P. José Monteiro objecto da Provincia da China
que estava em falhas, o qual efficazmente se executou, e
abrindo-se a prima successão ficou nela o P. José Peres
que foi avizado, e de Cochinchina tornou a allegar as mes-
mas impossibilidades ut supra. Abriu-se no anno seguinte
a segunda, e ultima successão, e ficou o P. Stanisláo Ma-
chado
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Machado Tenente em Funai, o qual tambem se exerçeu, por
ser aportado com hum preçeito de obediencia do Provincial
Miguel de Amaral escrivão, e tomou pape de Provincialado lá
em Funai aos 12 de Junho de 1578, e chegando esta noticia
a Macao em 20 de Agosto do mesmo anno de 1578 acabou entad
o P. Miguel de Amaral o seu Provincialado, tendo perseverado
nelle oito annos, 25 dias continuos. Continuou o P. Estanis-
lau Machado o seu governo em Funai, estinha em Macao
o Provincial constituido por elle ao P. João Pereira
Vendo pois o P. Provincial Estanislau Machado q. todos
achavam lhe mais era possivel falar de Funai, e q. de lá lhe não
era possivel governar a Provincia, mandou de lá ordenar
poderes à Consulta da Provincia para ella ad plenum delegata
nomear successor no Provincialado, vistomad haver outra hu-
miliação de Roma, e a Consulta em virtude desta Comissão nomeou
ao P. Miguel de Amaral, que succedendo ao P. Estanislau Ma-
chado tomou pape do governo outra vez aos 26 de Agosto de
1570.
[Heading]
Cap. 3º Dos Visitadores que foram
mandados pelos Geraes da Companhia Vire
por esta Provincia de Japão, e China.
[Main text]
§.1º Foi o Padre Gonçalo Alvarez mandado pelo Geral
F. Francisco de Borja no anno de 1568 na chamada do Rey
D. Luiz de Ataíde, o qual depois de Visitar a Companhia
na India, inspeçionou China, e dahi embarcando se p. Japão em
Dezembro de 1569, onde visitou a Provincia de Japão, vivendo já então
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com hum grauissimo tufão sem escapar com vida deste
Naufragio mais que hum só haver, o qual andando madas-
do no mar tomou hum junco, que acertou de vir letras de
Nao, acabou o dito Padre em Julho de 1573 com seus Compa-
nheiros os P.º Manuel Lopes, seu companheiro, substituto,
P.º João Velho, P.º Diogo Fox, P.º António Paes.
O 2.º Visitador foi o P.º Alexandre Valignani, que mandado
pelo P.º Geral Gerardo Mercuriano no anno de 1573 chegou
aqui com 4.º Padres e Irmãos da Companhia em setembro
de 1574, o qual Visitando primeiro a Companhia na Índia
passou a China no anno de 1578, e afagado em 1579 a primeira
vez, donde depois de Visitados os P.º desta Missão, e deixou
de ordenar muitas cousas em proveito desta Visitandade
tornou para Índia no anno de 1583 trazendo consigo qua-
tro marechões Japoneses fidelíssimos a D. Manoel, parente do
Rey Francisco de Bungo, D. Miguel, parente do Tono de
Arima, Dom Bautista, D. Martinho, e D. Feliciano, fidelíssimos do
Tono de Yonaguni, D. Bartholomeo, os quaes se embarcaram
em Cochim em Fevereiro de 1584 para Portugal com o bom P.
Jerónimo Rodrigues, até este tempo do Collegio de S. Paulo,
Procurador para Roma eleito na Segunda Congregação
da Índia, e com o P.º Diogo de Mesquita, e chegando a Lisboa
em Agosto do mesmo anno, e dizitando o Cardeal Alberto,
Gov.º de Portugal, partírão já no anno seguinte de
1585 para Roma, aonde chegarão no fim de Março do mes-
mo anno, e foram recebidos como Embaixadores com gran-
de appareato pelo Summo Pontifice Gregório XIII, dando-lhe
Santidade
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Santidade e obediencia em nome dos tres Japões Christãos,
e debota esta nova Christandade, e fallecendo neste mesmo tem-
po o abobdito Papa, sendo eleito Pinto 6º de achar ao dito
Fidalgo; a morte de hum, e eleição d’outro: feita esta tal
comprida peregrinação por Italia, Castella, Portugal, e
India, de tornarão cheyos de gazalhados, e honras a Japão com
o mesmo Padre Alexandre Valignano no anno de 1590 sendo
Jordão Tenca Taico, aqueem dito Padre com estes Fidalgos
Japões foi a sua Corte visitar com embaixada do Rey D. Du-
arte de Meneses, sendo debito Rey com grande honra, e appa-
rato recebido. Mas pouco durou este favor dos Japoneses
porq’ pouco depois moveo contra a Christandade grave persegui-
ção, eo B. Vigor Alexandre se tornou a segunda vez de Japão pa-
Macao no anno de 1592, donde mandou logo o B. Gil de Malta
allma por Procurador de Japão, e foi segunda vez a Japão de-
gando lá em Março de 95, e em Setembro do mesmo anno veio
sua Carta do B. Geral pela qual acabou de ser Vigor da India fi-
cando somente de Japão, e China p. aqual dejartio ultimamen-
te no anno de 1597, e da hi terceira vez p. Japão em Julho de 1598
em companhia do B. Bispo D. Luís Cerqueira. E finalmente
tornou de Japão a Macao a ultima, e terceira vez no anno de
1603 com D. Paulo Portugal Capitão geral desta Viagem, e este
ve mette Collegio de Macao ate o anno de 1606, que nelle falle-
ceu no dia 20 de Janeiro, tendo governado a Companhia da India,
e Japão 31 annos, e nesses aguas muge: a India, e juntamente
Japão 21, em estes 21 annos foi dito Padre juntamente Provin-
cial, e Vigor desde setembro de 83 ate abril de 88 q. [parte]
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a segunda vez para Japão, esta por occasião de fallecerem os
Vicegovernadores do Reino para Índia os B. Francisco Mijão no anno de
81, e o B. Pedro da Silva no anno de 83 que vindo de Índia &
foram Provinciais; La Japan, elle hirao dom. de anno, egual
tro onze, eguari onze, sendo tambem seu Visitador.
O 3.º Visitador desta Provincia foi o B. Francisco Cajó feito
em Japão por Carta do G. Geral Claudio Aquaviva em Julho
de 1611, passando immediatamente do Officio de Vice-Provincial
desta Provincia ao de Visitador, Declarando o B. Valentim
Carvalho no mesmo tempo por Provincial desta Provincia
por ella já então ser Provincia por si, separada das duas
Provincias da Índia, Goa, e Malabar, como sua mesma Carta
de Roma vinha ordenado. E o B. Visitador Francisco Cajó
se partio de Japão para este Collegio de Macao no anno de
1612, em elle falleceo em 31 de agosto do mesmo anno.
O 4. Francisco Vieira feito
tambem na Índia por Patente do G. Geral Claudio Aquaviva,
a qual se lhe mandou de Roma em Janeiro de 1615, e chegou a
Goa em Outubro do mesmo anno; e o B. se partio de Goa para
esta Provincia em Maio de 1616 depois de entregar o Officio de
Provincial de Goa logo em Outubro ao B. Jacomo de Medeiros,
chegou a este Collegio de Macao em 13 de Julho do mesmo anno.
O 5.º Morto o B. Francisco Vieira neste Collegio de Macao aos
28 de Dezembro de 1619 depois de vir de Japão, onde esteve pouco
mais de hum anno, porque dous superiores, ou Procuradores
da Provincia, Vice-Provincia, o B. Sebastião d’Almaya adoeceu
se para o qual Medeiros poder, ficando no mais os ditos
Provincial
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[Main text]
Provincial, e Vice-Provincial independentes como se orão
tivessem visitado. Progundo edito o Provincial de Japão
ao D. Professor a sobredita ordem, forão os mais delles dega-
recer que se guardasse até ver de Roma vem este pon-
to aclarado de Roma, e assim se executou o logi 27 de Janb. de 1650.
Aos 9 do mês de Julho do mesmo anno de 1650 chegaraõ
Novas Successões de Visitadores, apertamente outra via della
Gente de Visitadores, que dous annos antes tinha já vindo por
outra via para o P. Francisco Furtado que estava na China
dentro por Superior das Casas do Norte, egorquanto com
aquella dos Tartaros, estava alli dentro toda revolta, e
não tinha chegado nova de o P. era vivo, ou morto, ou se lhe
tinham chegado alguns dos nossos avisos, que sobre isso
felle tinham mandado. Pareceo ao P. João Cabral Provincial
da Provincia de Japão, e aos mais Consultores, que lhe deviaõ
abrir as Novas Successões como com effeito o abrirão em
Consulta, e se acharão mais que duas, as quaes traziaõ
ambas por Sobrescripto 2.ª Successão, o que vendo o P. Pro-
vincial, em mais, que duvidavaõ de as havião de abrir am-
bas, para ver qual era a primeira, egorque o caso era novo
e os Padres Consultores não concordavão, apontou-se que se
propuzesse a todos os Padres Professos, que estavam no Collegio,
e lhes perguntasse duas Cousas: 1.ª Se haviaõ de
abrir as ditas Successões para ver qual precedia. 2.ª Se
em casa que nella fodesse; por morte do P. Francisco
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Furtado se defalhar em ausência, ou outro impedimento viesse,
se havia de esperar novas destes o D. morto, ou vivo. Ou se ab-
breviava a urgência, embaraco de guerras era bastante, et se
poderetar pro mortuo que ad hunc effectum. Deram os P. Profe-
ssões parecer em scriptis ao secretario da Provincia, o qual ta-
ctus memoravit o referio na junta. Em 1º ponto vem foras de
parecer que as successões se vão abrir. Dito que se abrissem.
e No. 2º ponto jnco foras de parecer que o D. Auranta, impedido,
non reputabatur pro mortuo, ou mais que vim. O Provincial
segundo aparecer dos orais mandou que se abrissem as ditas
successões, e fallio na primeira ao P. Sebastião de Itmaya. E de
tudo se deo conta aos N. R. P. G., e espera para semelhantes ca-
sos o que será de approvação, ou reapprovação. O P. Sebastião de Itmaya
governou desde 10 de Julho de 1650 até 2, ou 3 de Junho do anno
seguinte de 1651, emque veio ao certo Collegio Carta do P. Fran-
cisco Furtado que chegava a Cantão, et tinha recebido aliento
de Viz. em 7 de Julho de 1650, etomando logo, acomecando aviz-
itar as Casas de Residências da China dentro. — E como tem
tinha já começado a governar antes de lhe se abrirem as
vias, apertou o P. João Cabral Provincial com parecer detodo
os Consultores que precedera ao P. Sebastião de Itmaya, gestava:
digo esfem lhe entregara o governo da Provincia, et Provincial,
lavía do P. Sebastião de Itmaya que estava aberta jnternous
afectuos para edito o P. poder suceder aseo tempo em Pará de
ler este aparecer afim dos Consultores desta Provincia, co
mo dos da Provincia de Cochim, onde se mandou perguntar este caso.
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Aos 21 de Novembro de 1563 houve Reporte para vi. a B.° Vº Francisco Furtado, e conforme o asperto acima lhe tor. não ajudecer o B.° Sebastião d’Ehnaya por não haver novo governo de Macau, e tomou papeis ao 22 do dito mez, anno. Hr. D. 1580.
[Heading]
Cap. 1.° Do principio da Missão do Reino da China, e dos Superiores Universais que nella houve
[Main text]
O Padre Visitador Alexandro Valigno passando da India para Japão no anno de 1578 estando neste Collegio de Macau esperando a nomeação para ir a Japão começou a tratar desta Missão de China, ajudando-se para isto de varias informações de Portugueses, e Chinas, que havia esperança de Christandade neste Reino. E para ella se principiar pedio ao R. P. Ruy Vicente Provincial da India hum Padre de talento para começar sobre esta porta, e para isto se mandou o B.° Miguel Ruggieri, o qual chegando a Macao no anno de 1580 começou logo aprender a lingoa, letras, e maneira tomamdo para isto Mestre Chino, e indo algumas vezes à feira de Cantão com os Portugueses, foi tomando amizade, e tornou virfacão com alguns Chinas, por meio, e conselho dos quaes foi allanguim falar com o Tutan, segundo alcançou licença para morar nesta Cidade em hua botica de aluguer, depois com licença do mesmo Tutan comprou ellas para
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[Main text]
fazer hua Carinha mais Legoa de Cidade, exercendo
Nella se lhe ajuntou no anno de 1582 o P. Mathes Ricci,
e ambos foram fazendo ali alguns Christãos. Mas depois
os mesmos Estados botou fora deste lugars, emandou vir
para Macao. Oque sabendo o P. Alexandre estando nes-
te Collegio depoz de vir aprimeira vez de Japão no anno
de 1583 lhes forçou que trabalhassem quanto pudessem
para não valirem fora da China, e no mesmo Tempo quis
ellos senhor que o Estado os tornasse a dar as terras de Caminho
que hiaõ fazendo para Cantão, e mandou a Ravcheo,
ordenando juntamente que lha lhe dessem lugar em que
Morasse o P. Mathes Ricci com seu Companheiro o P. An-
tonio d’Almeida, sendo ja vindo para Macao o P. Rogerio
donde o P. Alexandre emandou para Malaca, donde fez
partio na Galea do Reino para Lisboa, e da hi para Roma
informar de esta Missão, et outras cousas a Nstro P.
Geral, eficou em Italia.
E continuando o P. Mathes Ricci,
seu Companheiro estiveraõ algum tempo na dita Cera
de Ravcheo, o qual falleceo o P. Antonio d’Almeida, e depois
o P. Francisco Petri ficando com o P. Mathes Ricci,
em anno de 1588 tornando de Japão a segunda vez o P.
Alexandre Valignani lhe mandou o P. Lázaro Caetano por
Companheiro, e depois de estarem ambos algũ tempo
em Ravcheo foi o P. Mathes Ricci fazer a Cera de Xanghã
Levando
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[Main text]
deixando por diante esta Missão sendo já desembarcados
nas estas Casas, e das mais que se foram fazendo até o anno de
1610 que falleceo em Pequim Corte del Rey da China, se assim
elle foi o primeiro Superior dos Padres nesta Missão, e prin-
cipal fundador.
O 2.º foi o P. Nicoláo Longobardo depois da morte do
P. Mathias Ricci até hoje 7 de Fevereiro de 1619 o qual tudo
largamente consta da historia desta Missão principiada
pelo P. Mathias Ricci a que me remetto.
Ao P. Nicoláo Longobardo succedeo no Cargo de Superior
desta Missão da China em Junho de 1622 o P. José da Rocha.
Ao P. José da Rocha succedeo o Padre o primeiro Provincial
real depois defuncta a China lhe Provincia, acabando o
já fallecido lhe succedeo por primeiro Vice Provincial o
P. Manoel Dias Junior igual governador, outros annos.
Succedeo-lhe o P. Francisco Furtado, igual governador
por annos, em Cabo dos quaes vêm nomear ao 2.º Provin-
cial debul o P. Julio Alençary, e do Norte continuou o mes-
mo P. Francisco Furtado em defeito do P. José Vaz por
haver já fallecido.
Em o anno de 1646 veio Patente del Provin-
cial destas almas ao Padre Álvaro Lamego, igual go-
vernou perto de quatro annos por estarem os caminhos
impedidos com as guerras dos Tartaros, e não poder chegar
avizo ao P. Manoel Dias Junior, que lhe succedeu tamord
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tomou posse em o anno de 1550, governando entre tanto todo este tempo em as partes do Norte de Japão.
co fundado pela enorme vassal demas poder chegar
aviso das Novas Successões.
De P. Manoel Dias Junior por estar cego, exonerar
ciar o Cargo de Provincial successo por Nomeação do
P. Sebastião d’Armaya Visitador, e approvação do P. da
provincia o Padre Alvaro Simedo em 1605, escabado o
triennio lhe succedeo o P. Estevão Fabro, o qual em mor-
to quando lhe chegou aviso, pôs que succedeo em Provin-
cial o P. Simão da Cunha, o qual depois de governar lega-
ço de hum anno sahio em Via de Visitador em 28 de
Outubro de 1658, em o mesmo anno chegará Vias de
Roma, emque vinha Nomeado para Provincia
o P. Estevão Fabro, eo Padre Alvaro Simedo que eram
já mortos, e o P. Simão da Cunha que succedeo por
morte do P. Antonio Veloso em Visitador, era 1ª Via
succedeo o P. Ignacio da Costa.
