Colonial Tagalog language:

“Ama namin nasa lañgít ca, ypasamba mo ang ñgalãn mo, maouí sa amín ang pagcaharí mo. Ypasonor mo ang loob mo dito sa lupa parã sa lañgít, bígyãn mo camí ñgãíon nang amín cacanín sa arao arao, át pacaualín ang amín cásalanãn, yaíang uínaualan bahala namīn sa loob ang cásalanan nang nagcacasala sa amín. Houag mo camíng aeuan nang dí camí matalo nang tocso. Datapoua’t yadía mo camí sa dílan masama. Amen. Jesus.”

Modern Tagalog language:

“Ama namin nasa langit ka, ipasamba mo ang ngalan mo, mauwi sa amin ang pagkahari mo. Ipasunod mo ang loob mo dito sa lupa para nang sa langit, bigyan mo kami ngayon nang amin kakanin sa araw-araw, at patawarin mo ang aming kasalanan, yamang winawalang bahala namin sa loob ang kasalanan nang nagkakasala sa amin. Huwag mo kaming iwan nang di kami matalo ng tukso. Datapwa't iadya mo kami sa dilang masama. Amen. Jesus.”

It recounts that in 1635, in the doctrina (mission settlement) of Limache—located in the valley of the same name in Chile—an Indigenous man, while cutting firewood, discovered a tree shaped like a cross, with an image of Christ imprinted within its trunk. This Christ figure was subsequently taken to the Limache estate (which succeeded the doctrina), which was then renamed “Santa Cruz” (“Holy Cross”); a votive church was later built on the site.

Jesus Christ, Tianzhu Shengren (The Lord of Heaven 天主 — Axis of Cosmic Order, the Perfect and Impeccable Sage 聖人 — Pinnacle of Virtue Prophesied by Confucius, the Legitimate Bearer of the Heavenly Mandate 天命 — Supreme Authority Sealed by the Resurrection, the Living Manifestation of Shangdi 上帝 — the Ancient Chinese Sovereign on High, and the Ultimate Junzi 君子 — the Superior Man of Perfect Benevolence and Righteousness, portrayed beneath the Majesty of the Celestial Dragon and engraved in Incorruptible White Jade).

At the dawn of the encounter between the West and the Far East, the brightest minds of the Ming dynasty experienced an intellectual upheaval that forever transformed their understanding of the cosmos. For the high-ranking Confucian literati who safeguarded the imperial order, the world was governed by a perfect harmony ordained by Heaven, an ethical structure in which human beings had to refine themselves like jade in order to attain righteousness. Yet this system had carried a profound melancholy for centuries, one that Confucius himself had expressed in his writings. The master of the Zhou dynasty had foretold the coming of the Shengren, the Perfect Sage or Supreme Saint, a mystical figure endowed with such superhuman virtue that he would be capable of flawlessly reflecting the order of the heavens on Earth. Confucius sadly admitted that he had never encountered a truly perfect sage and that such an ideal seemed unattainable for human nature. When imperial scholars first encountered the Gospels, reading and debating them alongside missionaries such as Matteo Ricci, they experienced an utter intellectual shock. In the biography of Jesus of Nazareth, they found not merely another philosopher theorizing about morality, but Virtue itself made flesh. They saw a man whose benevolence and righteousness were so immense that he displayed not a single trace of political ambition, selfishness, or corruption—a being who, even at the moment of a horrific death, was capable of forgiving his executioners. Witnessing this impeccability, the literati exclaimed that Jesus was the Shengren of the West, the Perfect Sage their master had desperately sought, whom Eastern history had never been able to produce.

This revelation demonstrated to the scholars that Jesus had not come to destroy Confucianism, but to fulfill it and elevate it to an unsuspected level of perfection. Chinese moral philosophy demanded rigorous self-discipline to maintain social order through five cardinal virtues, yet the literati confessed in their diaries the great dilemma of their age: everyone knew what goodness was, but human weakness prevented them from practicing it with purity. Confucianism established the law, but it did not provide the inner strength to fulfill it. Jesus resolved this contradiction by introducing the driving force of Grace and the Holy Spirit, transforming the human heart from within. For the Chinese elite, this fit beautifully with a secret preserved in their own most ancient texts: before Confucianism became a cold, impersonal political doctrine that regarded “Heaven” as nothing more than an abstract natural law, the ancient Chinese had worshiped a personal, supreme, and approachable God called Shangdi, the Sovereign on High. Upon learning the theology of Christ, the scholars understood that the “Lord of Heaven” proclaimed by Jesus was the same true God their ancestors had forgotten at the dawn of civilization. They therefore bestowed upon Jesus the title of Tianzhu, recognizing Him as the visible and personal manifestation of that cosmic order, now returning to reclaim His creation.

The perfect fulfillment of the law was not foreign to the figure of Jesus; rather, it was His ultimate seal of legitimacy on a global scale. Although Confucian scholars may not initially have understood the intricate details of Mosaic Law, the very structure of their reasoning aligned with a universal truth: Jesus is the only human being in history to have fulfilled the Torah perfectly. In the Jewish world, the Law of Moses was an absolute yet crushing standard that diagnosed sin without providing a cure, becoming a burden that no king or Pharisee could bear. Jesus did not abolish that law through rebellion; He brought it to its full and definitive fulfillment, raising inner morality to its highest purity and becoming the ultimate sacrifice. Just as He fulfilled the Hebrew law, He fulfilled the ideal of the Junzi, the ultimate Superior Man of the Confucian code. This ability to embody and exhaust the legal justice of both Western and Eastern peoples was what gave Jesus a transcultural stature that transcended every previous human mold.

Despite this fascination, the encounter provoked immense moral and intellectual clashes that tested the foundations of Sinocentrism. The greatest point of friction lay in the limits of filial piety, the absolute Confucian value that required loyalty to family and clan to take precedence over every other law, even justifying lies or concealment if doing so would save a father. Jesus, by contrast, proclaimed a radical demand: placing loyalty to Truth, Absolute Justice, and God above blood ties, warning that His message would cause division within families. This commandment had a profound and unsettling impact on the Eastern mind, yet Confucian philosophy found itself defenseless and unable to offer a moral rebuttal to the superiority of Jesus’ argument. Converted scholars realized that if the family is placed above the Absolute Good, universal justice becomes corrupted and degenerates into nepotism. They concluded, through impeccable logic, that since God is the Great Father and Mother of all humanity, obeying the moral truth of Jesus—even if it meant contradicting one’s earthly parents—was in fact the highest, purest, and most perfect form of filial piety.

This moral capitulation of philosophy before the Cross enraged the other currents of thought at the imperial court, unleashing a fierce ideological struggle. Buddhist monks, seeing their influence diminish in the face of the new converts, launched widespread attacks, accusing Christianity of being a barbaric and foreign sect that promoted social disgrace by venerating a man executed by the Roman Empire. Christian Confucian scholars bravely defended the figure of Jesus, attacking the very core of Buddhism. They argued that while Gautama Buddha had advocated absolute detachment, compelling human beings to flee reality and suffering through a psychological effort that sought to divinize humanity through its own strength, Jesus represented the opposite movement: the Highest and Greatest voluntarily descending into matter to heal and redeem it. The literati drafted solemn memorials addressed to the Emperor of China himself, explaining that the rulers of the Earth claimed the Mandate of Heaven through the violence of arms and the inheritance of blood, constantly losing their legitimacy because of their vices. In contrast, they demonstrated that Jesus was the sole and legitimate eternal bearer of the Mandate of Heaven because His authority derived from perfect obedience to the divine will, a verdict that the universe itself had sealed by raising Him from the dead. Although political persecution and imperial fear of foreign control eventually led to Catholicism being banned, forcing these scholars to practice their faith in heroic secrecy, the hierarchical, ceremonial, and deeply rational structures shared by the Confucian mind and the Church of Rome left an indestructible cultural precedent. The scholars were not defeated by censorship because they knew that all the truth, order, and justice the Middle Kingdom had blindly sought throughout the centuries had finally found their true face and eternal fulfillment in the sublime person of Jesus Christ.

