The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

Indo-Portuguese Históry: Global Trends,

[Proceedings of XI-Seminar on Indo-Portuguese History,
Goa, 21-23 Sept. 2003]
Eds Fátima da Silva Gracias, Celsa Pinto, Charles J Borges
Goa, 2005, pp. 31-57

The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars:

Assessing 25 years of Peformance

— Teotónio R. de Souza

I have the privileged but also the daunting task of presenting an assessment of the
performance of the ISIPH seminars during the past ten sessions along the past 25 years from a
socio-cultural perspective. My two distinguished colleagues and long-term associates in this project
of ISIPH seminars, Prof. K.S. Mathew and Prof. Artur Teodoro de Matos, are presenting their own
assessments from other perspectives. Whatever the shortcomings, there is little doubt that what has
been achieved over two and half decades is remarkable. It is a great achievement to see a group like
ours, so diverse in its composition and with no dearth of conflicting interests and personalities
among us, survive 25 years of a solid collaboration and output. Hence, rather than finding faults
with our past performance, I shall rather try to present my conceptual understanding of socio-
cultural perspective and leave it to each and all to find out what we may have missed and where we
could improve. In the second part of my presentation I shall try to work out a case-study as an
illustration of my conceptual model.

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 Teotónio R. de Souza

Part I

Understanding Socio-Cultural Perspective

To define my understanding of socio-cultural perspective I have taken the cue from a

report entitled Para Abrir as Ciências Sociais [To Open the Social Sciences], published in Lisbon in
1996 by a Gulbenkian Committee for Res-structuring the Social Sciences in the new millennium.
The Committee was constituted in 1993, consisting of eleven scholars of great repute, covering
various areas of knowledge and various nationalities. It was headed by Immanuel Wallerstein. The
report surveys the evolution over time of social sciences as autonomous disciplines. It points to an
ongoing struggle among scholars on three fronts, namely intellectual, ideological and political, in
order to sustain the claims for objectivity and universality. This on-going conflict among the social
scientists is explained as motivated by concrete historical situations which are always characterised
by specific social systems, based on institutions and practices which are historical, and therefore,
transient or contingent. As opposed to natural sciences [which till recent times and before the
concept of ―the arrow of time‖ was grasped ], despite the attempts of social sciences to imitate them
to reach universally valid conclusions, it was increasingly realised that the object of social sciences
included the researchers themselves. There were thus constant questionings of the type: ―Your
analysis may be good for your society, but it is not adequate to comprehend us‖. Converted into a
more radical denunciation of universalism, they meant to say: ―You are imposing a point of view of
a dominant minority‖, ―whose objectivity are you talking about?‖ It meant ―Eurocentric‖ under the
colonial dispensation. Ever since the Euro-American political and economic domination began to be
contested, at least since 1914-1945, also the Western claims to intellectual superiority and
universality of its cultural beliefs and norms came to be openly denounced as ―orientalist‖
constructions aimed at political domination and economic exploitation. It was exposed as
―knowledge for power‖. The Gulbenkian report refers to the oft-repeated ―other‖ of the Iberian
Discoveries, and comes to the conclusion that it cannot logically exist if it is part of ―us‖ as the
object of an impartial analysis. Consequently, the claims of scientific universalism can no longer be
a disguise for particularisms of those in power and those who benefit from these particularisms.
Greater objectivity and richer universality can only result from a multi-cultural and pluralist
approach in historical interpretations. Hence my first question: Have the ISIPH historians succeeded
in this goal of multi-cultural perception of the Portugal-led expansion? Are we at least consciously

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The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

striving towards it? How much of the research conducted by the ISIPH scholars has taken into
account the Asian cultures, basing their findings upon local cultural and linguistic traditions? If it is
true that the Asian sources are scanty and do not correspond to the European type of sources, who is
to judge the validity of the often cited accounts of the European travellers, missionaries and
administrators? We were fortunate to have among us some scholars who had mastered the sources in
some Asian languages, but how many ISIPH scholars actively working today are qualified to do so?
Is it sufficient to continue working in the European archives and with European languages? There
can be no doubt that the western perceptions of Asia need to be balanced with the Asian perceptions.
These can only be gleaned from the native sources and in native languages, both written and oral.
Hence, I propose that the ISIPH scholars face this great challenge during the next phase of their
research activities. This may require a major shift in time-span and greater concentration on the late
modern and contemporary periods of history, which would help understanding better the emergence
of the Asian nation-states and the historic roots of their strengths and weaknesses. It is but natural
that most Western scholars may feel important and also comfortable to continue researching about
the periods that were important for their national histories, or simply because they find abundant
archival material in their home countries, or due to any other short term political and economic
compulsions.

I cannot resist quoting in this context and on this occasion a Goan pioneer of cultural history
in this country, D.D. Kosambi. According to him ―history must reflect man’s progress at satisfying
his needs in cooperation with all his fellowmen, not the success of a few at satisfying them at the
expense of most of their fellow men‖.1 His ―common people‖ were no different from those I tried to
define in my presentation at the first ISIPH seminar as the ―voiceless in Goan historiography‖.2
Prof. Luis Filipe Thomaz revealed to us in his keynote address to this seminar how much we have
progressed, and what are the challenges for future. I beg to translate these challenges as where we
failed to progress. The positivist and orientalist productions of the West do no longer impress the
scholars of the non-Western world, even if the ―orientalists‖ of Europe continue to cultivate the
model and pride themselves as equal to themselves! At least the Indian historians may wish to listen
to D.D. Kosambi’s call to depart from the type of history of the European tradition, for whom the
history of other countries and their native peoples was just episodes in their national histories. His

1
D.D. Kosambi, An Introduction to the Study of Indian History, Bombay, Popular Prakashan Pvt. Ltd., 1975, p. xii.

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 Teotónio R. de Souza

challenge to the Indian historians was to reconstruct a history of India without episodes, a history of
successive developments in the means and relations of production.3