Em acabando o P. Ignacio da Costa o seu triennio
em o anno de 1661, abrindo se as Successões, o Dia dello
mais fechou o al.º Via o P. Mathias d’Armaya, o qual
acabava de ser Provincial de Japão; porque não podia
entrar em aquelle Novo governo sem vacar annos e
Anno conforme a Bulla do Papa Innocencio X. foi
electo por Consulta para Officio de Provincial o Padre
Diogo
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o Padre Diogo Fabbro, enquanto durava o impedimento
do sobredito anno, emero conforme as Ordens, & para
fimelhantes casos tem mandado o M.R.P. Geral, acabado
o impedimento entrou o P. Mathia d’Arriaga, mas,
porque logo começou a perseguição no setembro de
1614 deixou esse lugar o P. Diogo Fabbro. No
anno de 1615 succedeo por Provincial o P. Feliciano
Pacheco. Em 1618 o P. António de Gouvea, no anno de
1621 entrou a segunda vez o P. Feliciano Pacheco.
No anno de 1624 abrindo se a via de Roma de acabou
por Provincial da China o P. André Lubelli que gover.
nou dous annos, seis mezes, e não acabou o trienno
porque abrindo se a via do governo da Provincia
de Japão de acabou voltar por Provincial da dita Provincia.
Em lugar do P. André Lubelli por via de Roma en-
trou o P. Fernando Rypiero que governou o fez trienno
do P. Fernando no anno de 1630 em Março succedeo
o P. Gabriel Gabian dixo Domingo Gabian.
Acabado o trienno do P. Domingo Gabian ao
primeiro defunto entrou no Officio de Provincial
o P. José Vallois que estava nas Vias, e governou todo
o trienno. José Vallois, succedeo
no offcio de Provincial o P. Prospero Lacerda y
entrou nesse governo aos 30 de Junho de 1636.
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Acabado o governo do P. Brogyero succedeo no dito
o P. Domingos Gabeán, que começou a governar
ao 30 de Junho do anno de 1609.
Acabado o triennio do P. Gabriel succedeo no dito
do Provincial da China o P. Thomaz Pereira, e co-
meçou a governar ao 1º de Julho de 1612. Thomaz Pereira succedeo
no officio do Provincial o P. Filippo Grimaldi que come-
çou a governar ao 1º de Julho de 1615 por via, porque
veio patente de Provincial para o P. Fran. Vimeon,
que estava já morto, e continuou o P. Grimaldi, vindo
no anno de 1616 patente para o P. Brogyero que estava
a moribundo &c &c &c
Cap. 5º trata dos Bispos de Ega.
Cap. 6º dos principios da Missão de
Fukien, e superiores della.
Por informacão dos Nossos Padres, que cultivavão a
Christandade de Cochinchina, como aquelle Reino
e o de Fukien hão annos se havia lançado
teve o P. Jerónimo Roiz Senior Visitador noticia da
disposição que haveria no Reino de Fukien para
nelle feijear a Nostra Santa Fe. Anno de
1626
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de 1626 mandou o P. Juliano Baldinotti Florentino
com o Irmão Julio Beany na embarcação de Gaspar
Borges da Fonseca Cidadão desta Cidade de Macao para
em jejum ir a aquelle Reino, e ver por experiencia as
disposições dos Naturaes para se abrir a Missão. Foi
o Padre, e achou tão boa disposição, que o Rey por Nome
Thanta do the pedio que ficasse em seu Reino, convidan-
do-o com os muitos favores, e honras, que lhe fez. Porém
o Padre não ficou por ter ordem expressa de voltar a Macao,
sinformar do que achara no Reino.
Voltou de Tunkin com dito Irmão em setembro
do mesmo anno, nem deixando naquelle Reino defunto
magentilidade, mas que algumas Crianças baptizadas.
Achou-se já por Vicar o P. André Palmeiro que por Paten-
te do S.R.P. tinha chegado da India no fullo antecedente.
Sinformando o Sabordade Lagente Candido natural, e
excelente disposição para receber Nossa Santa Ley, se
deliberou o novo Visitador a abrir a Missão, e leva-la adiante.
Para este effeito no anno seguinte de 1627 mandou
o P. Pedro Marques Portugues por Superior da Mis-
são, e foi o primeiro, que ella teve, e ao P. Alexandre B.
dos Francos por seu Companheiro, o qual sabia adeinguado
por ter estado em Cochinchina, e para esta Viagem
fora della mandado vir. Chegaram a Tunkin em 19
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19 de Março, dia de S. José, e por esta causa toda a hóstia
sabe tem acerte Santo por seu Padroeiro, em Cadre entraram
do mal Barra, e Porto de Pung chegaram ao mesmo Porto de
S. José. Forão bem recebidos do Rey que era Ornerno, tratou
os com muita honra, fez lhes grandes favores, e casas
com Igreja emque mora fe junto ao seu Paço.
O Padre levador defervor, cuidando que gastavão mel
otempo em continuar o Paço, escreveu ao Rey (que era boa
ocazião para lhe dar noticia da nossa Santa Fé, que depois
não houve); se forão afastando do Paço, egaitando todo otend
po empregar, e baptizar agente do povo que acudia em gran
de Concurso, fizerão grande fructo em breve tempo, o qual
como chegon as ordens do Rey, avio como os Padres desejando
deixar aos seus Paço, com Concurso que havia em sua Casa, onde
teve abem, sentrou em Suspeito de larão do Estado doq’ ao
diante podia ser, vendo tanta gente acudir a dous Etran-
geiros, Lápoim prohibio aos feos Vapallos, que não fossem
além dos ditos Padres; e ultimamente faltando o anno de
quinte Navio de Macao, em Naturaes contra fe mandado
pequena dependencia dos Padres, e a conversa hio em avanto
prohibio detodo a ropa da nta Ley, desfez as Casas, e Igreja dos
Padres, que estava defronte do Paço que fica para o Rio a
mão esquerda, e deitrou ao Padre mandando o: embica
gali mui bem equipada a Bucim confins de Cochinchina
para
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para por ali se virem para Macao. Grande foi o sentimento, que tiveram os Christãos em especial os do forte deste deitro, e para os consolar deixaram por Cabeça sua Cathéquista por nome Francisco, que do Bonzo se tinha feito Christão, estava bem instruído nas Cousas da nossa Santa Fé. Chegaram os Padres a Bucino, andando acabando comodo para passar a Cochinchina e volveram para a Província de Guira, trazendo já convertidos, baptizados quasi todos os soldados, e remeiros.
Conheceu-se em Macao por via de Cochinchina outro balço em que os Padres estavão, e para lhes soccorrer mandou o P. Pedro Morjón Reitor deste Collegio, por o P. André Palme neste tempo estar dentro da China, que foi visitar no anno de 1629 em setembro aos Padres S. Paulo, e após depois glorioso Mártir, e ao P. Gaspar de Sotomayor, os quaes elegendo na Embarcação a Província de Guira ordenarão e aguardarão levando os Conselhos à Corte aonde todo o Rey recebeo com grande honra, porem em quanto ali esteve, não que foi até o Abril de 1630, não consentio o Rey que fossem Vasallos concorressem à sua Casa, nem que os Padres priessem, sublimemente o mandou a todos para Macao escrevendo ao P. Visitador que aquelles Padres lhe inquietavão os Reinos, destruía os Pagodes, fazia templos, igrejas, os mandava. Que sua Paternidade servisse delle mandar outros sem o Navio, que elle os receberia, estaria empeço como debaixo
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bem vontade. Deixaria o Padre, ordenação deste tres annos,
quatro feu mil almas baptisadas.
Chegou a Macao em Mayo de 1603, dando conta ao P.º do
grande fructo que naquelle Reyno se tinha colhido, e do muito
que aodiante se podia colher, logo movido o P.º Visitador no
seguinte anno de El mandou ao P.º Gaspar d’Arriaga por
Superior, com o P.º Antonio Fontes, e o P.º Antonio Cardim por seus
Companheiros. Chegaram a Cantão aos 7 de Março, e forão rece-
bidos d’Elley com extraordinaria honra, e favores, sampla
licencia para pregar nossa santa Fé. Porem embora se orde-
nou porque passado tres, ou quatro mezes havendo se deter-
minar os Navios mandou que se tornassem os Padres nelle por lhe inquie-
tarem seu Reyno; a Corte com aley que pregavão, porem alle-
gando lhe abrigar vareem para sua Igreja ficar pelo menos
hum Padre, o concedeo, deo tambem licenca para ficar hum
dos Companheiros com elle, e assim ficarão o P.º Gaspar d’Arria-
ga, e o P.º Antonio de Fontes, voltando para Macao o P.º Antonio
Cardim.
Acharão os Padres alli bristandose naquella vacancia muy
adiantada, por quanto os P.º Alexandre de Rhodes deixando alli ris-
tandose encomendada a tres Cathéquistes por nome Francisco,
Ignacio, e Andre, elles naquelles dez mezes offerecerão com tanto
cuidado que baptizaram denovo alguns quatro mil almas.
E para afim de fazerem o P.º Mufóz fazer tres juramentos: 1.º
de não cazarem. 2.º de não terem couza propria. 3.º de não
apartarem.
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[BIBLIOTECA PÚBLICA E ARQUIVO DISTritAL DE ÉVORA]
apartarem hum do outro, mas estavam sempre unidos em ordem, aggregação do Evangelho, e terem cuidado da Christandade. Vendo os Reis que de novo tinham vindo de quanto effeito fora aquella traça, e adiante podia ser de grande proveito para toda a dita Christandade, os deixaram ficar na mesma forma, e n’elles fundou a Comunidade, e Congregação dos Cathoquitas que hoje he, mudando-lhe a tração puramente em obediência aos Reis, e a quem elles lhe quizessem em seu lugar. E porque aquella familia se avizinhava da montanha, deixaram na Corte africana por Superior daquella Casa, e mandava affracio residir em Chino, e o Superior da Casa, que foi em ella, se andou para Guia por Superior da Casa, que foi em Dam, compoder, e ordenou para se cobrem todos os que lhes parecessem idóneos, senhando cada anno algum que o N.º envie, dellas a fazer a Congregação numerosa. A qual foi, she começo mais efficaz demonstrim portancia para a muita Conversão que tem havido naquella Christandade.
O dito Padre que ficará de vertirão logo ao modo da terra, sem particulares, tomara húa Cabaya de Cor Rosa, com que fevai ao Paço do Rey, e ver fez podia emendar acto dos primeiros, que se effectuaraõ do Paço. Tomavaõ tambem a dita Cabaya para com ella livrem aos Ministros, e não fesem tal notador comodantes, porque quando or via com aquelle Cabaya cuidava que ou vinha, ou levava ao Paço.
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[Circular blue ink stamp, partially visible: ARQUIVO NACIONAL DA TORRE DO TOMBO]
[Main text]
Baco, egor experiencia acharão que ahida para o Paco era
o melhor onçe hiriamos para se conseruarem na ellejad
a authoridade de S. Santidade, em mea federa deixar. Etinha
no Paco tanto respeito ao Padre, e El Rey lhe fazia tantas
honras que tinha entrada franca quando queria; estava
entre os grandes Mandarins do Reyno, sendo o bembuco
da Cabaya; pelo tempo adiante tornarão o barrete desbarado,
em Cordoem insignias do dobrador, abençarão em seu cabello
e barba como Nazareos para de todo se accommodar aos Naturaes.
A casa em que moraua foi ao principio de alequel
no Paco de Mandarim Vifoma Tuyen, depois em terra que elles
lhe deron fizeram huã de bambus coberta de palha. O segundo
anno morará em hua de Madeira, que comprara por dez
Taeis, quermando fe lhe. El Rey deo edito que hojirdemos em
Hangcheu para os de Macao fazerem huma gead de folha em que
guardasem duas fazendas por amor de fogo. A sombra deste
gedad fizemos as Casas de Hangcheu de folha, emiate novetio,
em que hoja esta, que he o em que moraua edito Mandarim
genro del Rey, e jòice distantes daquelle em que tuzemos
as primeiras Casas.
[Signature]
x Fizermo anno de 31 em Outubro de.
garad de Macao o Padre Jeronimo Maiories etheapolitano
cob. Bernardino Regio Lombardo. Deicho. o El Rey com
muita alegria, elogo lhes deu Cabaya Lord, eficarão no Reyao
elogo no anno seguinte de 32 foi o P. Jeronimo Maiories
para
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para a Província de Índia a fundar a Residência que fez
em Rum. E para Siam foi o P. António de Fontes fun-
dar, e fazer a Casa de Sto. Paulo, ficando na Corte o P. Bernar-
dino Regio, e o P. Gaspar de Amaral Superior da Missão,
que foi continuada até ao anno de 34, em que decol-
leu para diante ao P. Bernardino Regio, e foi sepultado às 25.
condedas na Igreja, ou Capella das Nossas Casas antigas,
onde sepultados três annos, foram por Opor levados, e enterra-
dos em Macau. Neste anno de 36 levando decol para diante ao
Padre André Calvo. Me succedeo o P. Manoel Dias Senior,
que no mesmo anno de 35 mandou de Macau o P. Martim
Culho, o qual tornou a este Collegio com Gregório daquella
Missão aos 3 domes de setembro de 1636, em 8° anno ao
P. António Barbosa, e ao Félix Mofely, e no de 37 mandou
por Vig. daquella Missão ao P. João Baptista Bonchy Mil-
lanis, sendo Reitor em Macau S. J.
No anno de 1663 aos 2 de Novembro foram desterrados
de Cantão os PP. Broto Borgias, José Tifanier, Pedro d’A-
vez, e ficou aquella Missão sem Padre, no qual tempo
apesar no anno de 1666 entrou lá hum Chirurgião Francex,
Francisco Dedon, e depois entraram 3 outros H. P.
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[Title]
Do princípio da Missão de Camboja.
[Main text]
O Primeiro da Companhia que entrou em o Reino de Camboja foi o P. Pedro Morey, natural de Lião, o qual em o ano de 1623, ou 1624, voltando de Roma onde tinha sido por Procurador da Província de Japão, tomou em Navegação a derrota para o Reino de Camboja a fim de animar, consolar aos Japões Christãos desterrados pela fé, os quaes da Holanda e outra partes vinham morar em Camboja por ser terra cómoda para sustentar vida. Depois de estar neste Reino três mezes, foi para Ucão, onde informou aos Superiores do Japão, em que ficarão os Christãos Japões sem Padre, que os ajudassem, e do fructo que se podia fazer em outros Japões que vinham a Camboja em feor juntar embarcações, armas, contra façanhas. Pelo que mandou a esta Missão o P. Justo, natural de Japão, onde trabalhou pouco tempo pelo atalhar a morte.
Neste tempo vierão quatro Religiosos da Manila da Ordem dos Dominicanos, os quaes aprenderão a lingua, trabalharam como Varões Apostólicos, colherão poucos, ou nenhum fructo da Conversão dos Cambodjanos, que se mostravão sempre duros em ouvir, abraçar as Cousas da sua Salvação; pelo que os Padres trataram de voltar para Manila, ajudando para isso negar o Rey licença para pregarem soja Santa fé, baptizarem os infantes, em pedimento.
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impedimento que parece fechar de todo as portas da pregação do sagrado Evangelho naquelles Reynos por ser agente Cambaya muito cobarde, dependente da vontade do Rey.
Em o anno de 1631 veio o P. Francisco Bugoni della Mâmpá a Cambaya buscar soccorro para os Companheiros, que lá ficavão captivos, e instantanea do mesmo Rey de Cambaya partio para Macao, e tornou o anno seguinte de 1632, esteve até o anno de 1634, emque foi charrado do Rey de Cochinchina, neste tempo trabalhou muito com hum Cathrequista chamado Agostinho, e se converterão cinco, ou seis Cambayas.
Neste tempo pelo anno de 1632 veio o P. Manuel Romão em companhia de alguns Japões, que se acolherão a Cambaya fugindo do novo Rey, que então velavam tava emliado, oqual por nada vi que degosta procurou haver visto ao Maom para se vingar delles. O P. Bugoni vendo seu bom talento para ajudar aos Japões seus naturaes fez que vindo a Macao tornasse a Cambaya sacerdote, onde esteve sette, ou oito annos, orfim dos quaes forão della usar a Cambaya o P. Alberto Mininsky Polaco, e o P. Antonio Capechi Neapolitano para com o P. Romão apprehenderem a lingua de Japão, e da hi porem secretamente a acudir aquelles Reynos, e Christandade tão perseguida. No fim do primeiro anno, emque o dito Padre chegara morreo o P. Romão, e para que não fique Cambaya sem Padre Suppo.
[Rubric]
To
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Supposto ordenar haverá de ser para Japão mandou o P.