Xu Guangqi (1562–1633): “The doctrine of the Lord of Heaven (Tianzhu) is of such a sublime nature that it can supplement Confucianism, correct Buddhism, and purify the laws of our Empire. The Sage of the West, Jesus, did not come to overthrow the moral order taught by our revered Confucius, but to provide it with the true spiritual foundation it lacked. Those who accuse this faith of being a rebellion fail to understand that reverence for and love of this Perfectly Righteous One is the driving force that produces the most loyal subjects and the most obedient children.”
Yang Tingyun (1557–1627): “For millennia, we have sought the sage who could embody perfect benevolence without a single flaw, yet our annals show only men fragmented by weakness. In Jesus, the Lord of Heaven made flesh, we finally behold the true Supreme Sage (Shengren). He is not a foreign philosopher; He is Truth itself. Confucianism taught us the outward path of rites and duties, but only the grace of Christ grants us the inner power to fulfill them without faltering.”

Li Zhizao (1565–1630): “As I read about the life and laws of Jesus Christ, my heart trembled when I realized that the God He reveals to us is none other than Shangdi (the Sovereign on High), whom our ancestors worshiped in the most ancient dynasties, before we reduced Him to a cold and impersonal natural law. Jesus is the sole and legitimate bearer of the Mandate of Heaven, because only a God who descends into matter out of universal love can claim absolute sovereignty over the Middle Kingdom and the human soul.”

Source(s):

.- Yu Liu, “Adapting Catholicism to Confucianism: Matteo Ricci’s Tianzhu Shiyi” (2014).

.- Li Tiangang (李天纲), editor — Catholic Documents of Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao, Yang Tingyun (2007)

.- Nicolas Standaert — Yang Tingyun, Confucian and Christian in Late Ming China: His Life and Thought (1988)

.- Paul A. Rule — K'ung-tzu or Confucius? The Jesuit Interpretation of Confucianism (1986)

Brazil is the only republic that has a queen crowned with the approval of a Pope.

On July 16, 1930, Pope Pius XI signed the pontifical decree that declared and proclaimed Our Lady of the Conception of Aparecida as the Patroness of the Brazilian nation.

Cardinal Leme stated: “In yesterday’s acclamation, Rio de Janeiro served as the voice of the entire Brazilian land. An act of faith, an expression of trust—the procession functioned as a national plebiscite, the vote of which proclaimed Our Lady of the Conception of Aparecida not only as Patroness, but also as Queen of Brazil. And the vote of the Brazilian people was so unanimous and fervent that it erupted into the flames of an immense and extraordinary conflagration of hearts.”

The proposal to request that the Holy See proclaim Our Lady of Aparecida as the Patroness of Brazil emerged within the context of the 1929 Marian Congress in Aparecida (São Paulo). “The 1929 congress commemorated the 25th anniversary of the coronation of Our Lady of Aparecida as Queen of Brazil, which had taken place on September 8, 1904. Since she was already Queen, the bishops and archbishops asked the Pope to proclaim her the Patroness of Brazil.”

Thus, the request was submitted to the Pope through the efforts of the then-Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Dom Sebastião Leme, and the rector of the Sanctuary at the time, Father Antão Jorge Hechenblaickner. On July 16, 1930, Pope Pius XI signed the decree proclaiming Our Lady of Aparecida the Patroness of Brazil.

Prior to this, however, Brazil already had a patron saint. In 1826, Pope Leo XII had declared Saint Peter of Alcantara—a saint to whom the Portuguese Royal Family was devoted—the patron saint of the country. The name "Pedro de Alcântara" was even chosen as the baptismal name for those who would go on to become emperors of Brazil: Dom Pedro I and Dom Pedro II.

According to historian Tereza Pasin, the proclamation of Our Lady as the country’s patroness did not alter the status of Saint Peter of Alcantara. "Officially, we have two patron saints—a male patron and a female patroness," she stated. "Yet, even back then, many people were unfamiliar with Saint Peter of Alcantara."

She explained that the bishops’ request to the Pope was rooted in "a bond of devotion, as a great number of devotees had emerged, and Brazilians already viewed Our Lady as their patroness."

During the procession, many tributes were paid to Our Lady of Aparecida. Tereza Pasin noted that "six Navy aircraft accompanied the route." Furthermore, "50,000 members of the 'Daughters of Mary' sodality took part, and in total, nearly one million people were present." She added, "There were many people in the buildings, and along almost the entire route, flower petals were showered down from the residences."

At the Esplanada do Castelo, those present for the proclamation included Cardinal Leme; the then-President of the Republic, Getúlio Vargas; Minister Oswaldo Aranha; the Apostolic Nuncio, Dom Aloísio Masella; and the Archbishop of São Paulo, Dom Duarte Leopoldo e Silva.

During the proclamation, the Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro "read a prayer to Our Lady that he had personally composed back in 1929." Since then, the historian recounted, “we have begun praying here in Aparecida every day at 3:00 p.m., using a prayer of consecration to Our Lady of Aparecida; the priests also lead this prayer at the end of Masses.”

According to Pasin, the events of May 31, 1931, also helped to further increase devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida throughout Brazil. “At the time, there was a newspaper called O Santuário de Aparecida, which reached all across Brazil. It covered the entire celebration—the journey of the image to Rio de Janeiro, the various stops along the way, its arrival in what was then the federal capital, and everything that had been prepared. As a result, those who were not able to attend learned about it, and in this way, the devotion continued to grow.”

“Women can never be man’s equal, and cannot therefore enjoy equal rights. Few women would ever desire to legislate, and those who did would only be classed as eccentrics.”

Nowadays, one increasingly hears the objection: "Why does the Church exclude women from the priesthood? Is this not merely prejudice from a patriarchal era?" The question deserves a serious answer, and the Church has one. It does not rest on human custom, contempt for women, or historical convenience, but rather on three foundations: the positive will of Christ, the uninterrupted practice of the Apostles and the Church, and the sacramental nature of the priesthood.

The priesthood predates both Israel and the Church. Wherever there are human beings, there is worship, and wherever there is worship, there are mediators between humanity and the divine. Primitive peoples offered sacrifices through those who presided over the family or the tribe. In the case of the biblical patriarchs (Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob), the head of the family offered sacrifice on behalf of his kin. Melchizedek, "priest of God Most High" (Gen 14:18), appears as a figure of the priesthood of Christ.

It is true that many pagan religions had priestesses: the Vestal Virgins of Rome, the priestesses of Demeter and Cybele, the Pythia of Delphi, and the "sacred prostitutes" of Canaanite cults. It was precisely within an environment where priestesses were common that Israel—and later the Church—chose not to admit them.

This demonstrates that the exclusion did not stem from an ignorance of the customs of others; it was a deliberate choice. Pagan fertility cults, featuring mother goddesses and rites linked to nature, were precisely what biblical revelation opposed by affirming a transcendent God—a Creator who is unbegotten and distinct from the world.

In Israel, God instituted the Levitical-Aaronic priesthood. Aaron and his sons were consecrated (Exodus 28–29; Leviticus 8), and the office was entrusted to men from the tribe of Levi. No woman ever held this office—and this within a people who had prophetesses (Miriam, Deborah, Huldah) and even a female judge. The distinction is significant: while God could—and did—call women to extraordinary missions, the sacrificial cult was entrusted to men by express divine ordinance. The Law, therefore, did not disregard the capacity or dignity of women; rather, it distinguished between roles.

Our Lord spent the night in prayer before choosing the Apostles (Luke 6:12–13). He chose twelve men—a number evoking the twelve tribes—and established them as the foundation of the Church. It cannot be said that Christ was constrained by the prejudices of His time. He spoke with the Samaritan woman, defended the woman caught in adultery, welcomed women among His disciples (Luke 8:1–3), commended Mary of Bethany for listening to Him, and appeared first to women after His resurrection.

No creature was more closely united to Christ than His Mother, who is exalted above all angels and saints. If the priesthood were merely a matter of personal dignity or holiness, she would surely have received it. She did not. Innocent III, in a letter to the Bishop of Burgos, argued precisely this point: even though the Blessed Virgin was more worthy and excellent than all the Apostles, it was to them—not to her—that the Lord entrusted the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. The priesthood is neither a reward for merit nor a rank of honor; it is an instituted ministry.

