Belchior Carneiro Leitão, SJ, often known as Melchior Carneiro (1516 – 19 August 1583) was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary bishop. He was one of the first Jesuit bishops.
He entered the Society of Jesus on 25 April 1543 and was appointed in 1551 the first rector of the College of Évora, and shortly after transferred to the rectorship of the College of Lisbon. When, in 1553, Simão Rodrigues, the first provincial of Portugal, was summoned to Rome to answer charges made against his administration, the visitor, Nadal, assigned him Carneiro as a companion.
In the meantime King John III of Portugal, a friend and patron of the Jesuits, had written both to Pope Julius III and to Ignatius Loyola, requesting the appointment of a Jesuit as Patriarch of Ethiopia. On 23 January 1555 the Pope chose João Nunes Barreto, giving him at the same time two coadjutors with the right of succession, Andrés de Oviedo, titular bishop of Hieropolis, and Carneiro, titular bishop of Nicaea. Barreto and Oviedo were consecrated 5 May 1555 in Lisbon, and were the first Jesuits to be raised to the episcopal dignity. The pope had given them an order of obedience to accept consecration, and Loyola acquiesced, considering that the dignity carried with it hardship and suffering rather than honour.
Unable to enter his missionary field of Ethiopia, Carneiro set out for Portuguese India and landed at Goa. Not having been consecrated before leaving Portugal, he was finally ordained bishop 15 December 1560 by Barreto. Not able to fulfil his original assignment, he received the brief Ex Litteris carissimis from Pope Pius V in 1566 appointing him apostolic administrator for the Portuguese missions in Japan and China. He continued to labour on the Malabar coast until 1567, when he was invited to come to Macau where the Jesuits had established a mission. He arrived there in June 1568, thereby becoming the first consecrated bishop in the region of China and Japan. His work there was rewarded when the Diocese of Macau was established in 1576 by Pope Gregory XIII.
The first papal nominee to be Bishop of Macau in 1576 was not Carneiro, but rather Diogo Nunes de Figueira, who declined the appointment and never travelled to Macau. The second nominee in 1578 was Leonardo Fernandes de Sá, who did not arrive in Macau until 1581. As a result, Carneiro served as administrator of the new diocese from 1576 to 1581. He became the nominal Patriarch of Ethiopia in 1577 upon the death of Oviedo, though he was never able to travel there. After the arrival of Sá, Carneiro retired to the home of the Society of Jesus at Macau, where he died in 1583.
Worksedit
Carneiro wrote some letters of historical interest, one from Mozambique, one from Goa, and two from Macau. They are printed in various collections.
Referencesedit
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Melchior Carneiro". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. The entry cites:
Mon. Hist. Soc. Jesu. (Madrid, 1894–96);
Vita Ignatii Loyolæ, I-IV, passim; Literæ Quadrimestres, I-IV, passim;
Sommervogel, Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus, II, s.v.
(in Latin) Konrad Eubel (1923). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi, vol. 3. Librariae Regensbergianae, Münster. ISBN978-88-7026-053-3.
(in Spanish) Ángel Santos Hernández (2001). Jesuitas y obispados: Los jesuitas obispos misioneros y los obispos jesuitas de la extinción, vol. 2. Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid. ISBN84-89708-99-1.
melchior, carneiro, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, 2014, learn, when, remov. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Belchior Carneiro Leitao SJ often known as Melchior Carneiro 1516 19 August 1583 was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary bishop He was one of the first Jesuit bishops His Excellency The Most ReverendBelchior Carneiro LeitaoSJBorn1516Coimbra Kingdom of PortugalDied19 August 1583 1583 08 19 aged 66 67 Portuguese MacauOccupation s Jesuit missionary bishop Contents 1 Life 2 Works 3 References 4 External linksLife editHe entered the Society of Jesus on 25 April 1543 and was appointed in 1551 the first rector of the College of Evora and shortly after transferred to the rectorship of the College of Lisbon When in 1553 Simao Rodrigues the first provincial of Portugal was summoned to Rome to answer charges made against his administration the visitor Nadal assigned him Carneiro as a companion In the meantime King John III of Portugal a friend and patron of the Jesuits had written both to Pope Julius III and to Ignatius Loyola requesting the appointment of a Jesuit as Patriarch of Ethiopia On 23 January 1555 the Pope chose Joao Nunes Barreto giving him at the same time two coadjutors with the right of succession Andres de Oviedo titular bishop of Hieropolis and Carneiro titular bishop of Nicaea Barreto and Oviedo were consecrated 5 May 1555 in Lisbon and were the first Jesuits to be raised to the episcopal dignity The pope had given them an order of obedience to accept consecration and Loyola acquiesced considering that the dignity carried with it hardship and suffering rather than honour nbsp Bust of Belchior Carneiro in MacauUnable to enter his missionary field of Ethiopia Carneiro set out for Portuguese India and landed at Goa Not having been consecrated before leaving Portugal he was finally ordained bishop 15 December 1560 by Barreto Not able to fulfil his original assignment he received the brief Ex Litteris carissimis from Pope Pius V in 1566 appointing him apostolic administrator for the Portuguese missions in Japan and China He continued to labour on the Malabar coast until 1567 when he was invited to come to Macau where the Jesuits had established a mission He arrived there in June 1568 thereby becoming the first consecrated bishop in the region of China and Japan His work there was rewarded when the Diocese of Macau was established in 1576 by Pope Gregory XIII The first papal nominee to be Bishop of Macau in 1576 was not Carneiro but rather Diogo Nunes de Figueira who declined the appointment and never travelled to Macau The second nominee in 1578 was Leonardo Fernandes de Sa who did not arrive in Macau until 1581 As a result Carneiro served as administrator of the new diocese from 1576 to 1581 He became the nominal Patriarch of Ethiopia in 1577 upon the death of Oviedo though he was never able to travel there After the arrival of Sa Carneiro retired to the home of the Society of Jesus at Macau where he died in 1583 Works editCarneiro wrote some letters of historical interest one from Mozambique one from Goa and two from Macau They are printed in various collections References edit nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Herbermann Charles ed 1913 Melchior Carneiro Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company The entry cites Mon Hist Soc Jesu Madrid 1894 96 Vita Ignatii Loyolae I IV passim Literae Quadrimestres I IV passim Sommervogel Bibliotheque de la Compagnie de Jesus II s v in Latin Konrad Eubel 1923 Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi vol 3 Librariae Regensbergianae Munster ISBN 978 88 7026 053 3 in Spanish Angel Santos Hernandez 2001 Jesuitas y obispados Los jesuitas obispos misioneros y los obispos jesuitas de la extincion vol 2 Universidad Pontificia Comillas Madrid ISBN 84 89708 99 1 External links editStamps of MacauPreceded byDiego Nunez de Figueroa Bishop Elect Administrator of Macau1576 1581 Succeeded byLeonardo Fernandes de SaPreceded byAndres de Oviedo Patriarch of Ethiopia1577 1581 Succeeded byAfonso Mendes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Melchior Carneiro amp oldid 1200500951, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