The traditional models of political history, the economic history, the religious history, the
history of trade and commerce, the history of cartography, navigation and other technologies, and all
the other variants, all have their relative usefulness and have enriched our knowledge of the past, but
with rare exceptions, even when treated with Braudellian short-term and long-term handles of
conjunctures and structures, they have generally failed to provide a better picture of the interaction
between the Portuguese and the Asian socio-cultural contexts. What do I mean by this? We need
to identify ever more precisely and locate in their wider societal fabric at the regional, national and
international level the individual actors or the collective entities that appear as missionaries,
military-administrative elites, men of science and navigation, merchants and traders, foot-loose
soldados and renegados, or rural populations. How does it help us to know detailed genealogical
charts of the legal and bastard descendants of the Portuguese who were sent as viceroys, governors
or captains to Asia? Which social groups benefited or were negatively affected and how, by their
colonial politics, by various economic activities, including trade and commerce, by military
campaigns, by missionary drives? If we wish to pay attention to global trends, should we not try to
unravel the linguistic and behavioural problems of networking as faced by the various historical
agents or actors that had to interact? When we study the global networks of trade with agents in
India, what do we know about the local contacts of these agents? How much of the interaction was
based on mutual knowledge or mutual interest and benefit, and how much on pretensions and fraud?
Is it sufficient to say that economic interests, needs of survival, or effective impositions, took care of
such difficulties? As historians we need to help understanding the ―process‖ in its various phases of
resistance and adjustment. It is vital that Indo-Portuguese historians try to grasp the cultural
concepts and symbols of all sides of the global societies they contact through their research.

We have certainly come a long way from where the Indo-Portuguese historiography was in
1978. To quote Fr. John Correia-Afonso, who is near and yet far on this occasion, it would never
have taken place had it not been for his bold initiative : ―The accounts of Portugal’s overseas
expansion by the historians of that country contain hardly any interpretation; they seem to fall

2
John, Correia-Afonso (ed.) Indo-Portuguese History: Sources & Problems, Bombay, OUP, 1981, pp. 114-131.
3
Ibid., p. 1.

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The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

merely into two categories: short and long (…) Few Indian historians, apart from Panduranga
Pissurlencar, have made a substantial contribution to Indo-Portuguese historical studies, and the
areas of political history, biography, social and economic history have been rather neglected.‖4 Fr.
John Correia-Afonso wrote in his Introduction to the published proceedings of the first seminar,
which focused on sources and problems, that sources were sources only in as far as they were
related to a problem. Prof. Charles Boxer, our great mentor of happy memory, in his two
presentations at the first seminar, surveyed critically the existing bibliography on Portuguese India
and presented a long list, under eleven headings, of problems that were awaiting further historical
research, several of these problems with many facets and requiring interdisciplinary approach.

Against this background of aims and objectives of the ISIPH seminars as outlined 25 years
ago, ISIPH historians in Portugal, in India and elsewhere have produced some excellent results,
including studies of art, particularly architecture and textiles, social groups, etc. We need only to
browse through the proceedings of at least seven sessions published so far. Unfortunately, we are
yet to see the published proceedings of the past two seminars, including the Delhi session of 1998,
which sought to pay more attention to the cultural aspects than any other past sessions. I believe that
we should not look only at the direct impact of ISIPH production. It also contributed indirectly.
Much relevant bibliography or historiography has also resulted from the efforts of persons who have
never participated in our seminars, and yet may have found in them inspiration or challenge. Let me
mention just two such researchers, namely Ines Zupanov, who analysed the mission historiography
about St. Francis Xavier,5 and a young Italian researcher Francesca Trivellato, who is studying
inter-cultural trade networks linking Italy, Portugal and Goa. 6 What we need in the near future is a
comprehensive bibliography, including books and dispersed articles, and not just selective
bibliographies, published in Portugal, in France or in India to buttress some individual or
institutional case. Since the globalization is making the internet a commonplace medium of
interaction and learning, we need to utilize it to the full. There is no doubt that the internet has its
dangerous side, but so do the selective and biased publications of the traditional type. The internet

4
John Correia-Afonso (ed), Indo-Portuguese History: Sources & Problems, Bombay, OUP, 1981, p. vii.
5
Inês G. Zupanov, ―The prophetic and the miraculous in Portuguese Ásia: A hagiographical view of colonial culture‖,
The Portuguese and the Pacific II (Special issue), Santa Barbara Portuguese Studies, II, 1995, pp.135-161.
6
Francesca Trivellato, ―Juifs de Livourne, Italiens de Lisbonne, hindous de Goa: Reseaux marchants et échanges
interculturelles à l’époque moderne‖, Annales HSS, Paris, Mai-juin 2003, nº3, pp. 581-603.

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 Teotónio R. de Souza

has the advantage of permitting immediate response and corrections where and when necessary.
While awaiting any systematic intervention of the ISIPH historians in this realm of globalized
world, it already reflects quite forcefully our presence. Any good web search engine can provide a
glimpse of this reality and even some surprises. Just a week ago I found a pretty useful bibliography
on Portuguese colonial history, including Indo-Portuguese history, by Marco Remerini
[www.geocities.com/styx/6997/biblioP.html], who is researching on the Portuguese and Dutch
connections with Sri Lanka, but I came across also a site of ―Indo-Portuguese Erotica‖
[www.pornhome.com/asian/concan/indport.html ] with lurid pictures of Indo-Portuguese nudes of
colonial times with suggestive and provocative legends. I wish to leave here a suggestion for the
ISIPH group to create its own web-site and a forum for interaction.

I wish to conclude this Part One with a personal note of soul-searching that this occasion
perfectly justifies. We need to question ourselves if the Indo-Portuguese historians have come closer
or moved further away from the ideal voiced by Fr. John Correia-Afonso at the end of the first
seminar: ―It will also have contributed to the creation of an international mind and a closer world
fellowship‖.7 Despite divisive tendencies, there are good-hearted individuals in our midst and their
presence continues to lend hope to the future of the ISIPH project. May their tribe increase. It is
their spirit alone that can enable ISIPH historians to bridge the gulf of socio-cultural values and
ensure that this perspective gains ground, not just in terms of the subject-matter of research, but
more importantly through union of minds and hearts, where the ―other‖ becomes truly a part of
―ourselves‖. May the biblical ideal of ―jubilee‖ or forgiveness be a reality among us gathered in a
Jubilee session of ISIPH historians.