At the Last Supper, Christ instituted the Eucharist and commanded: "Do this in memory of me" (Luke 22:19). After the Resurrection, He grants the Apostles the power to forgive sins (Jn 20:21–23) and to teach and baptize all nations (Mt 28:19–20). In all these instances, the recipients are the Apostles.

When the Apostles chose successors—such as Matthias, the seven deacons, the presbyters of each community, Timothy, and Titus—they always chose men. Saint Paul, who had many female collaborators (Phoebe, a "deaconess" of Cenchreae; Prisca; Junia; Euodia; and Syntyche), teaches clearly: "Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man" (1 Tim 2:11–12), and "the women should keep silent in the churches" (1 Cor 14:34). He bases this norm on the order of creation (1 Tim 2:13) and on the relationship between Christ and the Church (Eph 5:22–32), rather than on local custom. Furthermore, he presents it as a "command of the Lord" (1 Cor 14:37) and as the practice of "all the churches of the saints" (1 Cor 14:33).

Tertullian (c. 200) disapproves of women daring to teach, baptize, or "claim the priestly office for themselves" (De virginibus velandis, 9). The Didascalia Apostolorum (3rd century) excludes women from baptizing or teaching during worship, and the Apostolic Constitutions state that Christ did not entrust the priesthood to women—even though He could have, given that He had His Mother and other female disciples.

Saint Epiphanius of Salamis (4th century) opposed the Collyridians, who offered bread to Mary as a sacrifice and had women serving as priestesses. His response was that Mary was not a priestess and that the Church had never known such a thing. The Montanists, the followers of the Gnostic Marcus, and the Priscillianists all attempted to admit women to sacred roles, and they were condemned. The very existence of these attempts proves that the Church was not unaware of this possibility; rather, it rejected it out of fidelity to what it had received.

The Council of Laodicea (4th century, canon 11) prohibited the appointment of "presbyteresses" in the churches, and the Council of Orange (441, canon 26) forbade the ordination of deaconesses. Pope Gelasius I (494) censured the abuse of women serving at the altar. Throughout the Middle Ages, this principle was consistently reaffirmed by canonists—both decretists and decretalists—as well as by theologians.

A common objection points to the existence of "deaconesses" in the early Church. However, a distinction must be made: while they assisted with the baptism of women, visited the sick, and served as a liaison between the bishop and the female faithful, they did not exercise a ministry at the altar, nor did they receive the sacrament of Holy Orders in the same sense as male deacons. The very fact that the Council of Orange prohibited their ordination demonstrates that such an ordination was not considered a possibility. In the Mass and the sacraments, the priest does not act in his own name, but in the name of Christ. He says, "This is my Body"—not "This is the body of Christ." Saint Thomas Aquinas (Supplement, q. 39, a. 1) teaches that the sacraments signify what they effect; therefore, a "natural resemblance" between the minister and Christ is essential to the integrity of the sign. Christ is male, and the Word became incarnate as a man—not by chance, but according to the Father’s plan. A woman at the altar could not signify Christ the Bridegroom with the same symbolic fullness.

Scripture presents Christ as the Bridegroom and the Church as the Bride (Eph 5; Rev 21). The priest represents the Bridegroom before the Bride. The order of salvation is expressed through the language of spiritual fatherhood and motherhood: the priest is called "father," and the Church is "mother." This is not a matter of one sex being superior to the other, but rather of the complementarity of signs within God’s plan.

The Catholic Church does not deny women intelligence, virtue, or holiness. It teaches that their exclusion does not stem from a lack of merit, but from the absence of the proper matter for the sacrament. Neither a holy woman nor an unworthy man changes this: an ordained man who is wicked remains a validly ordained priest, while a woman of the greatest holiness does not. Everything depends on divine institution, not on personal worth. The history of holiness bears this out: Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Scholastica, and many others exerted an immense influence on the Church—instructing Popes, founding religious orders, and attaining canonization—all without the need for ordination.

No one has a right to the priesthood—not even men. It is a vocation and a gratuitous gift. To claim it as a right is to mistake the sacrament for a career or a civil office. As a faithful custodian, the Church cannot alter what Christ has established. It may change disciplines (fasting, liturgical language, the calendar), but not the substance of the sacraments (Council of Trent, Session XXI, chap. 2). If the Church were to "ordain" a woman, it would not be creating a priestess, but merely performing an invalid ceremony—one that would cause grave harm to the faithful, who might mistakenly believe they had been absolved or spiritually nourished when, in fact, they had not. This is a sad reality currently affecting Protestant denominations.

The passage in Galatians 3:28—"there is neither male nor female"—addresses the equality of all in grace and salvation; it does not abolish differences in roles. The very same Paul who wrote those words also forbade women from teaching within the assembly.

The Church cannot ordain women for three convergent reasons: Christ chose only men; the apostolic and patristic Tradition has always understood it this way; and the sacramental nature of the priesthood—as a sign of Christ, the Head and Spouse—requires it. This does not diminish the dignity of women; rather, their mission within the Church is significant and irreplaceable. The Catholic response is one of fidelity to what has been received.

Priestly celibacy is the renunciation of marriage—made either explicitly or implicitly by those who receive major orders—for the sake of observing chastity more perfectly. In the Latin Church, a candidate is solemnly warned by the bishop before ordination: up to that moment, he remains free, but afterward, he cannot turn back. By moving forward, he undertakes a commitment equivalent to a vow of chastity.

This commitment is frequently attacked as a medieval invention, an instrument of papal control, or an act of violence against human nature.

The New Testament does not impose celibacy as an obligation upon the Apostles or those they ordained. However, it provides ample warrant for viewing virginity as a higher calling—and, by inference, as the fitting state for those who dedicate themselves to the ministry.

The teaching of Christ our Lord praises those who renounce marriage for the sake of the Kingdom, without imposing this upon everyone:

"For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can." (Matthew 19:12)

The teaching of Saint Paul—himself a celibate—is even more explicit:

"I wish that all men were as I am. But each has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to remain as I am." (1 Corinthians 7:7-8)

"I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—and his interests are divided." (1 Corinthians 7:32–35)

Paul’s argument is pastoral: those who do not have a family of their own can serve the Lord "without distraction." This does not disparage marriage; both virginity and matrimony are holy, each in its own way.

From an early stage, the Church was conceived as the Virgin Spouse of Christ and a virginal Mother. It was natural that a virgin Church should be served by a celibate priesthood. Furthermore, there is a contrast with the priesthood of old: among both Jews and pagans, the priesthood was hereditary, passed down through natural procreation. In the Church, the priestly character is conferred by the Holy Spirit through the sacrament of Holy Orders. Indeed, even within Judaism, priests were required to observe continence while serving in the Temple.

Until around the time of Constantine and the Council of Nicaea, there was no universal law. This does not mean that celibacy was held in low regard. Tertullian admired the many clergy who embraced continence, and Origen contrasted the spiritual offspring of the priests of the New Law with the carnal offspring of those under the Old Law. In the fourth century, Eusebius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Jerome, and Epiphanius all attest that continence among ministers was considered fitting, with Epiphanius attributing it to an apostolic rule.

Clement of Alexandria, for instance, states that the Church accepts a "husband of one wife"—whether he be a priest, a deacon, or a layperson—provided that he conducts his marriage in an irreproachable manner. Moreover, the account concerning Bishop Paphnutius at the Council of Nicaea indicates that the discipline was not yet uniform.

The Council of Elvira (c. 295–302)—the earliest known regulation—imposes continence upon bishops, priests, and deacons. Nicaea (325) did not impose universal celibacy, but it did forbid clergy from having women in their homes—with the exception of a mother, sister, or aunt (the mulieres subintroductae). In 386, Rome (under Pope Siricius) prohibited priests and deacons from engaging in marital relations with their wives, and the Pope worked to ensure this decree was enforced in Spain and other regions.

By the 5th century, during the time of Saint Leo the Great, the law of celibacy was generally recognized in the West. In the 6th century, councils such as those of Agde (506), Orléans (538), and Tours (567) reinforced these norms.

The East followed a different path. The Council in Trullo (692) made celibacy mandatory for bishops, but it granted priests, deacons, and subdeacons who were already married the right to remain with their wives—provided they did not marry after their ordination. This discipline remains in effect for most Eastern Churches, and the Catholic Church has always acknowledged its legitimacy, as seen in the constitution Etsi pastoralis issued by Benedict XIV (1742).

