Father José de Anchieta, missionary of the Company of Jesus , also known as the apostle of Brazil , was thus distinguished by the fact of having participated in the beginning of the catechization in Brazilian lands. José de Anchieta was beatified in 1980 and canonized in 2014 .
Biography
José de Anchieta was born on March 19, 1534, in Tenerife, Canary Islands - Spain. Son of João López of Anchieta with Mencia Diaz of Clavijo y Llarena and was a relative of the founder of the Society of Jesus - Ignatius from Loyola .
He studied in Portugal and, due to the bone disease from which he suffered, under medical advice, he was still a novice to Brazil where, through contact with the Indians, he learned the indigenous language and began to communicate and defend them from the Portuguese colonizers.
Mission
With the aim of teaching and catechizing the natives, José de Anchieta participated in the foundation of the college da village from St Paul , which would later become the city from St Paul , with that name because on the day of its foundation, January 25, 1554, the day of the Apostle Saint Paul is celebrated.
José de Anchieta accumulated several functions during his life. In addition to being a Jesuit priest, he was a historian, grammarian, playwright, poet and, thus, deserves a prominent place in Brazilian literature, given the richness and relevance of his works.
Works
Anchieta wrote Letters, Information, Historical Fragments and Sermons published by the Academia Brasileira de Letras in 1933. He also wrote the following records:Self-Represented at the Festa de São Lourenço, Na Vila de Vitória and Na Visitação de Sta. Isabel.
Among his best-known works is the Poem to Virgin , written during the time when he was held hostage by the Indians while peace was being negotiated between the Indians and the Portuguese, and Art from Grammar da Language More Used on Coast from Brazil , grammar on Tupi that was used in the Jesuit mission.
The Poem to the Virgin is composed of more than five thousand verses. José de Anchieta memorized all the verses, written in the sand of the beach of Ubatuba and, only months later, he transcribed them to paper in São Vincent , first village from Brazil .
Homages
In Brazil, José de Anchieta's day on the date of his death stands out, which occurred on the day 9 from June from 1597 .
In addition, the name of the city where he died - former Iriritiba or Reritiba, in Espírito Santo, currently has the name of Anchieta, as well as one of the main roads of São Paulo is named Rodovia Anchieta .
To know more:
- Catechesis Literature
- Company of Jesus
- Indianism