Part II

D. JOSÉ DA COSTA NUNES

A case-study of the Azorean episcopacy as a subaltern elite of the Portuguese

colonial rule in Asia, 1942-1953

7
John Correia-Afonso, op.cit., p. xii.

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The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

I shall delve more extensively on the Archbishop-Patriarch of Goa, D. José da Costa Nunes,
because he symbolises better than any other Azorean bishop in Asia the role of the subaltern elite
that I am proposing for this study. There is another reason for choosing the Indian theatre of their
action, rather than Macau or any other. As stated by his successor, D. José Alvernaz, ―It was in
India that the Padroado came under its severest attacks, and the campaign against the Portuguese
missionary activities drew most the world attention‖.8

By choosing to analyze the functioning of D. José da Costa Nunes, I see him as a

representative of an Azorean subaltern elite. There was another such elite of Goan origin since mid
19th century, namely the Goan doctors. We could think of yet a third colonial elite at the service of
the Portuguese colonial interests, namely the Cape Verdians, in administrative service in Portuguese
Africa. There were Azorean bishops in Asia in the 17th and early 18th centuries, but they belonged
largely to religious orders and do not fit into the category described here. From late 19th century we
begin to see bishops originating from secular and rural background, trained at the Angra seminary
and with higher studies at Gregorian University in Rome. That is when we start seeing the rise of a
kind of self-promoting clan. The growing challenges to the Church under liberal and republican
regimes at home and the growing trend of anti-colonialism in Asia, made the role of the Azorean
episcopacy particularly important for the empire. Even though Goa had been the major source of
supply of clergymen for the Padroado,9 the Azoreans were the preferred candidates for handling the
episcopal responsibilities.10 Why were there so many Azorean bishops in Portuguese Asia since late
19th century? It could have a very simple or rather simplistic explanation in the tendency of the
Azoreans to migrate from their island-homes which threatens them with a regular frequency of
volcanic eruptions and their tragic consequences in the form of earthquakes, famines, etc. But the
main reason lies elsewhere: the Azoreans are predominantly white-skinned descendants of European
colonizers and have no language or culture of their own, substantially different from that of the
Portuguese. The capacity of the Azorean bishops to promote other fellow-Azoreans may not have

8
Textos de D. José Vieira Alvernaz, Macau, Imprensa Oficial de Macau, 1999, p. 91.
9
Casimiro Cristóvão de Nazareth, Clero de Goa: Seus serviços à Religião e à Nação, Nova Goa, Casa Luso-Francesa,
1927.
10
At the fag end of the Portuguese colonial regime in Goa two Goans were appointed bishops in Africa, but none was
deemed fit for taking charge of their church at home or elsewhere in the colonies or in Portugal. There were in the
meantime at least 20 bishops of Goan origin in the Indian dioceses, and two were cardinals, in Bombay and Karachi
respectively. Soon after the departure of the Portuguese the Goans were fit to take charge the destinies of their Church!
One should not miss the comments of Orlando Ribeiro on this issue. He seems to share the ―colonial‖ mind of most
Portuguese at the time. Cf. Orlando Ribeiro, Goa em 1956, Lisboa, CNCDP,1999, pp. 64, 125-126.

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 Teotónio R. de Souza

succeeded as it did, if the State did not have also its own axe to grind. The Azoreans were looked
upon as the right type of human resource, culturally identical and politically reliable, to control the
―souls‖ of the imperial subjects in Asia.

It should not be very difficult to understand my choice of the gramscian concept of

subalternity. Reduced to subalternity among the colonial powers, particularly after their loss of
control over great part of Asia, and with a status further weakened by the loss of Brazil, the
Portuguese had to opt for subaltern chain of commands to make the best of its weakened imperial
centre. Hard pressed after independence of Brazil to find an alternate source of exploration in
Africa, the Portuguese had to overcome the tropical diseases that made of Africa a graveyard for the
white Europeans. That is when Goa’s long tradition in handling tropical diseases at the Royal
Hospital came handy. It was decided to create the Escola Médica in Goa, but the native medics
trained there were deemed fit to serve in Portuguese colonies of Africa and Asia, but they could not
exercise their medical profession in Portugal without additional training and tests. Cristiana Bastos
has been studying this aspect of subalternity of the Goan doctors. 11 I propose that her analysis be
extended to include other subaltern elites of the empire. The Azorean bishops too were doing
praiseworthy job in the service of the empire, but hardly any of them got any posting in continental
Portugal, not even D. José da Costa Nunes, who so staunchly defended colonial interests in India in
the post-independence phase of resistance to Portuguese colonial presence. When the archbishop
resigned in 1953, the Portuguese government found for him an innocuous place as vice-camerlengo
at Vatican. No one thought of finding for him an important diocese or other placement in Portugal.

The homeland of the Azorean bishops

The Archipelago of Azores, made up of 9 islands, was strategically located in the Atlantic
Ocean at the cross-roads of the maritime trade routes of the East and West Indies. The Portuguese
discovered and began colonizing it since mid 15th century. Azores became a strategic hub for the
Portuguese colonial network and functioning worldwide, particularly on return voyages, right from
the time of early explorations of the West African coast.12 The lack of sufficient resources in the

11
Cristiana Bastos, ―Um Centro Subalterno? A Escola Médica de Goa e o Império‖. Comunicação apresentada no
Seminário ―Tensões coloniais e Reconfigurações pós-coloniais‖, Convento da Arrábida, 1-5 de Novembro de 1999.
Uma versão mais expandida foi publicada como ―Doctors for the Empire: The Medical School of Goa and its
Narratives‖, Identities, Vol. 8 (4), pp. 517-548.
12
Avelino de Freitas de Meneses, ―Angra na rota da Índia: funções, cobiças e tempos‖, A Carreira da Índia e as Rotas
dos Estreitos, org. A. Teodoro de Matos e L. F. Thomaz, Angra do Heroísmo, 1988, pp. 721-740.

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The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

islands, and to some extent the regularity of earthquakes seem to have contributed for the large-scale
emigration of its population.13 The classic case is that of Gaspar Frutuoso, a native of the island of
St. Michael. Following the eruption and destruction of Vila Franca in 1522, and a 10-year long
epidemic that followed, the social and economic life of the region underwent a radical change.
Frutuoso moved out to Salamanca and studied for priesthood. The Franciscan apostolate in the
archipelago and their spirituality had left a deep impact upon the populations threatened by the
natural calamities. This case could be seen as representative of the Azorean exportation of Bishops
and ecclesiastics in particular.14 However, the great Azorean diaspora was westward towards Brazil
when it replaced the East as the focus of the Portugal commercial activity. It grew to large
proportions during 1748-1756, and shifted later to Bermudas, Hawaii, USA, and more recently to
Canada.