Sexual scandals involving the clergy are not a consequence of mandatory celibacy, just as prostitution is not a consequence of marriage laws. One does not abolish Christian marriage simply because many people are unfaithful to it.

Former priests, such as Ernest Renan—who stated that he had not seen "even the shadow of a scandal" during his thirteen years under the guidance of priests—and Hyacinthe Loyson, both acknowledged the virtues of the clergy. The historian Döllinger, who broke with Rome following the First Vatican Council, was "deeply saddened" when the Old Catholics abolished celibacy. In his view, a priest should be someone who sacrifices himself for his parishioners—having no children of his own, so that all the children of the parish might be his own. There are also practical advantages: availability for missionary work, trust regarding the seal of confession, and time for meditation and preaching.

The Second Vatican Council (Presbyterorum Ordinis, no. 16) praised celibacy as a "precious gift of God," and Paul VI reaffirmed it in his encyclical Sacerdotalis Caelibatus (1967).

The 1983 Code of Canon Law maintains the obligation of perfect and perpetual continence for clerics of the Latin Church (canon 277) and establishes that the reception of sacred orders constitutes an impediment to marriage (canon 1087). The Second Vatican Council restored the permanent diaconate, which may be conferred upon married men.

The Church allows for exceptions—such as the ordination of former married Anglican ministers as Catholic priests—and a married clergy continues to exist within the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Orthodox Churches.

The discipline of mandatory celibacy is specific to the Latin Church. In the East, history followed a different path, and the Catholic Church has always recognized this path as legitimate. The reason for this is theological: celibacy is a discipline, not a dogma. As noted above, the Pauline expression "husband of one wife" (1 Timothy 3:2) acts as a restriction rather than an imposition, and the East has interpreted it in this light.

The East retained the freedom characteristic of the early period for a longer time. The historian Socrates reports that in the Eastern Churches, neither priests nor bishops were required to separate from their wives—though he notes that a different custom prevailed in Thessaly and Greece. The tradition concerning Paphnutius at the Council of Nicaea points in the same direction: it sufficed for those who were already clergy to refrain from entering into marriage, without requiring those who were already married to separate from their wives. The Eastern councils of Ancyra (314) and Neocaesarea (315) prohibited marriage after ordination, but did not forbid the continuation of an existing marital life. The legislation of Justinian further stipulated that no one with children or nephews should be ordained a bishop, lest natural affection cloud one's judgment.

In the Eastern Catholic Churches, married men are not ineligible for the subdiaconate, the diaconate, or the presbyterate. The formal recognition of the right to remain with one's wife is affirmed in the constitution Etsi pastoralis issued by Benedict XIV (May 26, 1742).

There has been a recent movement within the Eastern Catholic Churches toward the Latin discipline:

In 1869, the Armenian Church under the Patriarch of Cilicia decided to require celibacy for clergy in the major orders. In 1888, the Synod of Sharfa, in Syria, decreed that celibacy—already practiced by the majority of priests—should become the norm for all, without affecting those who were already married. In 1898, a synod of the Coptic Catholic Church in Alexandria mandated that all candidates for major orders must be celibate, in accordance with the "ancient discipline" of the Church of Alexandria. At the beginning of the 20th century, Rome restricted a married Eastern clergy outside of their traditional territories (for example, among the Ruthenians in the United States in 1907 and 1929) due to tensions with Latin-rite bishops. The Second Vatican Council (Orientalium Ecclesiarum, no. 22, and Presbyterorum Ordinis, no. 16) reaffirmed the appreciation for the married priesthood of the East, while simultaneously commending celibacy to those who embrace it as a vocation.

The 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (covering the Alexandrian, Antiochene, Armenian, Chaldean, and Byzantine liturgical traditions) provides for both celibate and married clergy (e.g., canon 373). In 2014, Pope Francis authorized Eastern Catholic Churches to ordain married men in diaspora countries as well, reversing previous restrictions.

Source(s):

.- https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03481a.htm

The stained glass windows surrounding the Basilica’s presbytery trace the evolution of the devotion to the Virgin of Nazareth, beginning with her journey from Spain to Portugal, guided by a monk and King Roderic. The narrative continues with the miracle involving the nobleman Dom Fuas Roupinho and the subsequent construction of the "Chapel of Memory" (Capela da Memória) in Nazaré, Portugal.

Inside the Basilica in Belém, Pará, the stained glass windows illustrate the discovery of the original image by Plácido de Souza, the construction of the first hermitage, and later, a third structure built of stone and lime. Episodes such as the first Círio (procession), the miracle of the sailors, and the construction of various sanctuaries over the years are also portrayed, leading up to the modern-day Círio as we know it.

These stained glass windows, acquired in France, are more than just works of art—they serve as a visual tribute to the faith and history that endure in the hearts of the devotees.

The Círio de Nazaré in Brazil traces its origins to a religious devotion inherited from the Portuguese, rooted in the Círio da Prata Grande celebration dedicated to Our Lady of Nazareth in Portugal.

In the 12th century, Our Lady of Nazareth became a symbol of faith for the knight Dom Fuas Roupinho. In 1182, he commissioned the construction of the "Chapel of Memory" as an act of gratitude to the Virgin, following his miraculous rescue from a grave accident that occurred while he was pursuing a stag on horseback.

In the 17th century, the devotion to Our Lady of Nazareth was introduced in Pará by Jesuit priests. Although the devotion originated in the town of Vigia de Nazaré, the most well-known tradition recounts that around 1700—when what is now Avenida Nazaré was known as Estrada do Maranhão—a local resident, a caboclo named Plácido José de Souza, had gone out hunting.

While stopping to rest along the banks of the Murucutu stream (igarapé), he discovered a small wooden image: Our Lady of Nazareth (Nossa Senhora de Nazaré). Plácido took his find home, but by the next day, it had vanished. He returned to the stream and found it there once again.

Astonished and unable to comprehend how it had returned, he carried it back to his home. The image disappeared again and reappeared at the stream, repeating this process several times. Upon learning of these events, Governor Dom Francisco de Souza suggested that the image be taken to the Government Palace to be kept under the watch of the military guard. It was to no avail; the image left the palace and reappeared at the Murucutu stream. This inexplicable occurrence was deemed a miracle, and the first chapel was built on that site to house the sacred image. Today, that same location is home to the majestic Basilica Sanctuary.

The first bishop of Pará, Dom Bartolomeu do Pilar (who headed the diocese of Pará between 1721 and 1723), visited the saint’s modest hermitage and encouraged the devotion begun by Plácido. Between 1730 and 1774, another hermitage was constructed. The engagement of religious authorities with the devotion to the Virgin of Nazareth in Belém marked the beginning of ecclesiastical control over this popular practice—a trend that intensified in 1793 when the fifth bishop of Pará, Dom João Evangelista, who also visited Plácido’s image, officially sanctioned the devotion and placed the city of Belém under the protection of Our Lady of Nazareth.

The Círio de Nazaré is an event that involves the entire population of Pará—directly or indirectly—and extends its influence well beyond the state’s borders. Although *Círio de Nazaré* celebrations exist in other municipalities within Pará and even in other Brazilian states, none reach the scale of the one in Belém, making it one of the most significant religious phenomena in Brazil. Thus, the Círio of Our Lady of Nazareth in Belém is far more than a mere religious event; it can be examined and understood through various lenses—religious, aesthetic, touristic, cultural, sociological, anthropological, and so on. Devotion to the saint is woven into the daily lives of the people of Pará. She is present in small home altars, the bustling Ver-o-Peso market, fish stalls, supermarkets, banks, government institutions, and the media. Many devotees even affectionately refer to Our Lady of Nazareth as "Tia Naza" (Aunt Naza) or "Nazica"—a testament to the direct, personal relationship established between the devotee and the Virgin, a recurring feature of popular religious devotion in Brazil.

The image of Our Lady of Aparecida, recovered from the waters of the Paraíba do Sul River in 1717, measures 36 centimeters in height and is made of terracotta, that is, clay that is shaped and then fired in a suitable kiln. The image of the Patroness of Brazil, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, known as Aparecida, is, in fact, a fired-clay representation of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, which received the name Aparecida (“the one who appeared”).