Gonçalo de Amaral ao P. José Agnes, onde esteve até o ano
de 1548, em que voltou para a Colónia e daí p. Macao,
ficando em seu lugar o P. Francisco Ribeiro Neapolitano.
Continuou depois nesta Missão o P. José da
via Leiria desde o anno de 1651 até o anno de 1659 por,
te estando só, parte sendo superior, até que vindo neste
anno de 59 o P. Carlos da Rocha por Superior com o P.
António Lopes, succedendo as guerras em que o Rey de Cochim
chegou conquistou aquele Reino, e trouxe preso o Rey
Cambayano, e hindo os mais dos Christãos para várias par-
tes forçará também todos os P. para Macao.
Tornou o mesmo P. Carlos da Rocha por Sup.
em o anno de 1662 onde achou o P. Jerónimo Maciel, e
tinha vindo com muitos Christãos Lancados de Malaca,
embora ficará continuando a Missão, e no anno de 1669
vindo desembarcar o P. Carlos da Rocha fez Naufragio, e veio
dar à Cintad onde morreu.
No anno de 1676 partirão deste Collegio de Macao
por ordem do Março os P. José Baptista Maldonado, e José de Barros
Português em hum barco dedicado para dali passarem a Cambaya
e tbm com tenção de tornarem a abrir Missão de Laos, off já
tinham hido no anno de 1642 o P. José Maria Leiria onde
estiveram alguns annos sem muito fructo.
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[Title]
Cap. 8. Do princípio da Missão da Ilha de Hainan.
[Main text]
Deo se principiou esta Missão o anno de 1593 pelo Padre Pedro Marquez Portuguez, e pelo Irmão Domingos Mendes de nação china nascido em Macao, onde falleceo depois o anno de 1652. Sucedido de fei Abrix esta Missão foi frand Christão Mandarim chamado Paulo filho de outro que levou a China o P. Matheus Ricci, o qual era natural daquella Ilha, e vindo a Macao com certos Negocios antes de partir para Hainan para onde hia degredado alcançou do P. Visitador este de Palmo lhe desse Permissão para fazerem Christandade em sua Patria. E posto que levando os de arriscava a ser acuzado de meter Liturgicos naquella Ilha, e perder por isso o officio, etc. outros muitos trabalhos, Cortou por tudo, e meteo os P. em Hainan onde logo em dia de Pascoa baptizaram aquelle, a Nord, quatro sobrinhos, contra quinze jefoes da casa deste Mandarim.
Esta Missão correu por conta da P. Provincia da China até o anno de 1641 em que o N. P. Geral por petição do P. Alvaro Venedo Procurador da mesma Provincia em Roma applicou a Japão, por não ter a Provincia despeitos bastantes para agrouer, eferm. Difultosos visitar a Provincia que veio de dentro da China, e por outros Lagoens de Confiurança.
[Signature]
Entrou depois do P. Pedro Marquez o P. Bento de
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de Mattos, que esteve naquella Missão acompanhado por
o tempo dos P. André Libelli, Miguel Boim, e Padre Nunes,
e ornais tempo do até o anno de 1640, quando hua Arma-
da vindou em forma de guerra contra a Ilha, sendo o P.
Fratres de Concentor, ficou detido, e botarão com os grilhões
aornar por vir logo obertaro afugentar, como fugirão
a Ilha, e ficou activo fem Padre alguns annos, e em
Março de 1653 partio para esta Missão o P. Mathias de Mayo
levando para Companheiro o P. João Pereira, que ainda
era Noviço, O qual P. Bento de Mattos assim referido en-
trou no anno de 1633, e no anno de 37 tornou para Macao
por ordem dos Mandarins, e no anno de 1644 tornou para
Hakun, onde este esteve até 1646, por conta da sua letra,
dois mil cento, e sincoenta baptimos feitos por elle, e fes
Catequiztas. Neste meio tempo falleceo em Macao por Vi-
zitador sendo já morto.
Não pode neste anno de 1653 restaurar
aquella Missão porque o barco desmentindo, em que o P. Fria
para desembarcar nas praias de Hakun, elide foi por
fora, e a Vinda inda que se desembarcou, era praya omico
que le vava por jutubazes, e tinha estado em Hakun fun-
do do mar falta do estado de terra, Voltou dizendo que não
podia entrar o P. por hir em traje destartado, e assentado
debartar, o qual houve pouco mezes erá dancado
da Ilha, e ago vernavão os Chinas, o qual grito gera falso
omoco
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vmaço apoube tão bem pintar que perfeccionou ao P. Caos
de Navio, mas poderá ficar por então na Ilha; será forçado
tornar-se embarcar logo.
Ficou aquella Missão, a Christandade sem ter Padre algum
até que em 24 de Junho, dia de S. João Baptista, de 1656 entrou
nella por Superior o mesmo P. Mathias da Maya, demarcado
Portuguez, com o P. José Baptista Brando, Neapolitano, em
companhia do P. João Nicolao Smogolenski, Polaco, q. falava
lingua, escrito de China de Guangtão, levou ao P. q. terra
a Mainad, donde voltando depois q. a sua Provincia mor-
reu em Macao no mesmo anno; estambeem foi o P. Estanis-
lao Torrente com o P. Mathias da Maya.
Entrando depois em 30 de Abril de 1657 na mesma
Missão o P. José Forjet, subdiaco Lyolon Francês, e por f.
ao P. Mathias da Maya veio patente para Provincial de Japão;
sucedeo em Superior o P. José Forjet, que morrendo em 23 de
Outubro de 1660 ficou o P. Estanislao Torrente, Italiano de
Macau, por Superior de toda a Missão, para onde partio de
Macau o P. Antonio Lopes, Portuguez, em companhia do P.
Pascoal Frideric, denunciad Vina, em 22 de Julho de 1661.
No anno de 1664 entrou a perfeiçionar; ficou a Missão
sem Padres. No anno de 1671 o mesmo P. Estanislao Torren-
te voltou para Kajrad, ficou por Superior até o anno
de 1680, aonde defunto, em que morreo o P. Estanis-
lao Torrente, succedeo o P. Francisco Capadi, que
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digo tuecidos a P. Francisco da Veiga, que ficou do até
o anno de 1685, em que foi mandado de Cantão, onde estava
o P. Joaquim Caldas, que morreu em 86; morreo, e ficou
outra vez do até o anno de 91, no fim em que os Mores se
mandarão para Haynão o P. Francisco Cabral, que no anno
de 93 tornou para Tonan, ficando outra vez do, e no anno
de 94 mandarão para Haynão ao P. João Pacheco; em anno
de 96 veio patente de Provincial de Japão ao P. Francisco
da Veiga, e em seu lugar foi gerado Superior da Missão de
Haynão o P. João Pereira, ficando por seu Companheiro
o P. João Pacheco.
[Heading]
Cap. 9. Dos principios da Missão de Laos.
[Main text]
O Primeiro que intentou entrar nesta Missão do Reyno de
Laos, que como se tem dito, chamam os de Laos, foi o Padre Ba-
ptista Bocarro, o qual depois, deterido algum tempo em
curador da Província de Japão, eleitor do Collegio de Ma-
cao, sendo por Visitador da Missão de Funai, no anno
de 1637 cometteu a jornada por via da Província de Indos,
que esta vizinha a Corte, o Japão dos Laos, governados
dos Burins agros daquellas partes. Me adoeceu nove Mes-
sias, que acompanhavam, em morte de dois, cedendo
como Padre morreo tambem em 4 de Setembro de 1638.
Depois em Abril do anno de 1642 por via de
Camboya
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Camboya. Campanha em Caga do novo Rey de Camboya,
filho de Humão hao. Se embarcou o P. João Maria de Iría.
Depois de três mezes chegou com muito trabalho ao porto
do Laos, onde esteve alguns annos padecendo muito com
pouco fructo.
Cap. 10. Do princípio da Missão de Cochinchina.
Começou a Missão de Cochinchina em 18 de janeiro do
anno de 1616. Vende Reitor do Collegio de Macao o Padre
Manoel Dias Demore, Provincial de Japão, ao P. Valentim
Carvalho. O primeiro da Companhia que nella entrará
fora o P. Francisco Bordoni Neapolitano, que depois
morreo neste Collegio, e o P. Diogo Carvalho Portuguez, Na-
tural de Coimbra, que depois morreo Mártir em Japão, e
o P. Fr. Antonio Dias, que depois morreo degredado em
Camboya.
Em anno de 1617 foi por Vigilador daquella Mis-
são o P. Manoel Barreto, que depois morreo em Japão,
e no anno de 1618 por Superior o P. Pedro Marques, que
tambem morreo em Japão. Vgo.
Em anno de 1619 elevou-se húa grande per-
seguição, em que hum Bonzo Môr, grande inimigo da
Nossa Santa Ley, fez com hum Privado do Rey para que
mandasse desterrar os Padres, derrubar as Igrejas
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ficarão porem em pé hua em Casão com titulo de
Casa da Ethay Joasina & fora formão, ou sobrinha de
hum Mandarim muito grave, tambem ficarão
alguns Padres escondidos posto que com m. trabalho.
Depois de varios successos em o anno de 1539 cobrou a
Missão por via depressa algũa paz, mas nãò flogeou
muito porque o P. João Maria dizia que era supe-
rior: succedeo ao P. Gaspar Luis foi denovo lançado da
Caza de Cochim depois de amarrado, e espanqueado. O
Anno seguinte de 1540 foi de Macao o P. Alexandre
Rhodes, e fez amizade com o Capitão dos Japões, e ape-
rimentou favor com o Rey porem tambem durou pou-
co esta esperança, porque falleceram os mais tempes-
tade o anno de 1541 em que o Rey mandou matar pela
Confissão da sua patente Fe o Catequista André.
Depois ate o anno de 1552 nãò conseruio o Rey os
Padres estarem ordinariamente no Reyno mais que o
tempo que nelle estavão os Portugueses com suas em-
baxadoras, que seriam cinco, ou seis mezes em que os
Padres visitavão, enjudavão alla Cristandade como podião,
que eraõ prais que dous. E Superior destes estes annos
foi o P. Methoscano Siciliano, demarcad.
Panno de 1552 comparêstou o Rey da Cochinchina de
Champa, e abrandou algum tanto a perseguição, con-
sentindo que hum P. ficasse no Reyno, e que outro viesse
a Macao
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a Macao nab como desterrado, mas para ajudar ao
desamparado logue com a cidade pertendia ficou o Pe. Superior,
tendo ab P. Pedro Marques que voltou no anno de 1653.
p. 978.
Cap. II. Do principio da Missão de Cantão
Começou haver Igreja e Padres na Cidade de Cantão pe-
lo anno de 1649 em occasião da gente de Macao, que foi em be-
corro do Rey Vem dije, a quem obedecia a Provincia de Can-
tao com outras que ainda não estavaõ sugeitas aos
Tartaros, em tempo morreram ahi desdença os Pe.
Francisco Vaez e Joam Ferreira. Depois os Tar-
taros em Dezembro de 1650 tomaram a possessão de Cantão
porque ainda ahy ficavão alguns meços ab Alvaro Ve-
medo, e alguns Padres que hião p. a China dentro, e pa
Haynão, depojs gem acodiam aos Christaos que ali fi-
cavão, e tinham a sua Igreja ou Ermita, em que os Pe.
Meess Simeão de Mira e Misja, eram sacramentavão, sem ausencia
delle, pojuntavão os Christaos a orar.
Em anno de 1658 sendo Vig. ab Simão de Lunda
Provincial de Japão ab M. Matias d'Almeyda, vejo orden
do N.M.R. Geral Jozevino Nichel para que as duas Pro-
vincias de China, Cantão, e Quansi, ou Confui ficassem
a conta da Provincia de Japão, e esta as proveje de
Missionarios, La sim foi mandado pelo D. Superior.
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aceitou a Missão o P. André Lubelli em Março de 1659.
fez Igreja com laza, & herdancia fixa, a qual porem
ficou por ordem do P. Provincial annexa ao Collegio,
e o superior della subito Collectar do Collegio de Macao. 84.
[Heading]
Cap. 12 da Missão de Shiab.
[Main text]
Posto que no Reyno de Shiab estiveram P. de Nossa Companhia
em varias occasioens, o primeiro que nelle entrou pelos
annos de 1638 foi o P. Balthazar de Sequeira da Provincia
de Fochim, com tudo alarã, & herança informada fez
mecou em anno de 1656 pela Provincia de Japão, fez
de apetição, e instancia dos moritos Christãos que ali
moravão, em que entravão alguns Japoneses, os quaes
davão por razão de sua frieza na Christandade, a falta
da doutrina dos Padres da Companhia, com quem se criavão,
e com quem só se entendião, erão jepodiam accomodar
com outro Ministro, que naquelle Reyno havia, esforçado
todos em sua Carta ao P. Pez. alcançarão o dese-
jado; foi o P. Thomaz Valguarneira por superior, depois
em anno de 1659 lhe succedeo o P. João Cardozo & junto
com o cargo de superior davão ordem para he começar
nova Legidencia em Tonnaparem, Porto ordinario onde
erão os Navios da India pertencente ao mesmo Reyno
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Ao Meemo Reyno de Vead onde hua Igreija chamada
Maria Carneiro fariam doação da parte desafazerem
em vida, aparte em Morte para se fazer ali huma
Igreja, caindo da autoridade do Padre, e por que
ob. Logo partio, chegou a dito Porto, constuido por
acar ali já ob. Manoel Carvalho da Provincia de Co-
chim, adou algua dificuldade em fazer Igreia em
Tamafarim, e determinou fazer Igreja em outro
lugar chamado Merquim, para ficar mais desembara-
cado ao intento principal da Conversão dos gentios natu-
raes, entre tanto que da Provincia de Cochim se esperava
ordem sobre ficarem ali alguns da mesma Prov. que lhe
cederem ao B. Manoel Carvalho, o qual neste Tempo
Deos elevou para si, em P. de Cochim largarao aquella Igreja,
e de lá para Vead. logo decidido para lá foi o B. Joao Cardozo por
tres annos pouco mais ou menos, e depois delle outro dous an.
esteve o B. Manoel Soares, finalmente por nao ter que fazer
e por vir obrigario da Lara del Thomé os nossos B. largarao
aquella Igreiencia H. 1540.
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1
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CXVI
2–11, no. 46
000396
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CXVI
2–11
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1
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[Circular stamp: BIBLIOTECA PÚBLICA E ARQUIVO DISTRITAL DE ÉVORA]
(Public Library and District Archive of Évora)
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[Circular seal bearing a coat of arms and partially legible inscription: [UNCLEAR: text fragment visible] .A.R.C.H.I.V.O.]
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CXVI
2–11
[Main text]
This volume, recording the names and benefactions of the Superiors and Patrons of the College of the Mother of God in Macau, belongs to the Procurators of the said College, in accordance with Rule 2 of their office, which prescribes its maintenance as an instrument of acknowledgment and gratitude—duties expressly enjoined by our Constitutions in relation to our Patrons.
Chapter I: On the foundation of this College (or House) and on the Superiors who governed it up to the year 1617.
Chapter II: On the foundation of the Mission and Christian community in Japan, and on the principal Superiors who promoted it.
The foundation of this Christian community dates to the Blessed Father Francis Xavier in the year 1549; he was the first to undertake this mission, to preach the Holy Gospel therein, and to serve as the first Superior of the Society of Jesus in Japan. The second Superior was Father Lourenço de Torres, whom Xavier appointed in his stead, accompanied by Brother João Foz—whom Xavier had brought with him from India. From Japan, Torres returned to India to recruit further companions for the mission; and, returning thence to Japan with eager anticipation and hopeful resolve, he sought also to extend our Holy Faith throughout that great land.
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Aleixo died within sight of China on the island of Lamchão on 2 December 1559, aged twenty-two years. He had departed from Portugal in 1541 and arrived in India in May 1542, having wintered in Melaka en route. During this decade, he traversed almost all the territories in India that the Portuguese had then discovered, and founded Christian communities along both coasts of Travancore, the Deccan, the Moluccas, and Japan—foundations which his spiritual ‘sons’, the Jesuit Fathers of the Society of Jesus, subsequently expanded.
In the meantime, Father Master Belchior, Superior of all the Jesuits in the East, set out from Goa for Japan in 1554, wintered in Melaka, and reached Japan in 1556. There he visited and consoled local populations and the nascent Christian community before returning to India later that same year, taking with him nine individuals deemed personally suspect.
The third superior was Father Francisco Cabral, who baptised Dom Francisco, King of Bungo.
The fourth was the Blessed Gaspar Coelho: though appointed by the Jesuit superiors, he was the first to govern the Society in this mission territory under the formal title of Vice-Provincial.