The historiography of Azores has certainly made great progress in recent times, but there
must be no dearth of new challenges. While much has been written about Angra and the rest of the
archipelago as transit point of trade routes since the early times of the Portuguese Discoveries, there
is very little research done about the impact of the demographic changes and their impact upon the
―globalization‖ promoted by the Portuguese expansion overseas. It is a recent discovery that
Azorean diaspora carried with it the so-called ―Machado-Joseph disease‖, also designated by some
as ―Azorean disease‖.15 But what interests us here is what from the Asian perspective could be seen
as another sort of Azorean disease that troubled the Asians till the end of colonialism and the end of
the Portuguese crown patronage.

13
http://www.terravista.pt/aguaalto/2365/Calamidades/calamidades.htm There is information about earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions covering past five centuries with almost a decennial frequency. The last major occurrence was on 9th
July 1998 around 5:19 morning with a magnitude of 5,6 Richter scale, with its epicenter at NNE of Faial island, causing
widespread destruction. Several zones of Pico and a parto f St. Jorge (Rosais) were also affected. 8 persons died in Faial
and 1700 others were rendered homeless.
14
Miguel Tremoço de Carvalho, Gaspar Frutuoso: O historiador das Ilhas, Funchal, CEHA, 2001.
15
The first two cases of this disease were detected in 1972 in the region of Fall River. The first case was that of William
Machado, belonging to an immigrant family from São Miguel. The next case was from a Joseph family in North
California. Hence the designation Machado-Joseph.
The disease is associated with a mutation of the MJD1 gene of chromosome 14. Clinical features include progressive
ataxia, dysarthria, postural instability, eyelid retraction and facial fasciculations. Dystonia is prominent in younger
patients (referred to as Type I Machado-Joseph Disease). Type II features ataxia and ocular signs; Type III features
muscle atrophy and a sensorimotor neuropathy; and Type IV features extrapyramidal signs combined with a
sensorimotor neuropathy. It is found to affect 1 out of every 2402 persons in Azores, with 50% chances of a child
inheriting it from an affected parent. Cf. http://www.gain.uac.pt/doenca_p.html

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 Teotónio R. de Souza

To understand this better we need to recall the conflicts of the Padroado and the Asian
natives right from the start of the Portuguese colonial presence. The Portuguese missionary drive
was never without resistance. The so-called ―Martyrs of Cuncolim‖, is just one major illustration.16
The conflicts of the Padroado with St. Thomas Christians in Malabar during the 17th century in
particular are well known.17 Also talented Goan native clerics were systematically bypassed and
their claims to occupy posts of responsibility in parishes were resisted by the white Religious
Orders. Even the respectable Jesuits, like Francis Xavier and Valignano, are known to have
expressed feelings of colour prejudice towards the populations of the Indian subcontinent. 18 It
happened largely because the natives were unwilling to give up their cultures or to easily given in to
the western cultural pressures of the white missionaries. In the first half of the 17th century
Propaganda Fide consecrated the first native Goan bishop, Matheus de Castro, but his functioning
was resented and blocked by the Portuguese Padroado authorities. There is also the famous
instance of Goan clerics leading a political revolt in 1787, known as the Conspiracy of the Pintos. It
ended in a ruthless suppression by the Portuguese authorities, who accused the rebels of ―high
treason‖ and deported to Portugal over a dozen clerics, who were detained there for several years
under arrest without any official trial.19 In the late 19th century, Fr. António Francisco Xavier
Alvares, a Goan-born priest opted out of the Portuguese Church hierarchy to be consecrated bishop
according to the Syrian Antiochian rite as Mar Julius I.20 His journalism was regarded by the State
and Church authorities of Goa as excessively critical of their actions and intentions. As for the Goan
priest, he regarded the Portuguese Church as a mere tool of colonial regime and legitimizer of its
abuses.21 These instances should suffice to help understanding why the Portuguese State and Church
would prefer Azorean bishops in their Asian empire.

16
Teotonio R. de Souza,‖Why Cuncolim Martyrs? Na historical re-assessment‖, Jesuits in Índia: in Historical
Perspective, Macau, ICM, 1992, pp. 37-47.
17
Teotonio R. de Souza, ―The Indian Christians of St. Thomas and the Portuguese Padroado: Rape after a century-long
courtship (1498-1599)‖, Christen und Gewurze, ed. Klaus Koschorke, Goettingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1997,
pp.31-42.
18
Teotonio R. de Souza,107. "The Portuguese in the Goan Folklore”, Goa and Portugal: Their Cultural Links, ed.
Charles J. Borges & Helmut Feldmann, New Delhi: Concept Publ. Co., 1997, pp. 183-197
19
J.H. da Cunha Rivara, Goa and the Revolt of 1787, Ed. Charles J.Borges, New Delhi, Concept Publishing Company,
1996.
20
Casimiro Cristóvão de Nazareth, Clero de Goa: Seus serviços à Religião e à Nação, Nova Goa, Casa Luso-Francesa,
1927, pp.10-14.
21
Teotonio R. de Souza, ―Christianization and cultural conflict in Goa, 16th-19th centuries‖, Congresso internacional
de história: Missionação portuguesa e encontro de culturas, Actas, Vol.IV, Braga, 1993, pp. 383-393.

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The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

Following a brief presentation of the thirteen Azorean bishops who were sent to the East
from five islands of the archipelago, namely Terceira, São Miguel, Faial, São Jorge and Pico, I
shall concentrate on those who belonged to the category of ―subaltern elite‖, during the past century
and half, particularly the five Azoreans from Pico island.22

The very first Azorean bishop appointed in 1636 to serve in Asia, or more precisely in São
Tomé of Mylapore, was a Franciscan, Afonso de Benevides, from Ponta Delgada in São Miguel.
He died during the voyage, but there would go two more from São Miguel later, as we shall see
soon.