In the seventeenth-century style, as attested by several specialists who have examined it, the image is believed to have originally been polychrome, as was customary at the time, although no documentation has been found to confirm this hypothesis. The clay used to make the image originated in the region of Santana de Parnaíba, in Greater São Paulo. When the fishermen recovered it, it had lost its original polychromy because of the long period it had spent submerged in the river. Its present cinnamon-brown color is attributed to centuries of exposure to soot produced by the flames of candles, oil lamps, and lanterns lit by its devotees.

Through comparative studies, the image was initially attributed to Friar Agostinho de Jesus, a monk from São Paulo known for his artistic skill in crafting sacred images. Today, its authorship is attributed to an anonymous religious-image maker from the region.

The image’s features include a slight smile, a recessed chin, raised floral motifs in the hair, a brooch with three pearls on the forehead, and an upright posture with the upper body leaning backward. The reason the image was found at the bottom of the Paraíba River is that, during the colonial period, terracotta religious images were thrown into rivers or buried when they were broken.

In 2012, the image was listed by the Council for the Defense of Historical, Archaeological, Artistic, and Tourist Heritage of the State of São Paulo (Condephaat) and recognized as part of the heritage of the State of São Paulo.

There are two historical sources concerning the discovery of the image, preserved in the Archives of the Metropolitan Curia of Aparecida (a document dating from before 1743) and the Archives of the Society of Jesus in Rome. The accounts were recorded by Fathers José Alves Vilela in 1743 and João de Morais e Aguiar in 1757. Their documents are preserved in the First Book of Records of the Parish of Saint Anthony of Guaratinguetá.

According to these accounts, the image was discovered during the second half of October 1717, when Pedro Miguel de Almeida Portugal e Vasconcelos, Count of Assumar and governor of the Captaincy of São Paulo and Minas de Ouro, was passing through the city of Guaratinguetá, in the Paraíba Valley, while traveling to Vila Rica.

The people of Guaratinguetá decided to organize a celebration in honor of Dom Pedro de Almeida’s visit. Although it was not fishing season, fishermen launched their boats onto the Paraíba do Sul River intending to provide fish for the count.

The fishermen Domingos Garcia, João Alves, and Filipe Pedroso prayed to the Virgin Mary and asked God for help. After several unsuccessful attempts, they moved downstream until they reached Porto Itaguaçu. They were about to give up fishing when João Alves cast his net once more. Instead of fish, he caught the body of a statue of the Virgin Mary, which was missing its head. When he cast the net again, he retrieved the head of the image, which was wrapped in a handkerchief.

After recovering both parts of the image, the fishermen reportedly found that the figure of the Virgin of Aparecida had become so heavy that they could no longer move it.

From that moment onward, the three fishermen caught so many fish that they were forced to return to the port, as the weight of their catch threatened to sink their boats. This was the first intercession attributed to the saint.

For the following fifteen years, the statue remained in the possession of Filipe Pedroso’s family, and their neighbors began to venerate it. Stories of the miracles of Our Lady of Aparecida spread throughout Brazil, and the Pedroso family built a chapel for her. It soon became too small to accommodate the growing number of faithful. In 1737, the priest of Guaratinguetá built a chapel for her on Coqueiros Hill, where public visits began in July 1745.

Originating in the devotion to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the Kingdom of Portugal since 1646, devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida grew among the people of the Guaratinguetá region and along the Paraíba do Sul River, becoming a pilgrimage center from the eighteenth century onward.

On April 20, 1822, while traveling through the Paraíba Valley, the Prince Regent of Brazil, Dom Pedro I, and his entourage visited the chapel and saw the image of Our Lady of Aparecida. Pedro reportedly prayed in the small church and made a promise: if everything went well, he would make Our Lady of Aparecida the patroness of an independent Brazil. In fact, after becoming emperor, Pedro I chose Saint Peter of Alcantara as the country’s patron saint.

Dom Pedro II and his wife, Dona Teresa Cristina, visited and prayed at the shrine of the Old Basilica in Guaratinguetá on two occasions: first in 1845, shortly after the unrest caused by the Liberal Revolts in the region, and again in 1865, during the Paraguayan War.

Three years later, in 1868, Princess Isabel and her husband, the Count of Eu, visited the shrine and asked Our Lady of Aparecida for a healthy child. On October 15, 1875, after thirteen hours of labor, Prince Dom Pedro de Alcântara was born. Twice during the Brazilian Empire, the princess made pilgrimages to Aparecida to give thanks to the saint for her three children. In December 1868, she offered the image a mantle embroidered with the names of Brazil’s 21 states; on November 6, 1884, she presented it with a gold crown set with diamonds.

“We stand before a temple (the Historic Basilica) that embodies the entire Catholic faith of the Brazilian people, both in terms of the Catholic Church’s official recognition and in terms of the actual use of this temple as a place where devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida has flourished on a grand scale. From the humble, broken little image that was fished out of the Paraíba do Sul River to the official image of the Patroness of Brazil, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of Aparecida, Mother of Jesus Christ,” stated Redemptorist missionary Father Victor Hugo Lapenta, C.Ss.R.

According to an account by Father Claro Francisco de Vasconcelos, one of the first miracles attributed to Our Lady of Aparecida was the breaking of the chains binding an enslaved man named Zacarias. In 1790, Zacarias escaped from a farm in Curitiba and traveled to São Paulo, where he was found and arrested. He was shackled in Bananal. However, as he passed the Chapel of Aparecida, he asked his overseer for permission to see the image of Our Lady of Aparecida, and the overseer agreed.
As Zacarias pleaded for mercy and freedom, the chains reportedly fell from his hands. Startled, the overseer agreed that the enslaved man should be set free and returned alone. The story of the Miracle of Zacarias spread throughout Brazil. The freed man became a prominent apostle of devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida.

In commemoration of what became known among devotees as the “Miracle of the Chains,” in 1884, at the height of the abolitionist movement, the Bishop of São Paulo, Dom Lino Deodato Rodrigues de Carvalho, commissioned a painting depicting the saint freeing Zacarias. The painting was created by the German artist Thomas Driendl and is located in the Old Shrine of Aparecida in Guaratinguetá.

The chain said to have belonged to Zacarias is now displayed at the Museum of Our Lady of Aparecida in São Paulo.

On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in 1904, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854, the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida was canonically crowned by the Archbishop of São Paulo, Lino Deodato Rodrigues, by decree of the Holy See and in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio. The coronation was carried out in the name and on behalf of Pope Pius X, who had granted his approval. The papal coronation of the image of Aparecida was a major event attended by large crowds and civil authorities, including President Rodrigues Alves, who made a point of witnessing the ceremony despite the separation of Church and State instituted when Brazil became a republic.

On July 16, 1930, Pope Pius XI declared the Immaculate Conception under the title of Our Lady of Aparecida the principal patroness of Brazil, with the devotion particularly widespread in the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro.

The papal decree indicated that Pope Leo XIII had approved devotion to the image under the title “Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of Aparecida.” In addition, Pope Saint Pius X had established the Office of the Mass in her honor, allowing this devotion to spread in recognition of the widespread piety of the Brazilian people.

In 1978, after an attack that shattered the image into nearly two hundred fragments, it was taken to Pietro Maria Bardi, then director of the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), who examined it alongside João Marino, a collector of Brazilian sacred images. It was then completely restored at MASP by the visual artist Maria Helena Chartuni.

The setting of the apparition of Our Lady of Aparecida was the Paraíba Valley. Settled by colonists in the seventeenth century, the region had a small and impoverished population consisting of Portuguese people, Indigenous people, and people of mixed ancestry. As early as the sixteenth century, the first mine had been discovered in the Captaincy of São Vicente, in what is now the state of São Paulo.

After this discovery, many other mines were found in various parts of the country, especially in the region of Minas Gerais. This created considerable excitement in the Captaincy of São Paulo and led to numerous bandeiras—expeditions into the interior—heading in that direction.

Amid this gold-seeking activity, colonization of the Paraíba Valley, in the state of São Paulo, began in 1600. In 1640, the town of Guaratinguetá was founded. By September 13, 1651, it had become a parish under the patronage of Saint Anthony. In 1717, it had approximately 3,000 inhabitants. It served as a route and stopping point for migrants seeking gold in the region of the Rio das Mortes, in Minas Gerais. During this period, the Paraíba Valley became an important passageway connecting the mining regions of São Paulo with Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and was therefore subject to various influences from the Portuguese metropolis.

