Manoel da Nóbrega

Manoel da Nóbrega (variant Manuel da Nóbrega) was a Portuguese Jesuit priest and first Provincial of the Society of Jesus in colonial Brazil. Together with José de Anchieta, he was very influential in the early History of Brazil, having participated in the founding of several cities, such as Recife, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and many Jesuit Colleges and seminars.

Missionary in Brazil

In 1549, he joined the naval fleet of the first Portuguese Governor-General Tomé de Souza (1502-1579), following a request by King D. João III to the Society of Jesus, in order to start the missionary work of converting the Amerindians (who were heathen in the eyes of the Catholic Church); of building churches and religious seminars, and of educating the colonists (who were, in the beginning, mostly degredados, or common criminals, political and religious prisoners expelled from Portugal as a sentence for their crimes).

Related Topics:
Governor-General - Tomé de Souza - D. João III - Society of Jesus - Missionary - Amerindians - Heathen - Catholic Church - Colonists

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Nóbrega arrived in in the captaincy of Bahia on March 29, 1549, accompanied by five other Jesuits. The Governor-General first act was to found the colonial capital city of Salvador (The Savior, in Portuguese) and to celebrate its first mass on 1549.

Related Topics:
Captaincy - Bahia - March 29 - 1549 - Salvador - Portuguese - Mass

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Nóbrega and his colleagues tried to fulfill their mission but faced many difficulties, because the colonists mistreated and tried to enslave the Indians. He soon was fiercely engaged in the defense of the Indians, a posture which lead to serious clashes with inhabitants and authorities of the new colony, alike, including the first Governor-General and the one who suceeded him, Duarte da Costa.

Related Topics:
Enslave - Duarte da Costa

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In order to gain authority in his fight against the colonists, Nóbrega asks the King to establish an episcopacy in Brazil. This was granted on February 25th, 1551, and the first Bishop of Brazil, D. Pero Fernandes Sardinha took office on June 22nd 1552, By then, Nóbrega, an efficient entrepreneur, had already created the Jesuit College of Salvador. Nóbrega was then nominated the first Provincial of the Society of Jesus in the New World, a post which he held until 1559. Unfortunately, Don Sardinha was killed and eaten by hostile Indians after a shipwreck, changing Nóbrega's mind in relation to the Indian mission.

Related Topics:
Episcopacy - February 25th - 1551 - Pero Fernandes Sardinha - June 22nd - 1552 - Provincial - New World - Shipwreck

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Sensing the difficulties of converting adult Indians to Christianity, Nóbrega determined that the Jesuit's efforts should concentrate on the teaching of children, which were more pliable, and they started to create elementary schools for teaching Portuguese and Latin, basic literacy and religion. The Jesuits discovered that singing was a very effective way of winning the attention of the souls of their new bethren, and so Nóbrega was one of the pioneers in using music in education. To help in the evangelization of children, Nóbrega had the idea of bringing in 1550 seven orphan children to Brazil and making them learn Tupi-guarani, the language of the Indians, so that they would be bilingual and act as translators. These children would often go with the Jesuits on foot to faraway places and were protected and cherished by the Indians. Several of them became Jesuit priests, too.

Related Topics:
Elementary school - Latin - Literacy - Religion - Singing - Music - Evangelization - Orphan - Tupi-guarani - Translator

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In 1552, Nóbrega accompanied again Tomé de Sousa to the captaincy of São Vicente, in the present-day Southern state of São Paulo. There, he was joined by another group of Jesuits, who had arrived with José de Anchieta, then a young novice, who travelled with Mem de Sá, the third Governor-General sent by the Crown. Nóbrega determined as the new mission of this small band of missionaries to found villages (aldeamento) in the high plateau just above the coastline, or order to better pursue their work of catechesis and education of the Indians. Thus, in January 25th, 1554, Nóbrega and Anchieta celebrated the first mass in the new and modest Jesuit College of São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga, in honor of Saint Paul's day of conversion to Christianity. Five centuries later, this was to become São Paulo, of the largest metropolis in the world, with 12 million inhabitants.

Related Topics:
São Vicente - São Paulo - José de Anchieta - Mem de Sá - Plateau - January 25th - 1554 - São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga - Saint Paul - São Paulo

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