Friar Cristovam da Silveira, born at the Angra do Heroísmo, is the only Bishop from
Terceira to be appointed to the East, as Archbishop of Goa, in 1670. He too died on his way in April
1673.23

From Faial island went two bishops: António Taveira da Neiva Brum da Silveira and Frei
Alexandre da Sagrada Família. The former from the city of Horta, where he was born on 22 July
1706. He studied with the Franciscans at Horta and continued his studies at the Royal Military
College at Coimbra, where he became rector after his doctoral studies. He was appointed
Archbishop of Goa in 1750 and exercised the duties of interim governor of Goa on two occasions.24
It was during his period of functioning that territorial jurisdiction of Goa was extended to cover the
New Conquests. He accompanied the introduction of the Church institutions in the new area and
issued new constitutions for the archdiocese. He sought his resignation, but was not replaced till 14
years later. He died during his return journey in 1775.25 The second bishop from Faial was Fr.
Alexandre da Sagrada Família, born on 22 May 1737, in the city of Horta. His baptismal name was
Alexandre Ferreira da Silva.26 He entered the Convent of Our Lady of Angels in Setúbal in 1761. It
was here that he adopted a new religious name and developed contacts with the Brancanes

22
José Augusto Pereira, ―Memória Histórica de Açorianos que foram Bispos‖, I Congresso Açoriano (Lisboa, Grémio
dos Açores, 8 a 15 de Maio de 1938) Ponta Delgada, 1995, pp. 275-277; Congresses of Azorean communities were held
in 1978, 1986, 1991 and 1995, organized by Gabinete de Emigração e Apoio às Comunidades Açorianas.
23
Fortunato de Almeida, História da Igreja em Portugal, vol. II, Livraria Civilização Editora, Porto, Lisboa, 1968, p.
702.
24
Maria de Jesus dos Mártires Lopes, Epistolário de um Açoriano na Índia: D. António Taveira da Neiva Brum da
Silveira (1750-1775), Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, 1983, pp. 18-38; José Augusto Pereira, ―Memória
Histórica de Açorianos que foram Bispos‖, Livro do Primeiro Congresso Açoriano que se reuniu em Lisboa de 8 a 15 de
Maio de 1938, Grémio dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, 1995, p. 275.
25
Maria de Jesus dos Mártires Lopes, op. cit. pp. 18-38.

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 Teotónio R. de Souza

Missionaries, whom he accompanied till Rome. There he met the Portuguese ambassador who
recommended him to the Queen Maria I. He was invited to preach at the royal court, and this earned
for him the appointment as Bishop of Malacca in 1782.27 Before he could reach there, he was
transferred to Angola and Congo.

From São Jorge islands went out two bishops to Asia: Manuel Bernardo de Sousa Ennes, a
Franciscan, who after the suppression of the religious order under liberal regime, joined the Faculty
of Theology at the Coimbra University as professor. He was appointed bishop of Macau in 1873,
but is one rare case of transference to Bragança in 1883 and two years later to.Portalegre. 28 The
second bishop from S. Jorge island was José Pedro da Silva, who was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
of Goa, with right of succession to the archbishop-patriarch D. José Alvernaz. The occupation of
Goa by the Indian armed forces in 1961 did not permit him to reach Goa.29

Two Azorean bishops in Asia were from the island of São Miguel: Manuel Medeiros
Guerreiro, served as bishop of Mylapore from April 1937 till March 1951. Following the
independence of India and the end of Padroado jurisdiction in Mylapore he was transferred to the
diocese of Nampula in Mozambique. The other bishop from São Miguel was D. Paulo José
Tavares, who frequented the Angra seminary from 1931 till 1941, and later studied at Gregorian in
Rome, presenting a thesis on the Portuguese Concordat of 1940 and the juridical status of the
Church‖.30 He pursued diplomatic studies in Rome during 1945-1947, and was posted in the office
of Vatican’s Secretary of State till 1961. He ended the career in the Vatican as advisor to the
nunciature when he was appointed bishop of Macau in August 1961. He took charge of the diocese
in November of the same year. He attended all sessions of Vatican II, from 1962 till 1965. He had a
very active episcopate and was a great defender of indigenization of the hierarchy of Macau. He met
with stiff resistance of the Portuguese and D. José da Costa Nunes is known to have tried to get him

26
José Augusto Pereira, ―Memória Histórica de Açorianos que foram Bispos‖, Livro do I Congresso Açoriano,Lisboa,
8- 15 de Maio de 1938, Grémio dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, 1995, p. 275.
27
António Ferreira de Serpa, Dom Frei Alexandre da Sagrada Família, Bispo de Malaca e de Angra, eleito do Congo e
Angola, Governador deste Bispado, tio e professor Garret – Notas e documentos, Separatas dos n.º 25 a 28 do VII
Volume dos Anais das Bibliotecas e Arquivos, Lisboa, Oficinas Gráficas da Biblioteca Nacional, s/d.
28
Manuel Teixeira, Macau e a sua Diocese – XVII Bispos, Missionários, Igrejas e Escolas no IV Centenário da Diocese
de Macau, Tipografia da Missão, Macau, 1976, pp. 86-90.
29
Luís Salgado de Matos, ―Os bispos portugueses: da Concordata ao 25 de Abril – alguns aspectos‖, Análise Social,
Lisboa, vol. XXIX, nos. 125-126, p. 350.
30
Manuel Teixeira, Macau e a sua Diocese – XVII Bispos, Missionários, Igrejas e Escolas no IV Centenário da Diocese
de Macau, Tipografia da Missão, Macau, 1976, pp. 86-90

12
The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

out of Asia and returned to the diplomatic career somewhere in Central América. He died in 1973
and was succeeded by D. Arquiminio Rodrigues da Costa.