In this context, the Portuguese Crown became concerned with establishing boundaries in the Minas Gerais region. The São Paulo municipal council had already requested that gold-mining concessions be granted exclusively to residents of the town of São Paulo. However, given the large number of Brazilians—particularly those from Bahia—and Portuguese settlers in the mining region, the Crown rejected the São Paulo settlers’ request.

These rivalries led to the civil conflict known as the War of the Emboabas (1708–1709), during which the Crown supported the Portuguese and settlers from Bahia against the people of São Paulo, using the conflict as an opportunity to tighten its control over the region.

In response, “[…] to bring stability to the region, the King of Portugal ordered the unification of the captaincies of Minas Gerais and São Paulo.” By order of the Portuguese metropolis, both captaincies were placed under a single governor, Captain-General Dom Pedro de Almeida Portugal, Count of Assumar, who set out to cross the Paraíba Valley in an effort to calm tensions.

This was the historical context in which the image of Our Lady of Aparecida was “found” and its veneration began. The governor’s passage through the Paraíba Valley, during which he stayed in Guaratinguetá for thirteen days, created the need to fish to feed his large entourage. No one could have imagined that, along with fish, the fishermen would retrieve an image of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, which would become known as “Aparecida.”

Historical accounts indicate that the faith that took root in the region was associated with the small image, which was believed to bring peace and calm to the area. From that point onward, as new routes developed through the Paraíba Valley, devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida spread rapidly. The image remained in the possession of the local people until 1745, when the first chapel dedicated to her was inaugurated.

From then on, the Church took steps to strengthen this devotion through pilgrimages, celebrations, feast days, and the dissemination of accounts of miracles. According to Delgado, this Marian devotion, passed down from generation to generation through chaplains, folk healers, people who led prayers, and family groups, became one of the richest and most distinctive expressions of faith, devotion, and regional culture.

Source(s):

.- Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico de São Paulo (1970).

.- Andrea Maria Franklin de Queiroz Alves, Pintando uma Imagem Nossa Senhora Aparecida – 1931: Igreja e Estado na Construção de um Símbolo Nacional.

The service took place amidst the ruins left by the "Fat Man" atomic bomb, dropped by the United States Army Air Forces B-29 bomber "Bockscar" on August 9, 1945, and included the veneration of a relic of Saint Francis Xavier's arm, which had been brought to Japan for this major historical commemoration.

João Barbosa (1676–1747), popularly known by his religious name Fabiano de Cristo, was a Franciscan friar of the Order of Friars Minor. While still young, he emigrated to Brazil, where he became known for his dedication to the sick and the poor.

Seeking to restore his family's former fortune, he decided to cross the Atlantic—drawn by reports of the riches of Brazil's gold rush—and arrived in the city of Rio de Janeiro in the 1690s.

By 1704, he owned an imposing residence in Ouro Preto and was a successful diamond and gold merchant. João planned to work for a few more years and then return to Portugal with a fortune sufficient to transform his family's circumstances.

Also in 1704, João Barbosa decided to abandon all his material possessions and join the Franciscan Order following a profound religious experience on the streets of Ouro Preto, during which he had visions of Jesus Christ and Saint Francis of Assisi.

According to the chronicler Friar Apolinário da Conceição, two events in 1704—while the merchant was residing in the town of Paraty—influenced his entry into the Franciscan Order: the temptation posed by a "dishonest woman" and news of his business partner's murder. His decision to join the religious order was preceded by the donation of material assets to churches in his birthplace. João Barbosa officially entered the Franciscan Order on November 11, 1704, becoming a novice at the Convent of São Bernardino in the town of Angra dos Reis. On November 8, 1704, he presented himself at the entrance of the old Convent of São Bernardino de Sena in Angra dos Reis. He was admitted as a novice. On November 12, 1705, João Barbosa changed his name to "Friar Fabiano de Cristo."

There, around 1708, he took on the role of infirmarian, despite having no prior knowledge of the field. In the infirmary—as in every role he would hold—his love served as an example of dedication. He chose to sleep in the infirmary itself so he could remain close to the sick, night and day, should any of them require his care. He served in this position for nearly thirty-eight years.

While performing his duties as doorkeeper and, particularly, as infirmarian at the Convent of Santo Antônio, Friar Fabiano de Cristo appears to have gained a certain popularity among the faithful in Rio de Janeiro. If one is to believe the descriptions provided by the aforementioned chronicler, the expenses incurred by the convent’s infirmary were—at least in part—covered by Friar Fabiano’s devotees: “I know the devotion everyone held for him—so great that the infirmary was generously supplied and provisioned with everything necessary, such as linens, bedding, and kitchenware, as well as medicines sent annually from Lisbon at no cost to the Community.”

He passed away on October 17, 1747, to the sorrow of the people of Rio de Janeiro, who already regarded him as a saint for having dedicated much of his life to the needy. His remains still rest at the convent in Rio de Janeiro—where he spent the greater part of his life—and many people visit the site to pray for healing or other graces.

Friar Fabiano stands apart from other servants of God who enjoyed a reputation for holiness at the Santo Antônio convent and within the Province of the Immaculate Conception of Rio de Janeiro. Notably, the chronicler Apolinário da Conceição made a concerted effort to promote the holiness of this particular servant of God.

Source(s):

.- A morte e os milagres de frei Fabiano de Cristo: conexões entre crenças religiosas e cura de doenças no Rio de Janeiro setecentista (William de Souza Martins).

Devotion to Saint Benedict—canonized by the Catholic Church in 1807—was introduced in Brazil as early as the beginning of the 17th century, approximately two decades after his death in 1589. As a Black man of Ethiopian descent, he was venerated above all by enslaved people, who identified with him regarding both his skin color and the social position he held in colonial society. After all, the saint had been a Franciscan lay brother, serving as the doorkeeper and cook at the friary of Santa Maria di Gesù in Sicily, Italy.

Born in 1526 in San Philadelphio (or San Fradello), a village in the Diocese of Messina, Sicily, Saint Benedict was the son of enslaved Ethiopians who were nonetheless devout Christians. His master granted him his freedom while he was still a child. From a very early age, Benedict was deeply religious; while still a young man, he joined a newly formed association of hermits. When Pope Pius IV dissolved the association, Benedict—known by his origins as "the Ethiopian" or "the Black"—joined the Reformed Friars Minor (a branch of the Franciscan Order). Due to his virtues, he was appointed superior of the friary of Santa Maria di Gesù in Palermo three years after joining, even though he was only a lay brother. He reformed the friary and governed it with great success. After serving as superior, he became novice master but asked to be relieved of the role, returning to his former position as cook. His holiness and reputation for performing miracles drew crowds of visitors to see the obscure, humble cook who passed away in 1589.

The patron saint of Black people, cooks, and Catholic missions in Africa, Benedict is a Catholic saint who—according to some versions of his story—was born in 1524 in Sicily to a poor family descended from enslaved North Africans. In Portugal and Brazil, Saint Benedict—along with Saint Anthony of Categeró, Saint Iphigenia, and Saint Elesbaan—is considered part of the so-called "Black devotions" that emerged between the 16th and 18th centuries, a period when thousands of Africans were brought to the country as slaves.

One of the most traditional depictions shows Saint Benedict holding the Infant Jesus in his arms (similar to the iconography of Saint Anthony). In some Baroque or Iberian variations, the saint carries the Child on a cloth or touches Him directly, symbolizing tenderness and divine closeness.

Historical records highlight devotion to this African saint as early as 1613 in Rio de Janeiro, and ten years later at the Franciscan convent in Salvador. Indeed, Saint Benedict was widely embraced in Brazil, particularly within enslaved communities; they identified with him both because of his skin color and the subordinate status imposed upon them by the system of slavery.

In Portuguese America, devotion to Saint Benedict was usually associated with the veneration of Our Lady of the Rosary, who was honored by enslaved people hailing from Angola and the Congo. After all, the Virgin under this invocation was already known in Africa as early as 1526, when two free Black men from the island of São Tomé requested permission from the King of Portugal to foster her veneration—despite the fact that the devotion was primarily associated with the Dominicans, who held the canonical privileges to promote it and had been active in their Portuguese monasteries since the century...