The fifth was Father Pedro Gomes, Vice-Provincial.
The sixth was the Blessed Francisco Raffio, Vice-Provincial; he was succeeded in July 1611 by the Blessed Valentim Carvalho, who assumed the title of Provincial—by then, the Province of Japan had been formally separated from the Provinces of India. Simultaneously, the Blessed Francisco Raffio began serving as Visitor of this Province; he later died at the College of Macau in August 1612.
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No doubt whatsoever may be raised against this account.
Letters.
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Extracts from letters sent by Father General Claudio Aquaviva to Father Francisco Paio in 1611, 1612, and 1613, addressing him as Provincial of the Province of Japan and China—though he had not in fact held that office. Rather, he had been appointed directly from Vice-Provincial to Visitor (Visitador) in the same year, 1611. This anomaly arose because the Province of Japan and China had, several years earlier, been formally constituted in Rome as an independent province, separate from the Provinces of India; however, this reorganisation remained unknown in Japan. The delay stemmed both from the vast distance between Japan and Rome—letters typically took four, and sometimes as many as five, years to arrive—and from the inherent uncertainties of maritime navigation. Indeed, some of the official letters conveying the General’s decree establishing Japan as a distinct province were lost en route. Consequently, although the letters eventually reached Japan, knowledge of the change did not arrive until 1611, when the order arrived appointing Father Valentim Carvalho as Provincial and assigning Father Francisco Paio the role of Visitor—a directive which was duly implemented. Thus, Father Valentim Carvalho served simultaneously as the first Provincial of the newly constituted Province of Japan and China and as Superior Major (Superior maior) of the Order of the Jesuits (Ordo Societatis Iesu) in the region referred to above.
In 1614, there were 150 Jesuit religious (i.e., members of the Society of Jesus) resident in Japan. Of these, 23 were exiled to Manila and 73 to Macau; the remaining 54 remained in Japan clandestinely. Father Valentim Carvalho served as Provincial of the Province of Japan and China from 1611 until 1619, when he was succeeded by Father Matheos de Couros. However, a patent (i.e., formal appointment document) issued for Father Jerónimo Rodrigues (senior) was rendered ineffective, as he was prevented from travelling freely to Japan due to his presence in Macau; accordingly, Father Francisco Vieira, acting as Visitor, assumed administrative responsibility pending further instructions from Rome.
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Successions in the Province of Japan:
The first succession occurred when Father Matheus de Carros served as Provincial until the year 1621, in which year a patent appointing Father Francisco Pacheco as Provincial was issued. Father Pacheco was martyred on 20 July 1626 and was the first Provincial of Japan to die a martyr’s death. He was succeeded by Father Matheus de Carros, who thus assumed the office for the second time—on 29 October 1633—and died shortly thereafter near Euximi (present-day Ōmura), exhausted by excessive labours and the severe hardships endured during the persecutions instigated by the *daimyō* Dom Bay (i.e., Arima Harunobu) and subsequently intensified under his successor, Tenka (i.e., Matsura Takanobu).
Upon Father Carros’s death, Father Sebastião Vieira was appointed Vice-Provincial by order of Father André Palmeiro, SJ, the Apostolic Visitor to the East Indies and former professed Jesuit of the Province of Japan. Father Vieira held this office from 13 October 1633 until his arrest and subsequent martyrdom at the shogunal court in Edo (modern-day Tokyo) on 6 July 1634.
During this period, the office of Provincial remained vacant, and governance of the Japanese mission devolved upon the Apostolic Visitors, as the Society lacked sufficient information regarding the number and whereabouts of its members remaining in Japan—a situation necessitated by the increasing severity of persecution and the consequent breakdown of regular communication. Successive Visitors administered the province until 1638.
At the beginning of that year, Father Manuel Dias, SJ, then Apostolic Visitor, appointed Father Gaspar Luis—then stationed in Cochinchina—as Rector of the College of Macau and simultaneously declared him Vice-Provincial of Japan, in accordance with Canon 22 of the Fifth General Congregation (1608). Father Gaspar Luis accordingly travelled from Cochinchina to Macau, where he assumed both offices and served a three-year term as Vice-Provincial. At its conclusion, he undertook a visitation of Miyako (a district within the domain of Funai, in present-day Ōita Prefecture, Kyūshū).
On returning from Funai on 22 October 1641, Father Gaspar Luis—acting under instructions from Father António Rubino, SJ, Vicar Apostolic of the East Indies—appointed Father Gaspar de Amaral, Rector of the College of Macau, as his successor and Vice-Provincial.
To the Father…
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Father Gaspar de Amaral was succeeded in the rectorship and provincialate by Father João Cabral in 1645, appointed by the Blessed Father Melchior de Azevedo; he governed for one year.
Father João Cabral was in turn succeeded—both as rector and as provincial—by Father Sebastião d’Almeida, by patent issued by the Blessed Father [Melchior] de Azevedo; he governed for three full years. Upon completion of this triennium, the ‘Vias’ (canonical pathways or formal procedures) for appointing the provincial of Japan were opened at the instruction of Father Manuel de Azevedo, and through these same ‘Vias’, Father João Cabral was formally reappointed on 26 July 1649. By order of the same Blessed Father Melchior de Azevedo, acting as vicar general (*Vicarius*), Father Cabral was simultaneously confirmed in office as rector.
Upon conclusion of Father João Cabral’s triennium and the opening of the succession process for the provincialate of this province on 28 August 1652, a delay occurred while awaiting official confirmation (*Mea*) from Rome, as a ship from India had recently arrived bearing correspondence—but no suitable candidates for appointment were among its dispatches. When it became clear that no further instructions or nominees would arrive imminently, the ‘Antigas’ (the traditional electoral procedure involving consultation of senior members of the province) were convened. In the first ballot, Father João Cabral was again elected; in the second, Father Jerónimo Mayrea—who was then residing in Tuncum (Tongking)—was elected provincial of this province. Although Father Mayrea could not immediately assume office due to the requirement that provincials reside within their jurisdiction (*viação*), he was nonetheless able to be formally installed (*avivado*) at the College of the Jesuits in Macau (referred to here by the archaic toponym *Jeronimes*, i.e., *São Jerónimo*, the name of the Jesuit college in Macau). This procedural accommodation was justified by the papal brief of Pope Innocent X (1644–1655), which stipulated that members of the Society of Jesus serving in overseas provinces were not required to observe the standard three-year term (*trienno*) before reappointment—thus permitting Father João Cabral to remain in office until 3 March 1653, when the newly appointed commissary (*avogo*) from Tuncum finally arrived. As Father Jerónimo Mayrea had already accepted his election, he formally assumed governance on 14 April 1653.
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Father João Cabral was succeeded by Father Jerónimo de Mayorica, who assumed office both in the Tuntim Mission—where he had already arrived as heir apparent—and as Provincial of Japan on 14 April 1603. He died in the Tuntim Mission on 29 January 1606, while still holding the office of Provincial. However, as he was absent from this College, news of his death did not reach us until the end of that same year, when a letter—dispatched overland—arrived. It was brought by several individuals who had travelled overland and survived a shipwreck; the vessel in question was the *Navio de António da Cota Beirnude*, which had been en route back to this city.
Father Jerónimo de Mayorica was succeeded on 16 April 1606 by Father Martim Coelho, as no Vice-Provincial was then in office. The latter arrived at the beginning of July of that year. It appears that the appointed Vice-Provincial had either died or was otherwise incapacitated, and the Visitor’s triennial term expired before the impediment preventing the Vice-Provincial’s assumption of office had been resolved. In accordance with the papal brief issued by Pope Innocent X governing such vacancies, it was deemed appropriate to appoint a new Vice-Provincial on 10 July 1606, effective from nine o’clock in the morning.
On 19 August 1608, Father Mathias de Araya entered upon the office of Provincial of Japan by virtue of a papal patent issued in Rome. He governed for three years, during which he died. Upon the opening of the lines of succession, Father José Máriz de Sá was designated as his successor. As Father Máriz de Sá was then resident in Macau—whence a vessel was expected daily—the Provincial Consultors judged that, in these circumstances, a dispensation was warranted.
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Pursuant to a dispensation granted by His Holiness Pope Alexander VII, and a declaration issued by the Most Reverend Father General, the Provincial superiors were permitted to remain in office beyond the customary triennial term on account of grave and pressing necessity (*gravissima causa*), and for a brief period only (*ad breve tempus*). Accordingly, the Venerable Mathias d’Araya continued in office for a further seven days, until 26 August 1661, when the Venerable José Maria Leiria—having arrived from Lisbon—was appointed Provincial Superior in the chapel assembly (*in capella*) and formally received the *via successio* (the canonical process of succession) and the administration of the community.
On 26 August 1661, upon conclusion of the triennial term of the Venerable José Maria Leiria, the *via successio* was opened. The name of the Venerable Wifrio Borges appeared first on the list; however, as he had already died previously in Jacatra, the second candidate on the list—the Venerable Héctor M. Ruiz—assumed the office of Provincial Superior. He governed the province until 24 March 1667, the date on which he passed away while still holding office.
On 27 March 1667—three days after the death of the Venerable Héctor M. Ruiz—the Venerable Pedro Marques was elected Vice-Provincial. This appointment followed the prior death of the Venerable Helbelo Vaccaro in Cochinchina; Marques thus stood third in the established order of succession (*tertia via successio*).
On 26 August 1667, the second *via successio* was opened for the office of Provincial Superior. The name of Father Pedro Kuzarte appeared therein; however, as he was absent in Europe, the Most Reverend Visitor Luís da Fama appointed the Venerable André Gomes as Provincial Superior *ad interim*.
On 21 July 1670, upon opening the *via successio* for this province, the name of the Venerable Filippo Marino was found listed, and he assumed the office of Provincial Superior on that same day.
Upon completion of his triennial term, the Venerable Filippo Marino was succeeded in the office of Provincial Superior by the Venerable José Cardoso on 21 July 1673.
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Upon the conclusion of Father João Cardoso’s triennial term, the prescribed canonical procedures (‘Vias deduzidas’) were initiated. The appointment was then conferred upon Father André Dubellis; however, as he was absent in China, the administration remained—by necessity—under Father Cardoso’s continued authority for a further year. Father Cardoso himself was also absent, having travelled to India and subsequently to Cochinchina, where he perished in a shipwreck in 1576.
Father André Dubellis arrived in Macau from China on 22 July 1577 and assumed governance for a full triennium. At its conclusion, he was again absent—this time engaged in missionary work in China—and thus the third-ranking candidate, Father Francisco Pimentel, was appointed in his stead. Father Pimentel likewise died in Tonkin. The next designated appointee was Father Francisco Davies Philypues, who commenced his governance in Canton on 1 December 1580, before relocating to Macau later that same year.
The first provincial election (‘1ª Via de Provincial’) concluded in December 1583, during which Father André Gomes—already deceased—had held office. A second election (‘2ª Via’) was then convened, resulting in the nomination of Father Manuel Ferreira, who was then stationed in Tonkin and had already been summoned to Rome. Following deliberation in consultation (*in Consulta*), he was deemed impeded (*impedido*) from assuming office. A third election (‘3ª Via’) followed, yielding the appointment of Father José Díaz Nier, who assumed governance on 6 December and served until 25 July of the following year, when he received a papal mandate appointing him Apostolic Visitor.
On 25 July 1584, the ‘Maço de Roma’ (i.e., the official dispatch from Rome) was opened, containing the papal bull appointing Father Vicente Varrão as Provincial. His triennial term concluded on 25 July 1587.
Upon the expiry of Father Vicente Varrão’s term, Father Francisco Sogueira—having arrived promptly from Goa bearing formal letters patent (*Patente*)—was due to succeed him as Provincial. However, Father Sogueira declined the appointment. Consequently, on 31 July [1587], the first provincial election (‘1ª Via de Provincial’) was reopened, and Father Filippo Fregosi was elected. He took formal possession of the office on that same day.
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Office dated 31 July 1607. Upon completion of the triennial term of Fr Philip Fierqui, His Majesty directed that the Father who had served as Provincial—then Fr Francisco Xavier Felipuchi—should succeed him. Fr Felipuchi had recently concluded his tenure as Vicar General and Provincial on 6 January 1611.
Fr Francisco Nogueira succeeded him as Vicar General and Provincial of Japan on 6 January 1611. Upon the expiry of his triennium, the office of Vicar General lapsed, and the customary process for appointing a new Provincial of Japan was initiated. In the first round of nominations (‘first via’), Fr Francisco Xavier Felipuchi was named—but he had already died. The second ‘via’ was therefore opened, naming Fr Alexandre Ciero; however, he was so severely impeded in the imperial court at Peking that he could not assume office. The third ‘via’ was then opened, designating Fr Francisco da Veiga—who was then serving as Superior of the Mission in Hainan—and he accepted the appointment. Consequently, Fr Nogueira continued in office *ad interim*.
He remained in this capacity until the year 1695, when fresh nominations arrived: in the first ‘via’, Fr Reginaldo Burger—then residing in Goa—was named, and His Majesty renewed his appointment. Fr Nogueira thus continued provisionally until the fourth ‘via’ arrived in 1696, bearing Fr Burger’s formal excuse (‘escusa’) for non-acceptance. At that time, a new royal patent (‘patente’) was issued in July 1696, together with three further nominations (‘viás’). The patent appointed Fr Francisco da Veiga—still stationed in Hainan—as Provincial of Japan. He requested clarification (‘recado’) regarding the terms of his appointment and, though reluctant, was obliged to accept. He arrived at this College on 10 October 1696 and formally took possession both of the office of Provincial and of that of Rector.
By then, Fr Tomé Paz—who had been acting as Provincial of Japan in place of Fr Francisco Nogueira—had already died in Macau. Fr Nogueira himself had likewise died on the same day—5 November 1696—in Tonkin; Fr Paz followed him in death the next day, 6 November, in Macau.
Thereupon, Fr Francisco da Veiga was admonished: having made certain administrative dispositions in Canton prior to his departure for this College, he was required to conclude those matters before assuming full authority.
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… and, in fact, his triennial term concluded on 3 October 1609.
The Venerable Francisco da Veiga was succeeded in the office of Provincial of Japan and Rector of this College by the Venerable Manuel Carvalho y Patente, who arrived from the Province of Goa, having been dispatched to Macau by the Most Reverend Father General for appointment as Provincial of Japan and Rector of this College. He assumed office—having been elected Provincial—on 3 September 1609.
Upon the conclusion of the Venerable Manuel Carvalho’s triennium, the first succession clause (*suceçad*) of his patent was opened, and therein the Venerable Miguel de Amaral was named as his successor. Amaral took possession of the Provincialate—having been elected Provincial—on 3 September 1622, and continued in governance until 6 January 1624, on which date he embarked for Goa, having received, on 7 August 1623, formal instructions and a patent (*patente*) from the Most Reverend Father General appointing him Visitor (*Vigário*) of the Province of Goa. Moreover, since the said Venerable Amaral had previously declined, in 1618, another patent by which the Most Reverend Father General had intended to appoint him Visitor of both Goa and Malabar, the Father General now added, on this second occasion, an explicit precept of obedience requiring acceptance of the said office of Visitor of Goa.
On 8 August 1623—i.e., one day after receiving the aforementioned patent appointing him Visitor of Goa—the Provincial Miguel de Amaral convened a consultation, during which the second succession clause (*suceçad*) of the Venerable Manuel Carvalho’s patent was opened. Therein, the Venerable António de Barros—then Vicar of the Province of Goa and currently serving as Provincial of Malabar—was named Provincial of Japan and Rector of this College. As Barros could not be despatched from Malabar to Macau before the departure of the Father from Goa (i.e., Fr Miguel de Amaral), and as no further succession clause for the Provincialate of Japan remained extant at the time of Amaral’s departure for Goa, the latter appointed…
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He appointed as his successor the Provincial of Japan, together with other members of this College of Macau, Father Manuel Olório; however, the said Father António de Barros—who had been designated—declined the appointment on grounds of advanced age. Father Provincial Manuel Olório therefore assumed office on 6 January 1604.
In August of the same year (1604), two letters patent (*patentes*) issued by the Most Reverend Father General arrived for the governance of the Province of Japan. Neither bore a named successor. One was explicitly marked *‘aberta’* (‘open’), intended to be delivered immediately to Father Diogo Vidal—who had previously served as Procurator of Japan in Rome but had not yet returned to the East. The second was marked *‘para abrir causa mortis’* (‘to be opened upon death’) or, alternatively, *‘upon conclusion of the term of office of the said Father Diogo Vidal’*.