Portuguese Padroado and its evolution

For the benefit of the less informed readers, here follows a very brief sketch of the Padroado
or the Portuguese Crown Patronage in the East to help us situate the theme under discussion. The
Padroado had its beginning in the age of Discoveries in the XV century. In exchange of the
recognition of the exclusive Portuguese right to discover, dominate and evangelize the countries and
peoples of the East, the Papacy imposed upon the Portuguese crown the obligation of taking care of
all the expenses connected with that process of evangelization, including the costs of building and
maintaining human and material resources.31 The bull Romani Pontifex of Nicholas V in Jan. 1455
gave the Portuguese authorities of the Order of Christ the right to establish and maintain churches
and monasteries and of presenting candidates to run them in the newly discovered territories and in
territories yet to be discovered. In March of the same year Pope Calixtus III issued the bull Inter
coetera confirming the earlier privileges and obligations, conceding to Prince Henry, as Master of
the Order of Christ, the spiritual jurisdiction which would be exercised through the Prior of Tomar.
The bull Praeclara charissimi of Julius III allowed the incorporation of the three existing military
Orders (Christ, Avis and Santiago) into the Portuguese Crown, and the jurisidiction of the Prior of
Tomar was also transferred to the crown. That is how the ―Padroado‖ grew into ―Crown
Patronage‖.32

From 1514 the expansion of the Portuguese Padroado to the East was done from the island
base of Funchal, in Madeira island. The creation of the dioceses of Goa and of Angra was
announced on the same date, 3 November 1534, by the bull Aequum reputamus of Pope Paul III.
However, the same bull declared that Goa diocese was erected by the previous pontiff Clement VII
on 31 January 1533, and that ought to be regarded as the real date of its foundation. It is interesting
to note that Angra diocese was created nearly a century after a papal bull of 1421 had supported the
Portuguese discoveries and the royal Project of colonizing the Azores archipelago. Goa was made a
diocese two decades after its conquest and three years after it was made the administrative capital of

31
Charles-Martial de Witte, Les lettres papales concernant l’expansion portugaise au XVIe siècle, Immensee, Nouvelle
Revue de Science missionaire, 1986.
32
Manuel Saturnino da Costa Gomes, ―Nomeação de Párocos e Bispos – artigos IX, X‖, A Concordata de 1940 –
Portugal – Santa Sé, Lisboa, Edições Didaskalia, 1993, pp. 174-185.

13
 Teotónio R. de Souza

the Portuguese Estado da Índia. Goa diocese was raised to archdiocese in 1558, following the
creation of two suffragan dioceses in Malacca and in Cochin. New suffragan dioceses followed:
Macau (1575), Japão (1588), Mylapre (1606), and Mozambique (1612). Macau diocese was further
broken up into two new dioceses in 1690, namely Peking and Nanking, both suffragan to Goa.

The Padroado system fared sufficiently well while the Portuguese could enforce their
maritime presence without much effective resistance. During the union of the Iberian crowns
(1580-1640) the Dutch and the English also looked for a share in the Eastern trade. The European
rivalry emboldened the native rulers to resist. The Portuguese military weakness and lack of human
resources to fulfil the obligations of the Padroado led the Holy See to establish the Congregation of
Propaganda Fide in 1622 in order to promote directly some missionary activities through its own
―Apostolic Vicars‖ in territories where the Portuguese were unable to operate successfully.

King John IV of Portugal sought to improve relations with Vatican following the restoration
of the Portuguese independence from the Spanish rule. However the Spanish influence in the
Vatican was strong enough to block the recognition of the candidates indicated by the Portuguese
monarch to the vacant sees. It was not till 1669, that Pope Clement IX confirmed the appointments
of the bishops indicated by John IV, but in the meantime some candidates had died. One famous
case was of D. Afonso Mendes, patriarch of Ethiopia. The Portuguese monarch wanted to reward
his efforts despite the failure of the mission of Ethiopia. He was appointed to be Archbishop of Goa
and would be the first Jesuit to occupy that post. But he died before the papal confirmation.

The expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal in 1759 and the expulsion of all Religious Orders
by liberal government in 1834 had weakened the Padroado dramatically. There ensued another long
diplomatic tension between Portugal and the Holy See, leaving vacant several dioceses during long
periods. Despite the Portuguese official resentment Pope Gregory XVI issued the brief Multa
Praeclara on 24 April 1838, delinking from the Portuguese Padroado jurisidiction several dioceses,
such as Mylapore, Cranganore, Cochin and Malacca. Only in 1851 there was a thaw in the
diplomatic relations between Portugal and the Holy See,33 and the Concordat of 1857 restored
theoretically the jurisdiction of the Padroado, but with many practical restrictions. A new and more
realistic drawing of the boundaries was worked out by the Concordat of June 1886, the year of the
creation of independent Indian church hierarchy. The Archbishop of Goa was granted the honorary

14
The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

title of Patriarch on this occasion as a political sop. Fresh problems arose with the proclamation of
the Republic in Portugal in 1910: a law separating State and Church on 20 April 1911 sought to
reduce the financial obligations of the State, but without abandoning the privileges of the Padroado.
This situation changed under the Estado Novo, which by the Accord of 15 April 1928 revised the
concordat of 1886, limiting the Padroado jurisdiction to territories under direct Portuguese political
control and to Cochin and Mylapore, and maintaining a double jurisdiction over Bombay,
Mangalore, Quilon and Trichinopoly. The conflicts that resulted from the double jurisdiction were
solved by a new concordat of 7 May 1940. Following the Independence of India, yet another accord
was signed on 18 July 1950, whereby Portugal renounced its Padroado rights in all territories of
independent India. Following the integration of Goa, Daman and Diu into India in 1961 by force of
arms, Portugal did not renounce its rights over these territories until after democracy was restored
in Portugal in April 1974.34

Enter the Azorean Subaltern Episcopal Elite

From the island of Pico went out at least five Azorean prelates to the East. In chronological
order, we have D. João Paulino de Azevedo e Castro, born in 1852 in the town of Lages in Pico.35
36
He studied Theology at Coimbra (1879), was ordained in Angra, lectured at the Seminary there
and became its Rector in 1888.37 He was confirmed by Leo XIII on 9 June 1902 as bishop of
Macau, was consecrated on 27th December and left for Macau in March 1903. Following 1910 his
governance of Macau was marked by political tensions caused by the republicanism in Portugal,
affecting severely the functioning of the religious orders and congregations in Macau. He died in
Macau in 1918, and his body was transferred in 1923 to his native land of Lages do Pico.