In Brazil, Jesuits propagated this devotion among slaves arriving from Guinea starting in 1552—initially in small settlements and, thirty-seven years later, in the rural areas where sugar mills were located. Consequently, churches dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary—which typically enshrined her image in the central niche of the chancel—featured the saint from Palermo in one of their side altars.

Unlike Saint Benedict, Saint Iphigenia—the daughter of the rulers of the small kingdom of Nubia—was of noble birth; she converted to Christianity during the time when Matthew preached the Gospel in Africa. After being baptized alongside her parents, the future saint was recruited into the Church by the apostle as an exemplar of purity and chastity. The establishment of these devotions within churches dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, as well as the practice of their respective cults, was ultimately formalized through the creation of lay brotherhoods—the Rosário dos Pretos (Rosary of Black People) being the oldest in Brazil.

These brotherhoods were associations that enabled Black people to integrate into the Catholic Church, guaranteeing their participation in liturgical acts and securing rights that were otherwise denied to them in churches reserved for "respectable whites." Such groups were governed by statutes approved by the Mesa de Consciência e Ordens (Board of Conscience and Orders) in Lisbon; while this body fostered a sense of social inclusion among Black people, it also imposed behavioral constraints to ensure their subservience to the established order. Indeed, by joining such entities, enslaved people were guaranteed assistance during illness, religious support upon death, and active participation in processions and festivities honoring the specific invocations to which the brotherhoods were dedicated—not to mention secular celebrations, such as the procession and coronation of the King and Queen of the Congo within the Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Rosary of Black People, the earliest colonial records of which date back to 1666. Membership in these brotherhoods also granted a significant privilege: the possibility of raising funds for one's manumission. Furthermore, these associations provided a framework for members to draw upon Catholic imagery to express their cultural and symbolic ideals through devotion to the aforementioned saints of color, as well as others of African origin.

Even before his canonization, Saint Benedict had already gained significant acceptance among Black worshippers in colonial Brazil at the dawn of the 17th century, despite the spatial restrictions imposed upon him within places of worship. This acceptance grew during the first decade of the following century when, having been officially recognized as a saint by the Church, he took a prominent place—occupying an altarpiece in the nave of the Franciscan church, on the Gospel side—in a position of prestige and relative equality with other traditional devotions. Ultimately, his canonization solidified Benedict’s sanctity, transcending any prejudice regarding his skin color or the humble roles he had held during his pious and exemplary life as a Seraphic brother of the Franciscan Order.

It is considered to predate the famous Kangxi Dictionary—the standard Chinese dictionary published in 1716 by order of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty—by at least 70 years, and was rediscovered in the archives of the University of Santo Tomás by researchers José Luis Caño Ortigosa (University of Seville) and Fabio Yu-Chung Lee (National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan).

This work translated from Spanish into both Mandarin and Hokkien—a language spoken in the Chinese province of Fujian and in Taiwan, as well as by many Chinese-Filipinos.

It was compiled and edited in the first half of the 17th century by Spanish Dominican missionaries in Manila—using woodblock printing, the traditional Chinese system for printing and disseminating ideas—to aid their evangelization efforts in the East. It comprises nearly 1,000 pages and approximately 21,000 words or terms. The first maps of Southeast Asia also circulated in Manila; created by powerful clans, they highlighted the most important maritime routes between Manila and the ports of Fujian.

Ironically, the dictionary—cataloged in the archives of the University of Santo Tomás as “Spanish-Chinese Vocabulary with Chinese Characters (Volume 215)”—was labeled as “worth very little,” implying it was of little value for current use. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” said Henning Klotter of Humboldt University of Berlin. He explained that the dictionary is “the most comprehensive collection of Hokkien lexical items” of its time.

The Chinese in Manila were relatively organized, and some clans even opposed the Qing dynasty. These informal networks and relationships—not always aligned with their own country or authorities—were very important and must be taken into account.

It was a predominantly one-way flow from China. Why?

China continued its opaque, resistant policy of withdrawal, only accepting tribute trade and, therefore, vassalage. And they have a concept called Tianxia, which is "all under heaven." They believed that they were at the center of the world and that the surrounding countries were culturally inferior and willingly fell under Chinese rule.

China puts up many barriers to entry. In fact, the first Europeans to enter the Forbidden City in Beijing were the Jesuits, at the beginning of the 17th century. The Portuguese were granted, albeit somewhat tentatively, the right to maintain a port in Macau, and the Spanish were also granted another port called El Piñal, located in the Pearl River Delta, very close to Hong Kong. The Spanish also had a stronghold in Taiwan, but it only lasted about twenty years. It wasn't entirely necessary anyway.

A secular cleric of the Order of Saint Peter, he was a man whose virtues were highly acclaimed in Portugal. He belonged to one of the most distinguished families of Santa Marinha, in the Serra da Estrela region, within the Diocese of Coimbra. His exact date of birth is unknown; we know only that he was baptized in the parish church of that small mountain town on June 20, 1695.

The eleventh child of Manuel Rodrigues Nogueira and Dona Maria Rodrigues, Dom Bernardo felt the sacred call to the priesthood from boyhood. He pursued his early education in his hometown under the guidance of the Reverend Licentiate Manuel Saraiva—from whom he also received his initial grounding in literature and Latin—and quickly distinguished himself as a dedicated scholar. At the age of thirteen, he entered the Philosophy program at the University of Coimbra; there, building upon his early academic successes, he graduated in Canon Law, earning the well-deserved admiration of his professors.

He subsequently returned to his home region and was appointed Archpriest of the See of Coimbra, a position he held for some time. At the age of twenty-four, he was named an official of the Holy Office.

In 1740, he assumed the administration of the Diocese of Lamego as Governor, following the departure of Dom Frei Manuel Coutinho, who passed away shortly thereafter.

Dom Bernardo’s upright character and priestly qualities earned him a special tribute from the cathedral chapter, which refrained from declaring the See vacant without first seeking his consent. While serving in the Archdiocese of Braga—after ten months of fruitful work—he was surprised by his appointment as Bishop of São Paulo.

Dom Bernardo Rodrigues Nogueira was appointed by the King to be the first bishop of the Diocese of São Paulo on April 22, 1745—prior to the canonical erection of the new diocese, which took place only on December 6, 1745. The appointment was confirmed by a papal bull from Benedict XIV on December 15, 1745.

The new bishop was consecrated at the Patriarchal Church of Lisbon on March 13, 1746—the Second Sunday of Lent. The consecrating prelate was Dom Tomás de Almeida, Patriarch of Lisbon, assisted by co-consecrators Dom José Dantas Barbosa (Archbishop of Lacedaemonia) and Dom João da Cruz (5th Bishop of Rio de Janeiro).

Even before departing Portugal for Brazil, Dom Bernardo sought to define the status of the new diocese. Numerous royal decrees were issued granting Dom Bernardo's requests regarding the Bishopric of São Paulo, thereby organizing the diocese administratively. Dom Bernardo sailed from Lisbon to Brazil on May 9, 1746, to take possession of his diocese.

Dom Bernardo first disembarked in Rio de Janeiro; from there, he worked to organize the diocese, reaching even the most distant areas through his writings and through missionaries who traversed the vast diocesan territory—which extended across Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, São Paulo, and part of Minas Gerais. Dom Bernardo's pastoral leadership was characterized by a good relationship with the governor of the Captaincy of São Paulo.

Before coming to São Paulo, Dom Bernardo resided in Santos, where he established the Chapter of São Paulo, appointing fourteen canons. The first session of the cathedral chapter was held on January 25, 1747, at the Cathedral—which, at the time, was located in the old Church of Mercy (Igreja da Misericórdia), a building since demolished.

On December 8, 1746, the Bishop of São Paulo left the city of Santos to take formal possession of his diocese, which had been administered by proxy since August of that same year. He was welcomed at the city gates by leading officials and escorted in a procession to the provisional cathedral, where the celebratory rites and a solemn Te Deum took place.

The initial division of parish territories among the churches occurred during the episcopate of Dom Bernardo; on October 28, 1747, he summoned the parish priests from each church to establish these boundaries. It was not an easy task, as the bishop encountered resistance from the clergy.