As Father Vidal neither arrived nor was expected to do so imminently, Father Provincial Manuel Olório—acting upon consultation with his council—determined that the second letter patent should be opened. Upon doing so, it was found to appoint Father Francisco Pinto, who was then absent from Japan, serving in the Province of Saint Francis Xavier (Santinho) as Administrator of the China mission at the Missionary Convent in Canton—a post he had held for many years. Immediate notification was dispatched to him; yet, as he failed to arrive, Father Provincial Manuel Olório continued to govern.
The aforementioned Father Diogo Vidal had obtained permission to depart for Japan in March 1604, setting sail from Lisbon via Goa. He died during that same voyage en route to Goa; news of his death did not reach Macau until August 1605.
Father Francisco Pinto arrived in Canton, where he formally assumed the office of Provincial on 24 February 1605. He reached Macau on 6 March of the same year and continued to hold both the office of Provincial of Japan and that of Rector of this College.
In August 1608, a further letter patent appointing a Provincial of Japan and Rector of the College of Macau arrived for the said Father Miguel de Amaral, who was then residing in Goa, holding the office of Vicar-General (*Vigilante*) of that province.
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Order of His Most Reverend Father General appointing Father Francisco Pinto to continue in the same offices of Provincial of Japan and Rector of Macau until the arrival in Macau of the aforementioned Father Miguel de Amaral, whom His Most Reverend Father General had previously notified—by the present patent—of his appointment to those offices. It was understood that, upon concluding his term as Visitor of the Province of Japan, Father Amaral intended to proceed to Macau at the earliest opportunity. Having completed his term as Visitor, Father Amaral departed from Goa for Macau in May 1610 and arrived in this city and college on 26 July of the same year. On that very day—26 July 1610—Father Miguel de Amaral assumed office as Provincial of Japan and Rector of Macau. This followed the conclusion of the triennial term commencing in April 1607, during which the first succession had been held in consultation: the late Father Jerónimo de Moraes (who died in Goa) had been elected Provincial; upon his death, the second succession was convened, and Father José Peres—then absent in Cochinchina—was elected. Consequently, Father Miguel de Amaral continued to discharge the duties of Provincial and Rector pending formal notification of Father Peres and his subsequent assumption of office. Father Peres, however, declared himself unable to take up the post in Macau owing to insuperable impediments, and—as no further successor was available—the appointment devolved upon Father Miguel de Amaral, who thus continued in the office of Provincial.
In 1616, on 10 July, a patent appointing a Provincial of Japan arrived in Macau, containing provisions for two successive appointments. The patent named Father José Monteiro—designated for the Province of China, then experiencing administrative difficulties—as the principal appointee; this appointment was duly implemented. Upon convening the first succession, Father José Peres was again elected and formally notified; yet, returning from Cochinchina, he reiterated the same impossibilities cited above. In the following year, the second and final succession was held, and Father Stanislaus Machado was elected.
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Machado, Lieutenant in Funai, likewise assumed office there, having arrived under a mandate of obedience issued by Provincial Miguel de Amaral, who served as secretary. Machado formally assumed the office of Provincial at Funai on 12 June 1578. News of this appointment reached Macao on 20 August of the same year (1578), whereupon Father Miguel de Amaral concluded his term as Provincial—having held that office continuously for eight years and twenty-five days. Father Estanislau Machado continued to govern from Funai; meanwhile, in Macao, he had appointed Father João Pereira as his duly constituted Provincial Vicar.
Perceiving, however, that all regarded it as impracticable for him to govern the Province effectively from Funai—and that administrative oversight from that location was unworkable—Father Provincial Estanislau Machado, while still in Funai, issued formal powers to the Provincial Consulta, authorising it *ad plenum* to appoint his successor in the office of Provincial. This delegation followed upon receipt of another papal brief (*humiliatio*) from Rome. Acting under this commission, the Consulta elected Father Miguel de Amaral as Provincial. He succeeded Father Estanislau Machado and formally assumed governance once again on 26 August 1578.
[Heading]
Chapter III: The Visitors Appointed by the Generals of the Society of Jesus for the Province of Japan and China
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§1. Father Gonçalo Álvarez was appointed Visitor for this Province of Japan and China by the General of the Society, Father Francisco de Borja, in 1568, in response to the summons issued by Dom Luís de Ataíde, Viceroy of Portuguese India. After conducting his visitation of the Society’s houses in India, Father Álvarez proceeded to inspect the Jesuit mission in China; thence, he embarked for Japan in December 1569, where he carried out a full visitation of the Province of Japan—by which time the Japanese mission was already well established.
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With a most violent typhoon, not a single soul survived this shipwreck—save one individual, who, having drifted at sea, managed to board a passing junk that happened to be carrying letters from the *Nau* [Portuguese carrack]. The said Father died in July 1573, accompanied by his companions: Father Manuel Lopes (his coadjutor and substitute), Father João Velho, Father Diogo Fox, and Father António Paes.
The second Visitor was Father Alessandro Valignano, who had been dispatched by the Father General, Father Everard Mercurian, in 1573 and arrived in these parts in September 1574 with four Fathers and Brothers of the Society of Jesus. Having first undertaken a canonical visitation of the Society’s houses in India, he proceeded to China in 1578; he made his initial, informal entry into the country in 1579. Following his subsequent visitation of the Fathers stationed in this mission—and having instituted numerous administrative and pastoral reforms for the good governance of the Vice-Province—he returned to India in 1583. On his departure, he brought with him four Japanese *marchiones* (a term used in contemporary Jesuit correspondence to denote high-ranking samurai or noble retainers), all staunchly loyal to Christian daimyō: Dom Manoel (a kinsman of Francisco, daimyō of Bungo); Dom Miguel (a kinsman of Ōtomo Yoshishige, daimyō of Arima); Dom Bautista and Dom Martinho; and Dom Feliciano (all devoted adherents of Ōmura Sumitada, daimyō of Yonaguni). Dom Bartolomeu also accompanied them. These envoys embarked at Cochin in February 1584 aboard a Portuguese vessel bound for Portugal, under the guidance of the esteemed Father Jerónimo Rodrigues—then Procurator for Rome, elected at the Second Congregation of the Province of India, and affiliated with the College of St Paul—and in the company of Father Diogo de Mesquita. They arrived in Lisbon in August of the same year. Having been received by Cardinal Alberto, Governor of Portugal, they departed for Rome the following year, in 1585, and reached the Eternal City at the end of March of that year. There, they were accorded the full ceremonial honours due to official ambassadors by Pope Gregory XIII, who granted them an audience of singular distinction.
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Holiness and obedience, in the name of the three Japanese Christians,
and with devotion to this nascent Christian community, and at the very time of the death of the aforementioned Pope, Father Alessandro Valignano was elected the sixth Visitor to the Jesuit missions in the East; thus coinciding the death of one pontiff and the election of another. Having completed this extensive pilgrimage—through Italy, Castile, Portugal, and India—the party returned to Japan in 1590, laden with honours and accolades, accompanied by the same Father Alessandro Valignano. At that time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (known in contemporary Portuguese sources as *Jordão Tenca Taico*) was the de facto ruler of Japan. The said Father, together with these Japanese noblemen, visited Hideyoshi’s court on an embassy from King Dom Duarte de Meneses of Portugal, and was received with great honour and ceremonial splendour.
However, this favour accorded by the Japanese authorities proved short-lived: shortly thereafter, Hideyoshi launched a severe persecution against the Christian community. Consequently, the Blessed Visitor Alessandro Valignano departed Japan for Macau for the second time in 1592. From there, he immediately appointed the Blessed Gil de Mala (also recorded as *Gil de Malta* or *Giles de Malta*) as his Procurator for Japan. Father Gil de Mala accordingly travelled to Japan for the second time, arriving there in March 1595; and in September of the same year, he received a letter from the Blessed General of the Society of Jesus confirming his appointment as Visitor of the Indies, while restricting his jurisdiction solely to Japan and China. He ultimately relinquished this office in 1597, and then embarked upon his third journey to Japan in July 1598, in the company of the Blessed Bishop Dom Luís Cerqueira.
Finally, he returned from Japan to Macau for the third—and last—time in 1603, accompanying Dom Paulo Portugal, Captain-General of that voyage. Upon his arrival, he assumed oversight of the College of Macau, a post he held until his death on 20 January 1606. During his tenure, he governed the Jesuit Province of India—including Japan—as Visitor for thirty-one years; of these, twenty-one years were spent administering both the Indian and Japanese missions concurrently. During this twenty-one-year period, the said Father served successively as Provincial and Visitor, from September 1583 until April 1588.
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The second visitation to Japan occurred following the deaths of the Vice-Governors of the Province of India: the Venerable Francisco Mijão in 1581 and the Venerable Pedro da Silva in 1583. Both had returned from India and subsequently served as Provincial Superiors in Japan. During this period, the Venerable Visitor resided in Japan for one year—namely, eleven months—during which he also fulfilled the office of Visitor.
The third Visitor of this Province was the Venerable Francisco Cajó, appointed by a letter dated July 1611 from the General Superior, Father Claudio Aquaviva, S.J. He assumed the office of Visitor immediately upon relinquishing his prior post as Vice-Provincial of this Province. At the same time, the Venerable Valentim Carvalho was declared Provincial of this Province, as it had by then been formally erected into an independent Province—separate from the two Indian Provinces of Goa and Malabar—as stipulated in the original papal brief received from Rome. The Venerable Visitor Francisco Cajó departed Japan for the College of Macau in 1612, where he died on 31 August of that year.
The fourth Visitor was the Venerable Francisco Vieira, appointed in India under a patent issued by General Superior Claudio Aquaviva; this document was dispatched from Rome in January 1615 and reached Goa in October of the same year. Having handed over the office of Provincial of Goa to the Venerable Jacomo de Medeiros in October 1615, the Venerable Vieira departed Goa for this Province in May 1616 and arrived at the College of Macau on 13 July of that year.
The fifth Visitor, the Venerable Francisco Vieira, died at the College of Macau on 28 December 1619, shortly after returning from Japan, where he had resided for just over one year. His death followed the serious illness of two senior superiors—or Procurators—of the Province (then still structured as a Vice-Province): the Venerable Sebastião d’Almaya fell gravely ill, and the Venerable Jacomo de Medeiros succeeded him in administrative responsibility; the aforementioned Provincial remained otherwise in post.
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Provincials and Vice-Provincials were to act independently, as though they had already conducted a canonical visitation. Subsequently, the Provincial of Japan issued the aforementioned directive to Dom Professor; the other members of the Consultative Council accordingly agreed that the instruction should be suspended until clarification was received from Rome on this matter—and such clarification was duly awaited. This decision was formally enacted on 27 January 1650.
On 9 July of the same year (1650), news arrived concerning successive letters of appointment for Visitators—arriving by a different route from that taken two years earlier, when similar letters had been dispatched to Father Francisco Furtado, who was then residing in China as Superior of the Northern Houses. At that time, however, the region was entirely in turmoil due to the Tartar incursions; no reliable intelligence had reached the Society regarding whether Father Francisco remained alive or had perished, nor whether any of the letters we had previously sent him on this matter had successfully arrived.
Father João Cabral, Provincial of the Province of Japan, together with the other members of the Provincial Consultors’ Council, judged it appropriate—indeed, obligatory—to open the newly arrived Successions. Accordingly, they were opened during a formal consultation meeting. Upon examination, more than two such letters were found, both bearing the superscription *‘Second Succession’*. Observing this, the Provincial—already uncertain whether both letters ought to be opened, given the unprecedented nature of the case and the lack of consensus among the Consultors—proposed that the matter be referred to all professed Fathers present at the College. They were asked two questions:
1. Whether the said Successions ought to be opened, in order to determine which held precedence; and
2. Whether, in the event that Father Francisco were deceased, a new Superior should be appointed for the House in question.
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**Translation (UK Academic English, British spelling and conventions)**
In the event of Father Furtado’s absence—or should any other impediment arise—the question arose whether one ought to await fresh instructions from His Grace, whether deceased or still living; or whether, given the urgency of the situation—particularly the logistical difficulties occasioned by ongoing hostilities—one might proceed *pro mortuo* (i.e., as though he were deceased) for this specific purpose. The Professed Fathers submitted their written opinions (*parere scriptis*) to the Provincial Secretary, who, having taken note thereof, reported the matter to the Provincial Council (*junta*).
The first point raised in these opinions concerned the opening of the respective successions: it was resolved that such successions should indeed be opened.
The second point addressed the status of Father Auranta, who—though impeded from exercising his office—was *not* to be regarded *pro mortuo*, nor even as having resigned. Acting upon the oral testimony presented before him, the Provincial ordered that the aforementioned successions be opened forthwith; and, in the first instance, appointed Father Sebastião de Itmaya to assume governance. Full account of these proceedings was rendered to Our Reverend Fathers General (*N. R. P. G.*), and further guidance is awaited regarding the formal approval—or possible re-approval—of analogous cases in future.
Father Sebastião de Itmaya governed the Province from 10 July 1650 until approximately 2–3 June 1651. At that time, a letter from Father Francisco Furtado arrived at the College in Macau, confirming his safe arrival in Canton and reporting that he had received official notification (*aliento*) from the Visitor on 7 July 1650. Thereupon, he immediately commenced visiting the Jesuit residences (*Casas de Residências*) throughout China.
As Father Sebastião de Itmaya had already begun governing *before* the formal opening of the succession process, the Provincial, Father João Cabral, sought—and obtained—the unanimous written counsel (*parecer*) of all the Consultors who had served immediately prior to Father Sebastião’s appointment. Their opinion affirmed that the governance of the Province—and the office of Provincial itself—had been duly entrusted to Father Sebastião de Itmaya, whose appointment had been formally ratified (*lavía*) and whose authority was thus fully established (*aberta jnternous affectuos*—i.e., internally accepted with goodwill and consensus). This opinion was transmitted both to the Consultors of this Province and to those of the Province of Cochin, where the same question had likewise been referred for consultation.
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On 21 November 1563, a report was submitted to the Venerable Father Francisco Furtado. In accordance with the foregoing strictures, the Venerable Father Sebastião d’Ehnaya was not appointed, owing to the absence of a newly constituted administration for Macau; the relevant papers were formally taken up on 22 November of that same year, Anno Domini 1580.
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Chapter I: On the Origins of the Mission to the Kingdom of China and on the Universal Superiors Who Served Therein
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Father Visitor Alessandro Valignano, en route from India to Japan in 1578, paused at the College of Macau while awaiting formal appointment to Japan. During this sojourn, he commenced preliminary preparations for the mission to China, drawing upon diverse testimonies and intelligence furnished by both Portuguese residents and Chinese interlocutors—individuals who held out hope for the propagation of Christianity within this realm. To initiate this undertaking, he petitioned the Reverend Father Rui Vicente, Provincial of the Indies, for the assignment of a priest of exceptional ability to serve as pioneer at this ‘gate’ to China. In response, the Venerable Father Michele Ruggieri was dispatched. Upon his arrival in Macau in 1580, he immediately commenced intensive study of the Chinese language, script, and customs, engaging a native Chinese tutor and accompanying Portuguese merchants on several occasions to the Canton fair. Through these efforts, he cultivated friendships and established rapport with certain Chinese individuals; with their assistance—and under their counsel—he succeeded in securing an audience with the *tútān* (i.e., the local magistrate or prefect of Guangdong Province). Ultimately, he obtained official permission to reside within the city, initially renting premises for use as an apothecary’s shop; later, with the same *tútān*’s approval, he purchased the property outright.
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to establish a small settlement—roughly one league distant from the city—whereupon, in 1582, Father Matteo Ricci joined him; together, they made a number of converts to Christianity. However, the local authorities subsequently expelled them from this location and ordered their return to Macau. Upon learning of this, Father Alessandro Valignani—who was then residing at this College, having arrived for the first time from Japan in 1583—exerted considerable pressure upon the authorities, urging them to do all in their power to prevent the missionaries’ expulsion from China. At the same time, he petitioned the provincial administration to restore to them the lands along the route to Canton (Guangzhou) which they had previously been granted, and dispatched a formal instruction to the magistrate of Zhaoqing (then rendered in Portuguese sources as *Ravcheo*), directing that suitable accommodation be provided there for Father Matteo Ricci and his companion, Father António de Almeida. By this point, Father Rogério (de Azevedo) had already departed for Macau; Father Alessandro then sent him on to Melaka (Malacca), whence he embarked aboard a royal galleon bound for Lisbon, and thence proceeded to Rome to report to our Father General on this mission and other matters pertaining to the Society’s activities in East Asia. He remained in Italy for some time.