The other native of Pico was Jaime Garcia Goulart. Born in the parish of Candelária in
1908, left for Macau aged just 13. Studied at St. Joseph Seminary at Macau and completed his
studies of Theology at Angra seminary. He was ordained priest in 1931. He returned to Macau and

33
Luís Doria, Do Cisma ao Convénio: Estado e Igreja de 1831 a 1848, Lisboa, ICS, 2001.
34
Eduardo Brazão, Colecção de concordatas estabelecidas entre Portugal e a Santa Sé de 1238 a 1940, Lisboa, LIv.
Bertrand, 1941; A. Leite, ―Concordatas‖, in Dicionário da História Religiosa de Portugal, Vol.I, ed. Carlos Moreira
Azevedo, Rio do Mouro, Circulo de Leitores, 2000, pp. 423-429).
35
João Paulino de Azevedo e Castro, Provisões e Outros Escritos, vol. II, Macau, 1997, p. 749.
36
Ermelindo Ávila, ―Picoenses – Emigrantes no Mundo‖, II Congresso de Comunidades Açorianas, (26 - 30 November
1986), Angra do Heroísmo, 1986, pp. 259-260.
37
Manuel Teixeira, Macau e a sua Diocese – XVII Bispos, Missionários, Igrejas e Escolas no IV Centenário da Diocese
de Macau, Macau, Tipografia da Missão, 1976, pp. 80-81.

15
 Teotónio R. de Souza

served there till 1933. Went to Timor as Comissary till 1937. When the diocese of Dili was created
in 1940, D. Jaime was appointed its Administrator till 1945, and later took over as the bishop of the
Dili-Timor diocese. He returned to Azores on health grounds in 1967.

José da Costa Nunes, also a Picoan, was born in the parish of Candelária on 15 March
1880. He studied at the Seminary of Angra39 and in 1903 accompanied the bishop D. João Paulino
38

de Azevedo e Castro to Macau, as his personal secretary, while still a seminarian. 40 He was ordained
priest in Macau and celebrated his first Mass on 31 July 1903, feast day of Ignatius of Loyola, the
founder of the Jesuits, who left an indelible mark upon the missionary history of Macau. Before
being confirmed as bishop of Macau, he was elected Vicar Capitular, just 26 years of age and
without having belonged to the Chapter41. Two years after the death of D. João Paulino he was
elected bishop of Macau. His election was confirmed by the Holy See, despite his reluctance and
refusal.42

José Vieira Alvernaz, was born in the parish of Piedade, in Pico island, on 5 February 1889.
He had joined Angra seminary, but had to continue studies in the Lyceum when the proclamation of
the Republic led to closure of the seminary. Ordained priest in 920, he studied Canon Law at
Gregorian, and obtained a doctorate in Social Sciences at Bergamo. He returned to Azores as parish
priest, and from 1933 taught at the seminary and became its rector during four years, before being
appointed bishop of Cochin in 1941. Following the independence of India and exclusion of that
diocese from the Padroado, he was transferred to Goa as Auxiliary bishop, until he replaced the
Archbishop-Patriarch in 1953. The merger of Goa into India made his continued functioning in Goa
impossible. He left Goa to participate in the Vatican II, and from Rome returned to Azores, where
he died in 1986.43

The fifth and the last Azorean bishop from Pico island was D. Arquimínio Rodrigues da
Costa, born in the parish of São Mateus, on 29 July 1924. He was admitted to Macau Seminary at

38
Ermelindo Ávila, ―Picoenses – Emigrantes no Mundo‖, II Congresso de Comunidades Açorianas, Açores 26 a 30 de
Novembro, Angra do Heroísmo, 1986, p. 260.
39
José da Costa Nunes, Textos do Cardeal Costa Nunes, vol. IV, Fundação Macau, 1999, pp. 280 – 283.
40
João Paulino de Azevedo e Castro, Provisões e Outros Escritos, vol. II, Macau, 1997, p. 750-756.
41
José Augusto Pereira, ―Memória Histórica de Açorianos que foram Bispos‖, I Congresso Açoriano (Lisboa, 8 -15
May1938) Ponta Delgada, Grémio dos Açores, 1995, pp. 275-277.
42
José da Costa Nunes, Textos do Cardeal Costa Nunes, vol. IV, Fundação Macau, 1999, pp. 280 – 283.

16
The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

the age of 14 anos. Was ordained priest in October 1949, and in 1955 was interim rector of the
seminary. Two years later left for Rome and studied Law at Gregorian till 1960. He returned to
Macau and replaced the bishop D. Paulo Tavares following his death in 1973. Resigned in 1988,
aged 80, and returned to Azores after handing the diocese to D. Domingos Lam, the first Chinese
bishop. I had an opportunity of personal contact with Arquiminio da Costa during a seminar
organized by the Seminary of the Holy Spirit in 1989 in Hong Kong. The theme of seminar was
―Macau Catholics in Transition‖. After the Macau diocese closed its seminary, it was to this
seminary in Hong Kong that it sent its seminarians for training. Bishop Arquimínio Costa was
invited to comment on my paper which sought to analyse the experience of Goan Catholics
following the change of the Portuguese regime to the Indian regime. He started by saying: ―I find it
very difficult to be totally neutral, objective and independent in dealing with matters in which my
people and my country are involved. In such circumstances, it is practically impossible not to be
emotionally affected‖. The bishop was very polite in his response, but it was obvious that he was not
pleased with the intensity of my criticism and expected to hear more positive evaluation of the
Padroado contribution to India. 44

D. José da Costa Nunes: The best representative of his tribe

José da Costa Nunes had proved his capacity to handle with courage several situations of
political tension. While at Macau, he was invited once to speak at the Military Academy, where
republican and anti-clerical feelings were running high. The President was not very confident of the
consequences, but Costa Nunes delivered his speech and was able to win the spirits. He even told
one high-ranking military: ―I shall welcome the Revolution, but with all the marines on my side‖.
On another occasion some angry military personnel invaded his palace, but he withstood the threat
and the invaders retreated. When his bishop returned to the diocese, he admired the courage and tact
displayed by his substitute. He gave him an opportunity in 1911 to visit Timor, Malacca and
Singapore as Mission visitor. It was meant to let him have some rest after the strenuous times. He
returned to Macau in 1912, and took once again charge of the diocese, while the bishop was visiting
Singapore and Malacca. He spent 1912 resting at home in Azores. Back in Macau in 1914, he

