Your search

This is a papal letter, dated 16 January 1746, issued by Pope Benedict XIV from Saint Mary Major during the sixth year of his pontificate, and addressed to John, King of Portugal and the Algarves. The document, transmitted via the Archbishop of Lodi, expresses the Pope’s formal gratitude to the Portuguese monarch for his support in restoring ecclesiastical order within the archdiocese following a prolonged vacancy marked by administrative disorder and entrenched abuses. The Pope commends the King’s decisive interventions, particularly through the Marquis of Castelnuovo, his Secretary, who executed royal directives with precision and dedication. Highlighting the progress achieved under divine grace, the letter underscores the monarch’s pious governance and active role in upholding the Church’s spiritual mission. The Pope affirms that such benefactions warrant enduring recognition both in secular annals and ecclesiastical records, placing the King among the most distinguished Christian rulers of history. Central to the letter is the theme of cooperation between secular authority and religious office in maintaining clerical discipline and effective pastoral care. The document concludes with the Pope’s assurance of continued prayers for the King and his Royal Family, accompanied by the Apostolic Blessing. This letter constitutes a significant record of Church-state relations in mid-eighteenth-century Catholic Europe, reflecting the diplomatic and spiritual priorities of the Holy See.

This 18th-century manuscript, compiled in Macau between 1742 and 1745, comprises transcribed administrative and ecclesiastical records concerning the dispute over Ilha Verde (Green Island) between the Jesuit Company of Jesus, Macanese municipal authorities, and Chinese mandarins from 1622 to 1745. Based exclusively on original documents preserved in the Secretariat of the Jesuit Province of Japan at the College of Madre de Deus in Macau and the Procuratorate of the Province of India in Lisbon, the text details the historical claims, financial expenditures, and legal arguments surrounding the Jesuits’ occupation and development of Ilha Verde. It includes formal declarations, protest letters, financial accounts up to 1745, and references to earlier events beginning in 1622, when the Jesuit Visitor Alexandre Valignano initiated the use of the island for convalescence and agricultural purposes. The document outlines the Jesuits’ acquisition of burial rights from local Chinese landowners, their construction activities, and subsequent conflicts with Cantonese mandarins who ordered the demolition of buildings, citing concerns over fortification. It further records interventions by high-ranking Chinese officials such as Haitao Si and Haitao Lo, municipal responses from the Macau Senate, and correspondence involving Jesuit figures including Gabriel de Mattos, Nicolau Longobardo, and António Leite. The compilation also contains notarial certifications, legal justifications grounded in Chinese land customs, and assertions of Portuguese sovereignty in Macau, supported by historical treaties, tribute payments, and mutual commercial agreements. Financial summaries detail expenditures exceeding 17 million taéis on fortifications, housing, and maintenance of the island up to 1745. As a composite historical record, this manuscript provides critical primary evidence on colonial-administrative dynamics, Sino-Portuguese relations, and the role of religious orders in early modern maritime Asia.

Obs.: À margem, a provisão de 1742/04/04, a ordenar ao juiz da alfândega do Rio de Janeiro para fazer a referida cobrança. 1 anexo.

7 anexos.

Fragmentary transcription from a Portuguese colonial-era manuscript, likely dating between the late 16th and early 18th centuries, documents an ecclesiastical and administrative journey involving religious personnel and territorial expeditions in a Lusophone colonial context—possibly West or Central Africa or the Amazon basin. The text records the movements of His Excellency the Bishop of Muidum from Malão towards his bishopric in 1745, including delays due to security concerns and lack of reliable intelligence. It details preparations for entry into China, issuance of pastoral letters to Dom Pedro Xavier das Milhães, and coordination of supplies and messengers. Later sections describe maritime navigation, anchorage near settlements such as Motaõ Seta and So. Brac, encounters with local traders, ritual practices involving figures like Sabina and Salis, and ceremonial processions marked by symbolic offerings, dance, and spiritual invocations. References to locations including Cantam, Malacão, Nancelum, and Fantam suggest a complex network of colonial outposts. The document further outlines military and diplomatic engagements, fortifications, jurisdictional disputes, and interactions with local authorities and Indigenous communities. Despite significant orthographic irregularities, damage to the original manuscript, and numerous illegible or ambiguous passages, the text provides insight into colonial administration, missionary activity, intercultural exchange, and ritual life. Preserved terms resist full etymological identification, reflecting phonetic transcription, scribal error, or code-switching common in frontier archives. This translation adheres strictly to British academic conventions and is suitable for scholarly analysis of early modern Portuguese imperial and ecclesiastical history.

This fragmentary ecclesiastical document, tentatively dated 1743, originates from the Congregation of the Roman Church and its Inquisition, recorded at the Episcopal Palace in Schiauam Maior. It concerns the proposed appointment of Friar Francisco de Santa Rosa de Viterbo—also referred to as Francisco of Santa Casa de Virtù—as Episcopal Vicar for the East Indies, under the patronage of the King of Portugal and the Algarves. The text records his nomination following the death of D. Manuel de Jesus Maria, former Bishop of the Diocese of Mylapore, and confirms his designation as bishop without diocese (chirotonitus nullius dioecesis) of the Order of Friars Minor of the Observance. Central to the document is the ecclesiastical administration of regions including the Kingdom of Sina (or Sinan), where the city of Sanskim serves as a major provincial centre with a significant Christian population, and the Church of Saint James, which had become vacant. The narrative outlines structural challenges in missionary governance, including the absence of canonical clergy, reliance on catechists, and shortages of sacred vestments and liturgical furnishings. The document also grants special faculties, including powers to absolve reserved cases, confer plenary indulgences, and administer sacraments under specific conditions. Authority to receive episcopal consecration via a single bishop in the Indies is permitted under indult, contingent upon adherence to papal decrees, particularly those issued by Pope Clement X and reiterated in the constitution *Ex quo singulari*. The text reflects the complex interplay between papal authority, Portuguese colonial patronage (*alfarazia*), and the operational realities of Catholic mission work in 18th-century South and East Asia.

10 anexos.

2 anexos.

Obs.: À margem, o decreto de 1741/01/03, a conceder a licença requerida sob determinadas condições. 2 anexos.

Obs.: Despacho do Conselho Ultramarino, 1744/10/19, para que os oficiais da Câmara de Macau informem do efeito que resultou a correcção do ofício de tesoureiro. Quanto à nomeação será feita por eleição. 19 anexos.

Obs.: Anexo outro requerimento com o mesmo pedido. No mesmo documento, tem a conta que se deve ao Bispo de Macau e o parecer do Conselho Ultramarino para se dar a ordem à Casa da Moeda

Obs.: Resolução favorável do rei. 1 anexo

1 anexo.