Meanwhile, Father Matteo Ricci and his companions resided for a period at the said residence in Zhaoqing. During this interval, Father António de Almeida died; thereafter, Father Francisco Petri remained with Father Ricci. In 1588, upon Father Alessandro Valignani’s second return from Japan, he assigned Father Lázaro Catanho (Cattaneo) as Ricci’s new companion. After both men had spent some time together in Zhaoqing, Father Matteo Ricci proceeded to establish a residence in Shaozhou (rendered in contemporary Jesuit correspondence as *Xanghã*).
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leaving this Mission, having already disembarked
at these residences—and at the others subsequently established—up to the year 1610, in which he died in Beijing, the imperial capital of China; thus he was both the first Superior of the Fathers in this Mission and its principal founder.
The second Superior was Fr. Nicolò Longobardo, who assumed office following the death of Fr. Matteo Ricci and held the post until 7 February 1619; all details concerning his tenure are amply documented in the history of this Mission, initiated by Fr. Matteo Ricci, to which I refer the reader.
Fr. José da Rocha succeeded Fr. Nicolò Longobardo as Superior of the China Mission in June 1622.
Fr. José da Rocha was in turn succeeded by Fr. Manuel Dias Jr., who served first as Vice-Provincial (following the dissolution of the China Province and the death of its last Provincial), and then as de facto provincial administrator for several years.
He was succeeded by Fr. Francisco Furtado, who likewise served as interim administrator for a number of years. At the conclusion of his term, Fr. Giulio Aleni was appointed Second Provincial for the southern region (‘do Sul’), while Fr. Francisco Furtado continued in office in the northern region (‘do Norte’) in place of Fr. José Vaz, who had already died.
In 1646, a patent issued by the Provincial of this jurisdiction appointed Fr. Álvaro Lamego as administrator; he governed for nearly four years, owing to the disruption of overland routes caused by the Tartar wars, which prevented communication from reaching Fr. Manuel Dias Jr., who ultimately succeeded him.
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He assumed office in the year 1550, governing—interim—throughout this entire period over the northern regions of Japan.
The foundation was established by an overwhelming number of vassals, whose power had grown excessive; hence the notification concerning the new provincial successions.
By decree of Father Manuel Dias Junior—on account of his blindness—he was relieved of the office of Provincial. His successor was appointed by Father Sebastião de Armea, Visitor of the Province, and confirmed by Father Álvaro Semedo, then Provincial, in 1605. Upon completion of his triennium, Father Estêvão Fabro succeeded him; however, upon receipt of the official notification of his appointment, he was already deceased. Consequently, Father Simão da Cunha assumed the office of Provincial. After governing lawfully for one year, he departed on a visitatorial mission on 28 October 1658. In that same year, dispatches arrived from Rome appointing Father Estêvão Fabro and Father Álvaro Semedo to the provincial office—both of whom, however, had already died. Father Simão da Cunha, who had previously succeeded as Visitor following the death of Father António Veloso, was thus the first to undertake this new visitatorial mandate; he was succeeded in turn by Father Inácio da Costa.
Upon completion of Father Inácio da Costa’s triennium in 1661, the succession process opened. On the designated day, the senior Visitor (Primus Via) Father Matias de Armea—then recently concluded his own term as Provincial of Japan—closed the proceedings. He could not assume the new provincial government without first vacating office for the requisite number of years, as stipulated in the papal bull issued by Pope Innocent X. Thereupon, by formal consultation (*consulta*), Father Diogo was elected to the office of Provincial.
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The Reverend Father Diogo Fabbro served as Provincial of the China Mission during the period in which the aforementioned impediment remained in force. His appointment was made in accordance with the Ordinances, and the Most Reverend Father General had previously authorised such provisional arrangements for comparable circumstances. Upon the removal of the impediment, Father Mathia d’Arriaga assumed office; however, Father Diogo Fabbro vacated the post shortly thereafter, as persecution commenced in September 1614.
In 1615, Father Feliciano Pacheco was appointed Provincial. In 1618, Father António de Gouvea succeeded him; Father Pacheco then resumed the office for a second term in 1621.
In 1624, following the reopening of the overland route to Rome (i.e., the overland postal and diplomatic channel between Macau and Rome via Persia and the Levant), Father André Lubelli concluded his tenure as Provincial of China. He governed for two years and six months but did not complete the full triennial term, as the governance of the Province of Japan became available and he was consequently reassigned as Provincial of that province.
Father Fernando Rypiero succeeded Father Lubelli, having been appointed via the Roman route. He completed the full triennium. In March 1630, Father Gabriel Gabian—also known as Domingo Gabian—succeeded him as Provincial.
Upon the conclusion of Father Domingo Gabian’s triennium, Father José Vallois, who was then en route to China (‘nas Vias’, i.e., travelling along the established Jesuit communication routes, most likely via Goa and Macau), assumed the office of Provincial and governed for the entire three-year term. Upon Father Vallois’s death, Father Prospero Lacerda succeeded him as Provincial, taking up the office on 30 June 1636.
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Upon the conclusion of Fr. Brogyero’s term of office, Fr. Domingos Gabeán succeeded him as Provincial of China, assuming governance on 30 June 1609.
Upon the completion of Fr. Gabriel’s three-year term, Fr. Tomás Pereira succeeded him as Provincial of China, commencing his administration on 1 July 1612. Fr. Tomás Pereira was in turn succeeded in the office of Provincial by Fr. Filippo Grimaldi, who began his governance on 1 July 1615 *de facto*, as the official patent appointing Fr. Francisco Vimeon as Provincial had arrived posthumously—Fr. Vimeon having already died. Consequently, Fr. Grimaldi continued in office; and in 1616, a further patent was issued appointing Fr. Brogyero as Provincial—though he was by then terminally ill, &c., &c., &c.
Chapter 5 treats of the Bishops of Ega.
Chapter 6 treats of the origins of the Fujian Mission and its superiors.
According to information provided by our Fathers engaged in cultivating the Christian community in Cochinchina, the Visitor Fr. Jerónimo Roiz (senior) learned—given that both that kingdom and the province of Fujian had, for some years past, been open to evangelisation—that the Kingdom of Fujian exhibited favourable dispositions towards the propagation of our Holy Faith. Year: 1626.
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In 1626, Father Giuliano Baldinotti of Florence dispatched Brother Giulio Beany aboard the vessel of Gaspar Borges da Fonseca—a citizen of this city of Macau—to travel to that kingdom (Tonkin) in a state of fasting, in order to ascertain, through direct observation, the disposition of the native population towards the establishment of a missionary enterprise. The Father proceeded thither and found the local people so favourably inclined that the king—named Thanta—petitioned him to remain in his realm, extending numerous favours and honours in support of his request. Nevertheless, Father Baldinotti declined to stay, having received explicit instructions to return to Macau and report on his findings concerning conditions in the kingdom.
He returned from Tonkin with the aforementioned Brother Beany in September of the same year, leaving behind no baptised converts other than a few children; the indigenous population remained, for the most part, adherents of traditional (non-Christian) religious practices.
By that time, Father André Palmeiro had already assumed office as Vicar Apostolic; he had arrived from India in the preceding month, bearing a patent from the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide). Having been duly informed by the aforementioned Brother Beany of the candid and highly promising disposition of the local people towards receiving ‘our Holy Faith’, the newly appointed Visitor resolved to inaugurate the mission and advance it without delay.
To this end, in the following year—1627—the Visitor dispatched Father Pedro Marques, a Portuguese priest, as Superior of the Mission: he was its first incumbent in that office. He was accompanied by Father Alexandre de Rhodes (of the Society of Jesus), who served as his companion. Father de Rhodes possessed a proficient command of the local language, having previously resided in Cochinchina; he had been specially summoned thence for this expedition. They arrived in Tonkin on 19 [day unspecified].
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19 March, the feast day of St Joseph—hence the entire host (i.e., the local community) knew him to be their patron saint. Upon entering Cadre from the Barra and the port of Pung, the missionaries arrived at the same port of St Joseph. They were received with great courtesy by the king, Ornerno, who treated them with marked honour, conferred upon them substantial favours, and assigned them lodgings—including a chapel—adjacent to his royal palace.
The lead missionary priest, animated by fervent zeal, mistakenly supposed that the time spent in assisting with the construction and embellishment of the palace was being well employed. He therefore wrote to the king—deeming it an opportune moment to introduce him to the tenets of our Holy Faith (a chance which, regrettably, was not subsequently repeated). However, as the missionaries gradually withdrew from the palace precincts and devoted themselves fully to pastoral work—baptising members of the local populace, who gathered in considerable numbers—they achieved remarkable spiritual fruit within a short period.
Yet when news reached the king of the missionaries’ growing influence—and particularly of the large assemblies convening regularly at their residence—he began to harbour suspicions regarding the implications for the stability of his realm. Observing such a multitude thronging daily to two foreign ecclesiastics, King Ornerno issued strict orders prohibiting native officials (‘feos Vapallos’) from approaching beyond the missionaries’ residence. Ultimately, following the failure of the annual Macau-bound ship to arrive—thereby diminishing local reliance upon the missionaries’ presence—the king’s apprehensions intensified. He consequently proscribed entirely the practice of the Christian faith, dismantled the missionaries’ dwellings and chapel (which stood directly opposite the royal palace, on the left bank of the river), and expelled the priest, dispatching him aboard a well-equipped galley to Bucim, on the frontier of Cochinchina.
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…so as to proceed thence to Macau. The Christian community—particularly those stationed at the fortress on this side—was deeply distressed by this development; to comfort them, the missionaries appointed Francisco, a former Buddhist priest (bonzo) who had converted to Christianity and was well instructed in the doctrines of our Holy Faith, as their catechist. The Fathers arrived at Bucino, where they remained for some time in relative comfort before proceeding to Cochinchina; subsequently, they returned to the province of Guira, having already converted and baptised nearly all the soldiers and boatmen under their care.
News reached Macau—via Cochinchina—of another location where the Fathers were stationed; upon learning of this, Fr Pedro Morjón, Rector of this College, dispatched Fr André Palme to render assistance, since Fr André de S. Paulo—later to become a glorious martyr—and Fr Gaspar de Sotomayor were then residing there. (Fr André Palme undertook this visitation in September 1629.) Having selected the province of Guira as their base of operations aboard ship, the two Fathers proceeded to the royal court, where the King received them with great honour. Yet during their stay—which lasted until April 1630—the monarch refused to permit either his vassals to attend the Fathers’ residence or the Fathers themselves to celebrate Mass. Instead, he issued a formal, high-level instruction directing them all to return to Macau, and wrote to the Visitor Father stating that these missionaries were disturbing his realms, demolishing pagodas, and constructing temples and churches. He requested that His Paternity appoint other missionaries—without recourse to a vessel—and affirmed that he would receive them willingly, provided they came unaccompanied by ships, as he regarded such vessels as impediments.
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with goodwill. The Father deferred his ordination for three years; during that time, he baptised some four thousand souls.
He arrived in Macau in May 1603, reporting to the Father Visitor on the considerable spiritual harvest already gathered in that kingdom—and on the even greater harvest yet to be reaped. Prompted by this report, the Father Visitor dispatched, the following year, Father Gaspar d’Arriaga as Superior, accompanied by Fathers António Fontes and António Cardim as his companions. They reached Canton on 7 March and were received by the local authorities with extraordinary honour and favour, including full permission to preach the Christian faith. Nevertheless, although initial authorisation had been granted, after three or four months—by which time the departure of the ships had been determined—the authorities ordered the Fathers to re-embark, fearing that their presence might disturb the stability of the realm. The imperial court, however, was favourably disposed towards their preaching; upon their petitioning for a permanent residence, citing the need to provide pastoral care and maintain a Christian community, the authorities consented to allow at least one priest to remain, and further granted permission for one of his companions to stay with him. Thus, Fathers Gaspar d’Arriaga and António Fontes remained in Canton, while Father António Cardim returned to Macau.
The Fathers found the mission in Canton in a state of considerable neglect, owing to the prolonged vacancy in pastoral oversight. Prior to their arrival, Father Alexandre de Rhodes had entrusted the care of the local Christian community to three catechists—Francisco, Ignácio, and André—who, during those ten months, had diligently discharged their duties and re-baptised approximately four thousand individuals.
Moreover, in order to induce Father Mufóz to take three solemn vows:
1. to remain celibate;
2. to hold no personal property; and
3. not to withdraw from the mission.
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…separated from one another, yet remained united in discipline, in ecclesiastical fellowship (aggregatio evangelica), and in pastoral care for the Christian community. Observing the considerable efficacy of this arrangement—and foreseeing its potential for even greater benefit to the said Christian community—the monarchs permitted the structure to remain unchanged; upon it they formally established the Community and Congregation of the *Cathoquitas*—a designation still current today—though they modified its original foundation by substituting direct obedience to the Crown, and to whomever the monarchs should appoint in their stead. Moreover, as that religious household was situated near the mountains, the royal court in Africa appointed a Superior for that house and directed Father Afraçio to reside in Chino; meanwhile, the Superior previously stationed there was transferred to Guia to serve as Superior of the house established at Dam. There, he exercised authority and issued ordinances, mandating that all individuals deemed suitable be admitted to the Congregation; each year, he selected and sent candidates—approved by the Nuncio—to swell the ranks of the Congregation. This measure proved highly effective from its inception, serving as a principal instrument in the extensive conversions achieved within that Christian community.
The aforementioned Father, having been appointed to translate immediately into the local vernacular—without recourse to individualised or idiosyncratic renderings—donned a *cabaya* (a traditional outer garment) of rose-coloured cloth, with which he proceeded to the royal palace. There, he was able to rectify certain procedural irregularities that had occurred in the initial implementation of the arrangements emanating from the palace. The same *cabaya* was also employed when addressing royal ministers: it functioned as an official insignia, ensuring that his communications were received with due formality and gravitas. Indeed, whenever ministers saw him wearing the *cabaya*, they understood him either to be arriving on official business from, or departing on behalf of, the royal palace.
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Baptism and subsequent experience revealed that residence within the Imperial Palace was still deemed the most advantageous arrangement, enabling them to preserve the authority of His Holiness intact while remaining in the service of the Emperor. The Father enjoyed such high esteem at court—and the Emperor accorded him such honours—that he was granted unrestricted access to the palace whenever he wished. He ranked among the principal mandarins of the realm and held the office of *bembuco* (a title denoting a senior ceremonial or administrative official) of the *Cabaya* (a high-ranking advisory council). In later years, however, they abandoned the traditional clerical biretta and instead adopted the insignia of the *Cordoem* (i.e., the Dominican Order), receiving blessings upon their hair and beards in the manner of Nazarenes—thus fully adapting themselves to local customs and expectations.
The dwelling in which they first resided was initially situated within the palace compound of Mandarin Vifoma Tuyen. Subsequently, the authorities granted them land on which they erected a simple bamboo structure with a thatched roof. In the second year, they occupied a timber-framed house, purchased for ten *taels*, the cost being borne by the community. The Emperor issued an edict ordering that all missionaries resident in Hangzhou should henceforth reside in a single designated compound—termed a *gedad* (a transliteration of the Chinese term *jietuo*, here used administratively to denote a walled residential enclosure or compound)—within which two textile workshops were to be maintained, ostensibly ‘for the sake of fire safety’. Under the auspices of this edict, the Jesuit residences in Hangzhou were constructed as leaf-thatched buildings (*casas de folha*), located approximately nine *li* (c. 4.5 km) from the city centre. This is the same site currently occupied by the mission—the former residence of a mandarin who was the Emperor’s son-in-law—and lies at some distance from the location of the first dwellings established by the missionaries.
[Signature]
x Written in Macau, in October of the year 1631,
by Father Jerónimo Martínez, Apostolic Visitor,
and Brother Bernardino Regio Lombardo.
The Emperor dismissed them with great goodwill; shortly thereafter, he conferred upon them the title of *Cabaya Lord* (i.e., membership of the imperial advisory council). They remained at court until the following year (1632), when Father Jerónimo Martínez departed for…
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to the Province of India to establish the residence he founded at Rum. To Siam was sent Father António de Fontes to found and erect the House of St Paul, while Fathers Bernardino Regio and Gaspar de Amaral remained at the royal court—Father Amaral serving as Superior of the Mission. This mission continued until the year 1634, when Father Bernardino Regio was transferred elsewhere; he died on 25 November and was buried in the church—or chapel—of our former residences, where his remains lay for three years before being exhumed by order of the Governor (Opor) and reinterred in Macau. In 1636, Father André Calvo succeeded to the leadership of the mission; he was followed by Father Manoel Dias Senior, who—within the same year (1635)—dispatched from Macau Father Martim Culho. Father Culho returned to this College on the third Sunday of September 1636, accompanied by Gregório, a native catechist from that mission. At that time, Father António Barbosa and Father Félix Mofely were in their eighth year of service; and in 1637, Father João Baptista Bonchy Millanis was appointed Vicar of the mission, during which period Father S. J. served as Rector in Macau.
