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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.
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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.
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