«Seeming and Being: Excursus Vital de D. António Paes Godinho, Bishop of Nanking» is the brand new work by historian José António Falcão, which will be presented on Saturday, May 4th (4pm) at the Municipal Library of Ourique, followed by a visit to the historic center of the village.
The author – art historian, museologist and university professor – has dedicated a large part of his activity to the study and dissemination of Alentejo’s cultural assets, namely through the Terras sem Sombra Festival, which has already had nineteen editions.
The work is the result of in-depth research work that brings to the spotlight one of the most influential personalities in Portugal during the time of D. João V.
Refusing the worldly apparatus of the prelates of his time, the Bishop of Nanking carried out a discreet but effective evangelizing action and also influenced relations with China, among many other traits that contributed to perpetuating his memory among his contemporaries.
Interestingly, it was D. António Paes Godinho who spread the Chinese orange and brought the Chinese to Alentejo.
With the approval of ORIK – Association for the Defense of the Heritage of Ourique, the book is presented by professor Vítor Encarnação.
José António Falcão confesses that the mysterious figure of D. António Paes Godinho had intrigued him for a long time, «a bishop of Nanking who the circumstances of international politics at the time of Emperor Kangxi prevented from reaching China, but who brought the Far East to to Alentejo».
He emphasizes that he is “an almost mythical personality from the history of lands such as Santiago do Cacém, Viana do Alentejo or Mafra, not to mention the village where he was born, Santa Luzia, today in the municipality of Ourique; however, his existence was very palpable and left strong marks ».
Much of this aura “is due to the fact that he was a prominent member of a radical, profoundly reforming spiritual movement, Jacobeia, which assumed the reins of power during the time of D. João V and was later the object of persecution by the Marquis of Pombal». And he adds: «D. António Paes Godinho maintained, after all, even at the highest levels, his way of being as an Alentejo native by law».
In the atmosphere of lights and shadows of the Johannine court, Paes Godinho was someone who remained outside the political games and won the king’s esteem, but, as the author highlights, «he never wanted anything other than to be able to be, in modesty, in this Alentejo where their roots were”.
As for this region, the memory of the Bishop of Nanking is mainly associated with the introduction of the Chinese orange and other exotic species, which tradition says came from mainland China, through Macau, thus contributing to the development of horticulture and landscaping in Portugal. The garden he planted on his farm at Olhos Bolidos, in Santiago do Cacém, is famous.
On the other hand, tradition also states that, having never been able to reach Nanking – he was on the point of embarking four times, but never received authorization to leave –, he brought a few dozen seminarians from distant Chinese lands, who completed their ecclesiastical studies. in your palace.
Regarding the launch of this work, Henrique Albino Figueira, president of ORIK – Association for the Defense of the Heritage of Ourique, welcomes the opportunity to be able to “edit the biography of D. António Paes Godinho, following the path we set out to follow: publicizing the local history of the municipality of Ourique».
With a wide range of institutional support – including the High Patronage of the President of the Republic – and business support, the work, says the editor, «brings to the light of day a personality who was born in the former parish of Santa Luzia, was appointed bishop of a remote region of China, in 1716, and played a central role in the court of King D. João V and in the consecration of the basilica of Mafra».
Anyone wishing to purchase the book should contact the ORIK blog: associacao-orik.blogspot.com, where the book will be on sale from May 4th.
Summary of the WorkIn the environment of brightness and shadows of the religious life of Johannine Portugal, an object of political and social ramifications, shines D. António Paes Godinho, 3rd Bishop of Nanking, a figure with a unique path, marked by apostolic commitment, detachment from authority, inclination contemplative and fidelity to the origins. Traces of coeval spirituality can be seen in this, touched by the complex web of relations between the Church and power. There is no lack of reflections of an idiosyncrasy typical of the Alentejo reality. Son of farmers, he was born in Santa Luzia, a parish in the former municipality of Garvão, in 1668. With a degree and master’s degree from the University of Évora, he continued his studies, already a priest, at the University of Coimbra. He interrupted them for service in the Archdiocese of Évora, as a curate in Alvito and, later, as confessor and vicar of the Jesus Monastery, in Viana do Alentejo. In 1716, he was chosen for the Diocese of Nanjing where he did not serve. The difficult relationship between China and the Holy See, with Portugal and France in between, following the Quarrel of Rites, did not allow this. In 1720, he resigned from the bishopric. He returned to Alentejo where he became provisional of the Archdiocese of Eastern Lisbon. There he joined the King’s Council. In 1730 he consecrated the basilica of Mafra.
Free from aulic tasks, at his request, Alentejo was once again his favorite place. In Santiago do Cacém, on the Olhos Bolidos farm, he established a garden, filled with exotic species and with a cool “Chinese” house.
Never being able to reach the East – due to the controversy caused by the famous Querela dos Ritos –, he made him come to the lands of Cacém where he welcomed Chinese seminarians and encouraged the introduction of “Chinese orange”.
He spent the last few years in his “noble houses” in Viana, the place, of all the ones he lived in, that he valued most. Here he died, in 1752, with a reputation for holiness, not without having to face the persecutory wrath of the Inquisition, due to his spiritual and humanist profile, little similar to the practices of the high clergy of the time.
Who is the author?Art historian, museologist and university professor, José António Falcão was born in Lisbon in 1961. A specialist in the field of religious art and architecture, he has dedicated his activity to the study and safeguarding of the cultural assets of the Alentejo, winning Portuguese and European awards. He directed the Department of Historical and Artistic Heritage of the Diocese of Beja from the foundation (1984) to the extinction (2017) of this service, distinguished by UNESCO as an “example of the cultural rescue of a territory”. He was responsible for the creation, in 2006, of the Network Museum of that diocese, made up of eight museums. He worked, among other institutions, at the Museo Nacional de Cerámica y Artes Sumtuarias (Valencia), at the Municipal Museum of Santiago do Cacém, at the Évora Museum, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum and at the Academia Museum of Sciences in Lisbon. Conservator and later director of Casa dos Patudos – Museu de Alpiarça, he contributed to its relaunch in critical phases.
He was president of Opart, a public company in the field of Culture, and taught Art History and Museology at universities in Portugal, Spain, Brazil and the United States of America.
It belongs to the National Academy of Fine Arts, the Portuguese Academy of History and similar institutions in several countries.
In 2003, he founded the Terras sem Sombra Festival, a civil society initiative that emerged with the purpose of presenting a musical season, as well as heritage and biodiverse, in Alentejo and neighboring areas of Spain.
In 2016, he promoted the formation of the UNESCO Center for Architecture and Art. She has represented Portugal in PRERICO – Committee for Places of Religion and Ritual, of ICOMOS, and in other international organizations.
From José António Falcão’s extensive bibliography, the following works stand out: Between Heaven and Earth: Sacred Art of the Diocese of Beja, The Forms of the Spirit: Sacred Art of the Diocese of Beja, The Garden of the Hesperides: Spanish Painting of the 19th and 20th Centuries at Casa dos Patudos, On the Path under the Stars: Santiago and the Pilgrimage to Compostela, Face to Face: Representations of the Sacred in European Art It is Portuguese Letters by Mariana Alcoforado.
Tags: Book Bishop Nanking brought oranges China Alentejo launched Ourique
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