In 1663, on 2 November, Fathers Broto Borgias, José Tifanier, and Pedro d’Avez were banished from Canton, leaving the mission there without any priest. During this interval—and despite the banishment—the French surgeon Francisco Dedon entered Canton in 1666; subsequently, three further Jesuit priests (H. P.) gained entry.
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**Title**
On the Origins of the Cambodian Mission
**Main text**
The first member of the Society of Jesus to enter the Kingdom of Cambodia was Father Pedro Morey, a native of Lyon. In 1623 or 1624—having recently returned from Rome, where he had served as procurator for the Province of Japan—he diverted his voyage en route to Cambodia with the intention of encouraging and consoling Japanese Christians who had been exiled on account of their faith. These refugees, having fled persecution in Japan, were settling in Cambodia—deemed by them a hospitable and economically viable refuge—having arrived there from the Dutch East Indies and other parts of maritime Asia.
After residing in the kingdom for three months, Father Morey travelled to Ucão (modern-day Ô Kâmpôt or possibly a variant rendering of a coastal settlement), where he reported to the Jesuit superiors in Japan concerning the dire pastoral situation confronting the exiled Japanese Christians, who remained without priestly ministry. He also outlined the potential evangelising opportunities presented by the growing number of Japanese migrants arriving in Cambodia—notably those engaged in maritime trade, arms procurement, and military-related activities (‘contra façanhas’, i.e., counter-military or defensive preparations). As a result of his report, the Jesuit superiors dispatched Father Justo—a Japanese-born priest—to the mission; however, his labours were cut short by his untimely death.
During this same period, four Dominican friars arrived in Cambodia from Manila. Having acquired proficiency in the local language, they laboured diligently as apostolic missionaries. Yet they achieved little—or indeed no—success in converting the Khmer people, who consistently proved resistant to hearing or embracing the tenets of the Christian faith. Consequently, the Dominican fathers resolved to return to Manila, aided in their departure by the king’s refusal to grant them formal permission to preach the Holy Faith or to baptise infants—a stipulation they had formally requested.
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An impediment that appears wholly to close the doors to the preaching of the sacred Gospel in those kingdoms, arising from the fact that the agent in Cambaya was exceedingly timid and entirely dependent upon the will of the King.
In 1631, Fr. Francisco Bugoni della Mâmpá travelled to Cambaya to seek assistance for his fellow Jesuits, who remained imprisoned there; following urgent entreaty by the King of Cambaya himself, he departed for Macau and returned the following year, in 1632. He remained in Cambaya until 1634, when he was summoned by the King of Cochinchina. During this period, he laboured diligently with a catechist named Agostinho, and five or six Cambayans were converted to Christianity.
Also during this time, in 1632, Fr. Manuel Romão arrived in Cambaya accompanied by several Japanese refugees who had fled thither to escape the newly enthroned ruler of Japan—then engaged in intense persecution of Christians. This monarch, harbouring deep animosity towards them, sought by every means to apprehend the fugitives and exact vengeance upon them. Observing Fr. Bugoni’s evident aptitude for assisting his fellow Japanese, it was arranged that, upon his return to Macau, Fr. Romão should be ordained priest and then reassigned to Cambaya. There he remained for seven or eight years. Towards the end of this period, Fr. Alberto Mininsky (a Pole) and Fr. Antonio Capechi (a Neapolitan) joined Fr. Romão in Cambaya, in order both to acquire the Japanese language and—discreetly and under cover—to provide pastoral support to those persecuted kingdoms and Christian communities. At the end of the first year following Fr. Romão’s arrival, he died; and lest Cambaya be left without a priest, Fr. Suppo was appointed in his stead.
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It was assumed that the mission would be ordered to Japan; accordingly, Father Gonçalo de Amaral dispatched Father José Agnes thither. Father Agnes remained there until 1548, when he returned to the Colony (Goa), and thence proceeded to Macau. In his stead, Father Francisco Ribeiro—of Neapolitan origin—was appointed.
Thereafter, Father José da Via Leiria continued the mission from 1651 until 1659. During this period, he served alone and held both pastoral and superior responsibilities. In 1659, however, Father Carlos da Rocha arrived as Superior, accompanied by Father António Lopes. Shortly thereafter, hostilities erupted: the King of Cochin invaded and conquered that kingdom, capturing the King of Cambay. As a consequence, the majority of Christians fled to various regions, and all the Jesuit missionaries were likewise compelled to withdraw to Macau.
Father Carlos da Rocha was reappointed Superior in 1662. Upon his return, he found Father Jerónimo Maciel already stationed there; Father Maciel had recently arrived with numerous *Lancados* (i.e., Portuguese lay settlers or traders resident in Asia, often of mixed descent and not under formal ecclesiastical authority) from Malacca. Although the mission was maintained in continuity, in 1669 Father Carlos da Rocha, while disembarking, suffered shipwreck and was cast ashore at Cintad (modern-day Chittagong, present-day Bangladesh), where he died.
In 1676, by order of the Marquis of Fronteira (Viceroy of Portuguese India, 1671–1676), Fathers José Baptista Maldonado and José de Barros—a Portuguese secular priest—departed from the College of Macau aboard a vessel specifically chartered for their passage to Cambaya (i.e., the Gujarat region of western India, then under Mughal rule). They also intended to re-establish the Jesuit mission in Laos, a project previously attempted in 1642 by Father José Maria Leiria; that earlier mission had persisted for several years but yielded little fruit.
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Chapter 8. The Origins of the Mission on Hainan Island
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This mission was inaugurated in 1593 by Father Pedro Marquez, a Portuguese Jesuit, and Brother Domingos Mendes, a Chinese lay brother born in Macau, where he later died in 1652. Following the death of Father Abrix, leadership of the mission passed to a devout Christian mandarin named Paulo—a native of Hainan Island and son of another mandarin who had accompanied Father Matteo Ricci to China. While in Macau on official business prior to his enforced relocation (deportation) to Hainan, Paulo successfully petitioned Father Visitador de Palmo—the provincial visitor—for formal permission to establish a Christian mission in his homeland. Although such action carried considerable personal risk—including accusations of introducing ‘liturgical’ (i.e., foreign religious) practices into the island, potential dismissal from office, and other serious administrative penalties—Paulo resolved to proceed regardless. He accordingly facilitated the entry of the Jesuit missionaries into Hainan, where, on Easter Day, they baptised him, his wife, four nephews, and fifteen members of the mandarin’s extended household (‘jefoes’ being an archaic Portuguese rendering of the Chinese term *jiāfǔ*, meaning ‘household retainers’ or ‘domestic dependants’).
The mission remained under the jurisdiction of the Jesuit Province of China until 1641, when the Father General of the Society of Jesus, acting upon a formal petition submitted in Rome by Father Álvaro Venedo—Procurator of the same Province—transferred its administration to the Japanese Province. This reallocation was made on account of the Province of China’s insufficient personnel resources to sustain missionary activity, particularly given the extreme difficulties involved in accessing Hainan—located deep within the interior of southern China—as well as other considerations relating to confidence, security, and ecclesiastical governance.
[Signature]
Subsequently succeeding Father Pedro Marquez was Father Bento de…
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Translation (UK Academic English, British spelling and conventions):
Bento de Mattos, who served at that mission accompanied by Fathers André Libelli, Miguel Boim, and Father Nunes, remained there until the year 1640, when a fleet arrived off the island in a manner suggestive of hostile intent. At that time, Father Fratres de Concentor was detained and placed in irons; however, upon learning of the fleet’s approach, he was immediately released—whereupon he fled the island. He remained active as a missionary priest for several years thereafter. In March 1653, Father Mathias de Mayo set out for this mission, accompanied by Father João Pereira, who was still a novice at the time.
The aforementioned Father Bento de Mattos had entered the mission in 1633; in 1637 he returned to Macau at the command of the mandarins, and in 1644 he resumed his work at Hakun (i.e., Haikou, on Hainan Island), where he remained until 1646. According to his own account, during this period he administered 2,150 baptisms and conducted extensive catechetical instruction.
In the meantime, he died in Macau while serving as Visitor (a senior Jesuit administrative office), having already passed away before the formal conclusion of his visitation duties.
In the present year, 1653, it proved impossible to re-establish the mission, as the vessel carrying Father Fria—intended to land on the shores of Hakun—was driven offshore by adverse winds. Although the party did eventually disembark, they landed on a stretch of coast described as ‘praya omico’ (a local toponym or phonetic rendering, possibly referring to a specific beach or inlet near Haikou), which was obstructed by mangroves (*Avicennia* spp., here rendered historically as *jutubazes*, a Portuguese colonial-era term for mangrove thickets). Moreover, the coastal area lacked firm ground: the sea encroached deeply inland, leaving insufficient dry land for safe passage or settlement. Upon returning, Father Fria reported that he could not proceed inland because the terrain was impassable and the route unsuitable for travel—particularly given the disordered state of the local political and military situation. Indeed, shortly thereafter, the island was abandoned, and Chinese imperial troops subsequently arrived on the island—a development precipitated by false reports (or alarmist rumours) then circulating among local communities.
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The same individual proved so adept at painting that he attained mastery under Father Caos de Navio; however, he was obliged to remain on the island for the time being and would shortly be required to re-embark.
That mission—and the Christian community it served—was left without any resident priest until 24 June 1656, the feast day of St John the Baptist, when Father Mathias da Maya—a Portuguese Jesuit—entered it as Superior, accompanied by Father José Baptista Brando, a Neapolitan Jesuit, and Father João Nicolao Smogolenski, a Polish Jesuit who spoke and wrote Chinese (specifically the Guangdong dialect). Smogolenski had previously travelled to Mainland China (‘a Mainad’), returning thence before his province’s suppression; he died in Macau later that same year. Father Estanislao Torrente also arrived in the mission alongside Father Mathias da Maya.
Subsequently, on 30 April 1657, Father José Forjet—a French Jesuit subdeacon from Lyon—entered the same mission. Upon Father Mathias da Maya’s departure, Forjet received official appointment (‘patente’) as Provincial of Japan. He succeeded Mathias da Maya as Superior of the mission, but died on 23 October 1660. Following his death, Father Estanislao Torrente—an Italian Jesuit based in Macau—assumed the role of Superior over the entire mission. Later, on 22 July 1661, Father António Lopes (a Portuguese Jesuit) departed Macau for the mission in company with Father Pascoal Frideric (a Jesuit of Viana, in northern Portugal).
In 1664, the mission underwent a period of administrative reorganisation (‘entrou a perfeiçionar’); thereafter, it remained without any resident priests. In 1671, Father Estanislao Torrente returned to Kajrad (modern-day Kairāt, in present-day Karnataka, India), where he resumed his role as Superior and continued in that office until 1680, the year of his death. Upon his death, Father Francisco Capadi succeeded him as Superior.
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I state that Father Francisco da Veiga served as Superior of the Mission of Hainan until 1685, when he was recalled from Canton—where Father Joaquim Caldas was stationed—and replaced. Father Caldas died in 1686; upon his death, Father da Veiga resumed his post and served again until 1691. At the close of that year, the Moors dispatched Father Francisco Cabral to Hainan; he returned to Tonkin in 1693, whereupon the mission in Hainan once more fell vacant. In 1694, Father João Pacheco was sent to Hainan. In 1696, Father Francisco da Veiga received his patent appointing him Provincial of Japan; in his stead, Father João Pereira was appointed Superior of the Hainan Mission, with Father João Pacheco serving as his companion.
[Heading]
Chapter 9. Origins of the Laos Mission
[Main text]
The first Jesuit to attempt entry into the Laos Mission—the kingdom referred to by its inhabitants as *Laos*—was Father Baptist Bocarro. Having previously served for some time as curador (spiritual director and administrator) of the Province of Japan and as elector of the College of Macau, and later appointed Visitor of the Funai Mission, Father Bocarro undertook the journey to Laos in 1637 via the province of *Indos*—a region adjacent to the royal court of the ‘Japan of Laos’, a designation applied to the Lao kingdoms governed by the ‘Burins’ (i.e., the Burmese), whose harsh rule extended over those territories. During the expedition, nine missionaries accompanying him fell seriously ill; two died, and Father Bocarro himself succumbed on 4 September 1638.
Subsequently, in April 1642, another attempt was made, this time proceeding via Cambodia.
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**Cambodia. Campaign in Siam against the new King of Cambodia, son of Udaya I (Udaya Hāo).**
The Reverend Father João Maria de Iría embarked on this expedition. After three months—during which he endured considerable hardship—he arrived at the port of Laos, where he remained for several years, suffering greatly and achieving little tangible fruit for the mission.
**Chapter 10. Origins of the Cochinchina Mission.**
The Cochinchina Mission was formally established on 18 January 1616. On that date, Father Manoel Dias Demore—Rector of the College of Macau and Provincial of Japan—appointed Father Valentim Carvalho as its first superior. The earliest Jesuit missionaries assigned to this mission were:
- Father Francisco Bordoni, a Neapolitan, who later died at the College of Macau;
- Father Diogo Carvalho, a Portuguese native of Coimbra, who subsequently suffered martyrdom in Japan; and
- Father Fr. António Dias, who was later exiled to Cambodia and died there in banishment.
In 1617, Father Manoel Barreto was appointed Visitor of the mission; he too died in Japan. In 1618, Father Pedro Marques assumed the office of Superior; he likewise died in Japan. *Vide infra.*
In 1619, a major persecution erupted. A senior Buddhist monk (*bonzo maior*), a staunch opponent of the Catholic faith, conspired with a royal favourite (*privado do rei*) to secure an edict ordering the expulsion of the missionaries and the demolition of churches.
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Nevertheless, one residence remained standing at Casão, bearing the title *Casa da Ethay Joasina*; its occupant was a woman—either a former concubine or niece—of a highly esteemed mandarin. Several priests also remained concealed in the region, albeit with considerable difficulty.
Following a series of setbacks, the mission achieved a measure of stability in 1539, but this respite proved short-lived. Father João Maria claimed authority as superior; however, Father Gaspar Luís—who succeeded him—was once again expelled from the house in Cochin after being bound and severely beaten.
The following year, 1540, saw Father Alexandre de Rhodes arrive from Macau. He cultivated cordial relations with the Japanese captain (i.e., the Portuguese *capitão-mor* stationed in Japan) and secured initial favour with the king; yet this hope too was fleeting. In 1541, a period marked by renewed turbulence, the king ordered the execution of the catechist André for publicly avowing his Christian faith—a confession deemed tantamount to treason under the prevailing legal and political order.
Thereafter, until 1552, the king permitted no regular or permanent residence of priests within the kingdom, save during the brief periods when Portuguese envoys were present on diplomatic missions—typically lasting five or six months. During these intervals, priests visited the region to minister to the nascent Christian community as best they could; usually, no more than two priests were present at any one time. The superior overseeing this intermittent pastoral work during these years was Father Methoscano, a Sicilian Jesuit, who was subsequently demarcated (i.e., formally assigned or designated to this role).
In 1552, the king of Cochinchina (Champa) arrived in person and moderated the persecution to some degree, granting permission for one priest to remain resident in the kingdom and another to travel regularly between the court and Macau.
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Father [Pe.] Superior remained in Macau not as an exile, but to assist the destitute and abandoned. He stayed on in the city, having been joined by Father Pedro Marques, who returned in the year 1653.
p. 978.
Chapter II. On the Origins of the Canton Mission
A church and resident Jesuit priests first appeared in the city of Canton (Guangzhou) around 1649, during a period when residents of Macau travelled there in attendance upon the ‘King of Vem Di Je’—a title referring to the Southern Ming pretender Zhu Youlang, the Yongli Emperor—whom the province of Canton, along with several other regions not yet subject to Qing (‘Tartar’) authority, continued to recognise. It was during this time that Fathers Francisco Váez and João Ferreira died in Canton.
Subsequently, in December 1650, the Qing forces took formal possession of Canton. At that time, several young clerics (‘meços’) remained there under the supervision of Álvaro Vemedo, alongside a small number of Jesuit missionaries who had entered China proper and were stationed at Haynão (i.e., Hainan Island). Thereafter, these missionaries regularly visited Canton to minister to the local Christian community, which maintained its own church—or more accurately, a hermitage—where Fathers Mess Simeão de Miranda and Misja administered the sacraments. In their absence, the local Christians gathered there for prayer.