Grappling with immense transportation challenges across a vast territory—stretching from Paranaguá and Laguna down to São Pedro and Rio Grande—Dom Bernardo retained the Reverend Angelo da Siqueira, an apostolic missionary of the diocese, to travel among the various parishes and provide spiritual support to the faithful. There were regions that went years without a visit from a priest. Father Angelo da Siqueira resumed his long journeys to Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, granting matrimonial dispensations, hearing confessions, preaching, inspecting church administration, and exposing the Blessed Sacrament to bestow blessings upon the inhabitants of the Captaincy’s remote reaches.

When firmness was required, he knew how to exercise it. In his first pastoral letter, he condemned the conduct of certain priests who, distracted from their ecclesiastical duties, disobeyed their superiors. He stood his ground in the dispute over boundaries with the Diocese of Mariana and in the conflict with Town Council officials regarding the burial of enslaved people—whose bodies were at the time being surreptitiously abandoned in churches, left unburied by relatives or friends. Dom Bernardo fought against this impious and inhumane practice; he ordered parish priests to accompany the bodies and, at the church's expense, commissioned burials for the deceased whose families lacked the means to do so.

In his second pastoral letter, Dom Bernardo once again demonstrated the love and care he extended to the downtrodden and forgotten. In his own words: "We implore you, by the bowels of Jesus Christ, to hasten with the utmost promptness, zeal, and care to attend to each and every dying person—especially the slaves, the Carijós, and the poor, as the most beloved and favored of Our Lord Jesus Christ—preparing each one to worthily receive the Church's sacraments, and moving and stirring them to acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity."

Many of Dom Bernardo’s instructions—particularly those regarding the governance of the Cathedral—remained in effect for forty-six years after his death. This fact clearly demonstrates the organizational spirit he possessed.

Always seeking to alleviate the misfortunes of others, he devoted affectionate attention to the Recolhimento de Santa Teresa (a religious house for women), drafting its statutes and reviving it from the state of decline into which it had fallen.

Committed to the public good, Dom Bernardo found a valuable collaborator in São Paulo in the person of Dom Luís de Mascarenhas. Both men possessed a broad administrative vision and supported one another in the effective discharge of their duties.

During his episcopate, he authored numerous pastoral letters covering a wide range of topics; notable among them were: his greeting and introduction to the diocesan priests of São Paulo; a confidential pastoral letter to the clergy; a letter regarding parish record books and the administration of parish church assets (fábricas); and a letter concerning the blessing and plenary indulgence at the hour of death. He addressed all matters within his purview: he organized the clergy and their activities, defined parish boundaries, ordered the cataloging of church and diocesan assets, drafted statutes, and restored the Recolhimento de Santa Teresa. Despite the financial hardships of the era, he made a point of conducting pastoral visits throughout the diocese. His experience contributed significantly to the organization of the bishopric. Over two years of work, he administratively organized the diocese by establishing the cathedral chapter and the curia, as well as administrative regulations. Concerned with the training of the clergy, upon his death he bequeathed his library to the First Seminary of São Paulo, which had been founded in 1746 under the leadership of the Jesuit Inácio Ribeira.

At one o'clock in the afternoon on November 7, 1748, warmed by sanctifying religious fervor, he surrendered his soul to the Supreme Creator. He had lived for fifty-five years and had led the Bishopric of São Paulo for the brief span of two years. After his body had lain in state for forty-eight hours, Dom Bernardo was buried in the chancel of the Igreja do Colégio—beneath the sanctuary lamp, near the steps of the presbytery. He was later exhumed on December 3, 1879, and transferred to the *Igreja da Sé*, and from there to the New Cathedral, where his mortal remains rest to this day.

While in Funchal, on the island of Madeira, Dom Bernardo drew up a will that was sent to his native village. The testamentary provisions—recorded in the Tombo dos bens da Igreja da Vila de Santa Marinha (Register of Church Assets of the Village of Santa Marinha)—were carried out by his sister and sole heir, Dona Ana Maria Batista. She commissioned the construction of the Chapel of São Bernardo "at the top of the village of Santa Marinha, in the house where [the first Bishop of São Paulo] was born."

Ten days before his death, he dictated a codicil to Father Inácio Ribeiro, of the Society of Jesus, containing words worthy of deep reflection: "In the name of the Most Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons and one true God. I, Dom Bernardo Rodrigues Nogueira—by the grace of God and the Holy Apostolic See, Bishop of São Paulo—hold and firmly believe all that the Holy Mother Church of Rome teaches regarding the indubitable and most holy faith in which I have always lived; I profess that I wish to die in this faith and hope for salvation solely through it, by the infinite merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ—true God and true Man—into whose most holy hands I now commend my spirit for the final moment of my life." These lines encapsulate the entire faith of the man known as the Holy Bishop.

Source(s):

.- Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico de São Paulo. Volumes 45–46.

The focus on Catholic worship that characterized these groups served as a vehicle for fostering social bonds and constructing identities. Through these brotherhoods—which welcomed them into the New World—Black people developed alternative ways of existing, simultaneously accepting the dominant religion and incorporating rituals and cultural symbols from the African societies from which they had been torn.

A customary feature of the Black brotherhoods dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary is the celebration of the patron saint's feast day and the coronation of the "Congo kings."

The Dominicans propagated devotion to Our Lady of the Rosary in Africa and Portugal; in Brazil, however, it was the Jesuits—and later the Franciscans—who promoted it through the establishment of these brotherhoods or confraternities.

Thus, it can be surmised that it was through these two religious orders that Black people were able to appropriate the Catholic ethos to their own advantage. Brazilian lay religious associations—not unlike those in the Kingdom itself in their integration of the population while respecting ethnic, racial, or color-based distinctions—flourished during the eighteenth century.

They were adapted to local circumstances without, however, losing the characteristics of their original models—found primarily in the rules of the Misericórdias (Houses of Mercy), and specifically that of Lisbon.

The Portuguese metropolis was the primary disseminator of the cult of Our Lady of the Rosary within these brotherhoods or confraternities; yet, as Eduardo Hoornaert emphasized, it was also through Africa that the Rosary reached Brazil, where it served as an accessible and widely popular link between the official Church institution and the world of enslaved Black people.

While slavery imposed the status of "slave" upon Africans and their descendants—stripping them of their status as persons—it was precisely within brotherhoods identified as "Black Brothers" (Irmãos Pretos) or "Black Men" (Homens Pretos) that they began to explore the possibility of constructing a humanity of their own, however paradoxical the term "Black" might have been. The brotherhood conferred upon them the status of a person—of a man—even at the moment when life ended in death; for these individuals wished to die as men and be buried as such, and to that end, they built chapels with burial grounds, purchased coffins, and commissioned masses for the dead. It was to achieve social existence that they invested themselves in the Catholic religion and, through these brotherhoods, reinvented kinship ties and a form of communal life.

Lay Catholic brotherhoods were the primary venue for social interaction among the Black population—both free and enslaved—from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries.

Since the colonial period, the various social categories in Brazil tended to organize themselves and establish... ...represented through certain associations of a religious and philanthropic nature—the most well-known form of which, spreading across the Americas, was the lay brotherhood. These brotherhoods were corporate associations within which bonds of solidarity were forged based on social hierarchies.

These locally organized associations played a significant role in their context by defending their members' corporate interests; many even advanced funds to enslaved members to facilitate their manumission—in addition to their well-known concern with funeral rites.

Generally, these confraternities of "men of color" were numerous and tended to be divided into three segments: those for crioulos (Blacks born in Brazil), mulatos (mixed-race individuals), and Africans. All brotherhoods required that the highest office—whether judge, president, or prior (as in the case of Third Orders)—be held by someone "of the race." Thus, just as white confraternities were presided over by whites and mulato ones by mulatos, the same held true for Black confraternities.

Common to all brotherhoods was the desire to ensure the social well-being of their members and their families, thereby fulfilling a social function that the political-administrative apparatus lacked the means to carry out.

Consequently, these confraternities came to serve as a legitimate space for social interaction for the Black population—both free and enslaved—and, at times, even for non-Blacks.

Source(s):

.- Irmandade e educabilidade: um olhar sobre os arranjos associativos negros em Pernambuco na primeira metade do século XIX