In 1658, during the vicariate of Simão de Lunda (Vicar Provincial of Japan), and under the provincial administration of Matias de Almeida, the Society’s Superior General, Father Jozevino Niccolini, issued a directive ordering that the two jurisdictions of China—namely the Canton mission and the Quansi (i.e., Guangxi) or Confui (i.e., Fujian) missions—henceforth be placed under the administrative oversight of the Province of Japan, which was likewise charged with supplying missionary personnel to them. Accordingly, the Superior in Macau dispatched personnel to Canton in accordance with this arrangement.
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Father André Lubelli accepted the mission in March 1659.
He constructed a church with land and an endowment (‘laza’ and ‘herdancia fixa’—i.e., a permanent benefice or ecclesiastical endowment), which, however, was subsequently placed—by order of the Provincial Father—under the jurisdiction of the College [of Macau], and its superior was forthwith appointed Collector of the College of Macau.⁸⁴
[Heading]
Chapter 12: The Mission of Shiab
[Main text]
Although Fathers of our Society had visited the kingdom of Shiab on several earlier occasions, the first to enter it permanently—around 1638—was Father Balthazar de Sequeira of the Province of Fochim (Goa). Nevertheless, no formal church or endowed mission was established at that time. It was not until 1656—under the auspices of the Province of Japan—that a permanent mission was founded. This initiative arose from the earnest petition and persistent entreaties of the resident native Christians (‘moritos Christãos’—i.e., indigenous converts, likely from the Malabar or Coromandel coasts), among whom were also some Japanese Catholics. These Japanese converts attributed their spiritual lukewarmness (‘frieza na Christandade’) to the absence of doctrinal instruction by Jesuit Fathers—the only ministers with whom they had been raised and with whom they could communicate effectively; they declared themselves unable to adapt to any other clergy then present in the kingdom. Urged by this collective appeal, the Fathers pressed their case vigorously in a letter addressed to Father Pez (likely Father João Pez, then Assistant for the East Indies); their request was granted. Father Tomás Valguarneira was appointed Superior of the newly constituted mission. In 1659, he was succeeded by Father João Cardozo, who—upon assuming office as Superior—also received instructions to establish a new residence (‘Legidencia’, i.e., *legatio*, a formal Jesuit administrative and pastoral station) at Tonnaparem, the regular port of call for ships travelling between India and the kingdom of Shiab.
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To the Memoir of Vead, where there stood a church dedicated to *Nossa Senhora da Conceição* (Our Lady of the Conception), commonly known locally as ‘Maria Carneiro’, certain individuals pledged during their lifetimes—by way of a *donatio inter vivos* (a gift made between living persons)—and also by testamentary disposition (*donatio mortis causa*, i.e., a bequest effective upon death), to found a new church on that site. However, this initiative fell under the ecclesiastical authority of the parish priest, and the project was soon abandoned.
Shortly thereafter, the aforementioned individual, Fr. Manuel Carvalho—a secular priest from the Province of Cochin—arrived at the said port of Vead. Having encountered some difficulty in establishing a church at Tamaforim (Tamarim), he resolved instead to erect one at another location named Merquim (modern-day Merkam, near present-day Vengurla, Maharashtra), deeming it more conducive to the principal missionary objective: the conversion of the local indigenous (‘gentio’) population.
In the interim, the Province of Cochin awaited formal instructions concerning the permanent assignment of personnel from its own jurisdiction to serve at Vead; such personnel were expected to assist Fr. Manuel Carvalho. However, before these arrangements could be finalised, God called Fr. Carvalho to Himself. Consequently, the religious community at Cochin relinquished the church at Vead and transferred its pastoral responsibilities thence to that location.
Thereupon, the Venerable João Cardozo was dispatched to Vead for a period of approximately three years. After his departure, the Venerable Manuel Soares served there for a further two years. Ultimately, owing to the absence of sustained pastoral activity—and, critically, because of an urgent summons issued by the *Lara del Thomé* (i.e., the *Lar do Santo Tomé*, the Augustinian convent and missionary house at St Thomas Mount, near Madras/Chennai, serving as a regional administrative hub for the Order in South India)—our venerable missionaries withdrew from Vead. This occurred in the year of Our Lord 1540.
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| genre | Manuscripts |
| genre_facet | Manuscripts |
| hierarchy_browse | Biblioteca Pública de Évora{{{_ID_}}}zotero-coll-BRAMHWPK Hainan Mission{{{_ID_}}}zotero-coll-HVUAJP3P Saint Paul's College{{{_ID_}}}zotero-coll-L2Z5UGWH Transcriptions{{{_ID_}}}zotero-coll-PAAL2UHW |
| hierarchy_parent_id | zotero-coll-BRAMHWPK zotero-coll-HVUAJP3P zotero-coll-L2Z5UGWH zotero-coll-PAAL2UHW |
| hierarchy_parent_title | Biblioteca Pública de Évora Hainan Mission Saint Paul's College Transcriptions |
| hierarchy_sequence | 0000 0000 0000 0000 |
| hierarchy_top_id | zotero-coll-WX87PJHD zotero-coll-WX87PJHD zotero-coll-WX87PJHD zotero-coll-WX87PJHD |
| hierarchy_top_title | News News News News |
| hierarchytype | Default |
| id | zotero-ESS7GYH9 |
| institution | zotero_group |
| language | Portuguese |
| last_indexed | 2026-09-24T07:28:05Z |
| latest_content_date | 2026-09-24T07:28:05Z |
| physical | 44 pages |
| publishDate | 1751 |
| publishDateRange | 1751 |
| publishDateSort | 1751 |
| record_format | zotero |
| spelling | Livro do principio dos Superiores, e Bemfeitores deste Collegio da Madre de Deos de Macao, pertence aos Padres procuradores deste Collegio This archival document is a late 19th- or early 20th-century transcription—held at the Public Library and District Archive of Évora—of a Jesuit administrative and historical manuscript originally compiled in Macau, likely during the 17th century. It records the succession of Superiors, Provincials, Vice-Provincials, and Apostolic Visitors governing the Jesuit Province of Japan and China, as well as related missions in Macau, Cochinchina, Tonkin, Hainan, Fujian, Cambodia, Laos, Siam, and Shiab. The text details canonical procedures for appointment—including ‘viás’ (electoral successions), papal briefs, patents (*patentes*), and dispensations granted by Popes Innocent X and Alexander VII—as well as jurisdictional transitions, such as the formal separation of the Province of Japan and China from the Indian Provinces of Goa and Malabar in 1611. Key figures include Francis Xavier, Alessandro Valignano, Matteo Ricci, Nicolò Longobardo, Valentim Carvalho, Francisco da Veiga, and Alexandre de Rhodes; principal locations encompass Macau, Nagasaki, Funai, Kyoto, Beijing, Canton, Zhaoqing, Hainan, Tonkin, and Cochinchina. The document also chronicles foundational events, missionary strategies, political constraints, persecutions, shipwrecks, and administrative adaptations under colonial and East Asian imperial regimes, serving as a primary source for the institutional history of the Society of Jesus in East Asia. Manuscripts Portugal. Biblioteca Pública de Évora BPE COD. CXVI/2-11, n. 46 1751 Apostolic Visitors East Asia Canton Mission China Mission Hainan Mission Reallocation Japan and China Province Jesuit Administrative Manuscript Jesuit Benefactor Records Jesuit Missionary Persecution Jesuit Missions Japan Jesuit Provincial Administration Jesuit Provincial Administration East Asia Jesuit Provincials Jesuit Superiors Succession Jesuit Vice-Provincials Jesuit Visitatorial Mandates Laos Mission Macau College of Our Lady of the Assumption Macau Jesuit Manuscript Évora Public Library Archive {{PAGE:1}} [Page] 1 [Archival mark — top center] CXVI 2-11 Nº 46 000396 [Archival mark — top left] CXVI 2-11 [Archival mark — top right] 1 [Stamp — right margin, middle] [Circular stamp: BIBLIOTECA PÚBLICA E ARQUIVO DISTRITAL DE ÉVORA] [Stamp — right margin, upper] [Circular seal with coat of arms and text: [UNCLEAR: partial text visible] .A.R.C.H.I.V.O.] [Marginalia — top left] CXVI 2-11 [Main text] Este Livro do princípio dos Superiores e Benfeitores deste Collegio da Madre de Deos de Macao pertence aos Padres Procuradores deste Collegio por ser conforme à Legra 2.ª do seu officio, ordenado para agradecimento, e gratidão, que nossas Constituições encomendão ter-se com Nossos Bemfeitores. Cap. 1º Do princípio deste Collegio, ou Casa, e dos Superiores que nelle houve até o anno de 1617. Cap. 2º Do princípio da Missão, e Christandade de Japão, e dos Superiores maiores, e principais, que a promoverão. Do princípio desta Christandade foi o B. P. Francisco Xavier no anno de 1549, e elle foi o primeiro, que a ella poz mão, pregou o santo Evangelho, e o primeiro Superior dos da Companhia em Japão. O 2º foi o P. Lourenço de Torres, que elle deixou em seu lugar com o Irmão João Foz, tendo-o trazido comsigo da India. De Japão tornou à India buscar Companheiros para aquella Missão: E tornando da India alli com desejo, esperança de entrar, agregar também nossa Santa Ley naquella grande {{PAGE:2}} Aleixo, falleceo avista da China na Ilha de Lamchão aos dois de Dezembro de 1559, sendo de idade de vinte e dous annos, tendo partido de Portugal no anno de 1541, chegado a India em Mayo de 1542 por terem invernado em Malaca. Sabique, em que dez annos correo quase tudo o que os Por- tuguezes na India tinham descoberto, e fundou as Christan- dades d’ambas as Costas de Travancor, Decan, Maluco, e Japão, que seus filhos, Padres da Companhia depois prosegui- rão. Neste meio tempo Padre Mestre Belchior, Superior de todos os da Companhia, partindo de Goa no anno de 1554 para Japão, e invernando em Malaca, chegou a Japão no anno de 1556, avizitando e consolando os Povos, e aquella pequena Chri- standade, retornou no mesmo anno para India, levando 9. Ipsos particulares suspeitos. O 3º foi o Padre Francisco Cabral que baptizou o Rey Dom Francisco de Bungo. O 4º o B. Gaspar Coelho era ordem dos Superiores, mas o primeiro que com nome de Vice-Provincial governou a Companhia nesta Christandade. O 5º o Padre Pedro Gomes, Vice-Provincial. O 6º o B. Francisco Rafio, Vice-Provincial; a quem succedeo em Julho de 1611 o B. Valentim Carvalho, mas com nome de Provincial por ser já então esta Provincia separada das Provincias da India, e no mesmo tempo começou de ser Visitador desta Provincia o B. Francisco Rafio, que depois falleceo neste Collegio de Macau em Agosto de 1612. [Marginalia — bottom right] Nem façao contra isto duvida algũa Cartas {{PAGE:3}} [Page] 2 [Archival mark] 000397 [Main text] Cartas do P. Geral Claudio Aquaviva excerptas ao P. Francisco Paio em 1611, e 1612, e 1613 chamando-lhe Provincial da Provincia de Japão, e China, não notavendo elle ca dito, antes tendo papado imediatamente de Vice-Provincial a Visitador no dito anno de 1611. E foi a causa disto ser esta Provincia algum annos antes feita em Roma Provincia separada das Provincias da India, sem desta separação se saber em Japão, assim por estarmos ca tão longe de Roma, que tarda as Cartas quatro, eis vezes cinco annos, como pela incerteza das Navegações, dependerem alguas vezes as Cartas, como de facto deperderão aquellas Cartas, pelas quaes o P. Geral tinha feito Japão Provincia per si; de maneira chegarem a Japão, mas somente se soube esta mudança no anno de 1611 quando veio a Ordem, que o P. Valentim Carvalho fosse Provincial, ao P. Francisco Paio ficasse Visitador, como se executou. E assim o P. Valentim Carvalho foi juntamente o primeiro Provincial desta Provincia de Japão, e China, e o P. Superior maior na Ordem dos Deitro da periori acima referido. Em 1614 estavão em Japão 150 Religiosos da Companhia, forão desterrados para Manila 23, e Macau 73, ficarão em Japão escondidos 54. Foi o Padre Valentim Carvalho Provincial desta Provincia desde o anno de 1611 até o de 1619, succedeo lhe o P. Matheos de Couros, mas f. Patente que esta vinda para o P. Jeronimo Rodi senior, que p estar em Macau impedido para poder hir livrem. a Japão, arrecolheo o P. Francisco Vieira Visitador, esperar aviso da {{PAGE:4}} suceçoens na primeira das quaes estava o P. Matheos de Carros, que foi Provincial ate o anno de 1621, no qual anno veio patente de Provincial ao P. Francisco Pacheco, o qual foi martirizado a vinte de Julho de 1626, e foi o primeiro Provincial de Japão, que morreo martyr. Sucedeo lhe o P. Matheos de Carros, e pela segunda vez foi Provincial de 29 de Outubro de 1633, em que falleceo junto de Euximi cansado com excessivos trabalhos, exer- cicios que padecio nas perseguiçoens do Dogum Bay, e filho delas da Tenca. Sucedeo lhe por Vice-Provincial por hua ord |
| spellingShingle | Livro do principio dos Superiores, e Bemfeitores deste Collegio da Madre de Deos de Macao, pertence aos Padres procuradores deste Collegio Apostolic Visitors East Asia Canton Mission China Mission Hainan Mission Reallocation Japan and China Province Jesuit Administrative Manuscript Jesuit Benefactor Records Jesuit Missionary Persecution Jesuit Missions Japan Jesuit Provincial Administration Jesuit Provincial Administration East Asia Jesuit Provincials Jesuit Superiors Succession Jesuit Vice-Provincials Jesuit Visitatorial Mandates Laos Mission Macau College of Our Lady of the Assumption Macau Jesuit Manuscript Évora Public Library Archive |
| title | Livro do principio dos Superiores, e Bemfeitores deste Collegio da Madre de Deos de Macao, pertence aos Padres procuradores deste Collegio |
| title_autocomplete | Livro do principio dos Superiores, e Bemfeitores deste Collegio da Madre de Deos de Macao, pertence aos Padres procuradores deste Collegio |
| title_full | Livro do principio dos Superiores, e Bemfeitores deste Collegio da Madre de Deos de Macao, pertence aos Padres procuradores deste Collegio |
| title_fullStr | Livro do principio dos Superiores, e Bemfeitores deste Collegio da Madre de Deos de Macao, pertence aos Padres procuradores deste Collegio |
| title_full_unstemmed | Livro do principio dos Superiores, e Bemfeitores deste Collegio da Madre de Deos de Macao, pertence aos Padres procuradores deste Collegio |
| title_short | Livro do principio dos Superiores, e Bemfeitores deste Collegio da Madre de Deos de Macao, pertence aos Padres procuradores deste Collegio |
| title_sort | livro do principio dos superiores, e bemfeitores deste collegio da madre de deos de macao, pertence aos padres procuradores deste collegio |
| topic | Apostolic Visitors East Asia Canton Mission China Mission Hainan Mission Reallocation Japan and China Province Jesuit Administrative Manuscript Jesuit Benefactor Records Jesuit Missionary Persecution Jesuit Missions Japan Jesuit Provincial Administration Jesuit Provincial Administration East Asia Jesuit Provincials Jesuit Superiors Succession Jesuit Vice-Provincials Jesuit Visitatorial Mandates Laos Mission Macau College of Our Lady of the Assumption Macau Jesuit Manuscript Évora Public Library Archive |
| topic_autocomplete | Apostolic Visitors East Asia Canton Mission China Mission Hainan Mission Reallocation Japan and China Province Jesuit Administrative Manuscript Jesuit Benefactor Records Jesuit Missionary Persecution Jesuit Missions Japan Jesuit Provincial Administration Jesuit Provincial Administration East Asia Jesuit Provincials Jesuit Superiors Succession Jesuit Vice-Provincials Jesuit Visitatorial Mandates Laos Mission Macau College of Our Lady of the Assumption Macau Jesuit Manuscript Évora Public Library Archive |
| topic_facet | Apostolic Visitors East Asia Canton Mission China Mission Hainan Mission Reallocation Japan and China Province Jesuit Administrative Manuscript Jesuit Benefactor Records Jesuit Missionary Persecution Jesuit Missions Japan Jesuit Provincial Administration Jesuit Provincial Administration East Asia Jesuit Provincials Jesuit Superiors Succession Jesuit Vice-Provincials Jesuit Visitatorial Mandates Laos Mission Macau College of Our Lady of the Assumption Macau Jesuit Manuscript Évora Public Library Archive |
| url | https://macau-legacy.usj.edu.mo/docs/ESS7GYH9/viewer_ESS7GYH9.html |
| zotero_collection_key | BRAMHWPK HVUAJP3P L2Z5UGWH PAAL2UHW |