43
Textos de D. José Vieira Alvernaz, Patriarca da Índias, 1953-1975, Macau, 1999; Ferreira Moreno, ―Bispos
Açorianos, Relicário da Saudade‖, Jornal Portugal Ilustrado –
http://www.webx.ca/portilus/ed_357/cronicas/bispos.htm

17
 Teotónio R. de Souza

started a diocesan review ―Oriente‖ in 1915. Following the death of the bishop Paulino in 1918, he
was elected by the diocesan Chapter to be Vicar Capitular. It was the first step, which lasted three
years, before taking charge of the diocese of Macau as its bishop on 20 November 1921. He started
by putting finances on a firm footing and finding ways of improving the human resources of the
diocese. He revived the seminary and handed it to the Jesuits in 1930, but the lack of personnel
forced them to keep only the responsibility of spiritual guidance. He called upon the Franciscan
Missionaries of Mary to take charge of a school for girls, named after Santa Rosa de Lima. He gave
fresh support to the Salesians, who had been invited by his predecessor, to provide professional
training to young Chinese and Portuguese in Macau. He also supported the Canossian sisters in
their schools and in their apostolate for infants and the invalid. He gave immense impetus to
missionary expansion. The Jesuits had their base at Shiu-Hing, where once Ricci had worked. Costa
Nunes was particularly devoted to Timor, which belonged to Macau diocese and was divided into
two vicariates. He joined the two into one vicariate for better coordination, founded a school for
catechists, got the old Salesian boys from Macau to teach in professional schools, and tried to
prepare the ground to provide Timor with its own bishop. He built the cathedral which the Japanese
had razed to the ground, and succeeded in convincing the Holy See and the Portuguese government
to let Timor have its diocese. It became a reality on 18 January 1941. His dedication to the missions
of Malacca and Singapore was also noteworthy. He took the Canossian sisters and the Irish
Christian Brothers to set up schools for Christian boys and girls. The diocese of Macau was the
owner of a hotel in the centre of Singapore, but when the British administration took it over to
convert it into a Court of Justice, the diocese invested the compensation money into buying two
huge commercial buildings, which the Vicar General named as Medeiros Building and Nunes
Building, despite the objection raised by BishopCosta Nunes to his name being used that way.

D. José da Costa Nunes was 60 years and 9 months old when he was appointed to Goa on 11
December 1940. He took charge of the Archdiocese on 18 Jan. 1942, on the eve of reaching 62
years of age. He was honoured by the Salazar regime with Grã Cruz da Ordem do Império in 1953.
It was the highest class (among five) of that national award created in 1932 by the Salazar regime.
He resigned in December that year from the Archdiocese of Goa and Damão and was nominated

44
Arquiminio Rodrigues da Costa, ―A response to «Church and political transition in Goa», Tripod, 1989, Nº. 2, pp. 56-
65.

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The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

Titular Archbishop of Odessa. He was later given the job of Vice Camarlengo of the Vatican. In
1962 John XXIII made him Cardinal. He died in Rome on 26 November 1976 aged 94.45

Archbishop Costa Nunes was known to exercise himself physically every day with long
walks, had given up smoking since 1925, and was frugal in his eating and very regular with his
night sleep. His intellectual capacities and talent for writing won him admiration in Goa, where
Tomás Ribeiro and Cunha Rivara were still remembered for those qualities. His pastoral visits to
distant corners of the country made his influence felt in the subcontinent. Dr. George Moraes, a
Goa-born University professor in Bombay, but also known as arch-conservative Catholic, who
would refuse after Vatican II to attend a Mass that was not celebrated in traditional Latin, paid
homage to the Patriarch during the first anniversary of his death, praising his contribution in the
form of (1) pastoral visits, (2) Conferences of St. Vincent of Paul (3) House for the old clergy (4)
Diocesan synod (5) intellectual standard of the seminarians (6) holiness of the clergy (7) parish
schools and teaching of music (8) conclusion of the minor seminary that was started by D. Teotonio
Vieira de Castro (suspended for lack of money) (9) A professional school of the Salesians (10)
Fresh life to the SFX missionaries of local origin (11) Refugee home for women (12) Home for
Students in Panjim (13) Selection of the best priests to serve in other dioceses. He concludes by
saying: ―Truly, Cardinal Costa Nunes was one of the greatest men Portugal sent to the East. He was
at the head of the Archdiocese a little over a decade. Cardinal Costa Nunes is dead, but he will not
die in the memory of a people that he helped to grow into one of the most influential communities in
modern India.‖46

The Indian government had been pressing Portugal since 1950 to end its colonial rule in
India. The Portuguese authorities were unwilling to consider the matter, refusing also the pressure
of the UN to submit the list of its colonies. The Portuguese had changed the Constitution to
designate colonies as ―overseas provinces‖ as a diplomatic subterfuge. The Indian demands also
included the end of the Portuguese Padroado rights in India as incompatible with India’s
sovereignty.

The performance of D. José da Costa Nunes has to be analysed against this background of
Portugal-India relations. His intense interest in reviving the missionary activity in India needs to be

45
Cardeal Costa Nunes – in Memoriam no Centenario do Nascimento 1880-1980, ed. José Machado Lourenço,
Secretriado Braga, nacional do Apostolado da Oração, Editorial A O, 1980, pp.11-12.

19
 Teotónio R. de Souza

viewed also against the political-nationalist background of the Nyogi Report (1954-56) which
recommended a ban on the foreign missionary activities as detrimental to the political loyalty of the
Christians and to the religious and cultural sentiments of non-Christian populations of India.47 The
Nyogi Committee utilised as one of its source books K.M. Panikkar’s Asia and Western
Dominance (London, George Allen & Unwin, 1959). The author had been the architect of
independent India’s foreign policy and had portrayed the European missionaries in Asia as colonial
stooges seeking to dominate by infiltrating into Asian cultures.48

The religious-political convictions of D. José da Costa Nunes had various challenges to face
in the new political context of independent India. In 1948, the Holy See appointed a Goan, Valerian
Gracias as archbishop of Bombay. The Portuguese saw it as a violation of Padroado accord of 1928,
which provided for alternation of white Portuguese and British citizens as bishops of Bombay. India
had raised objection to this clause as violation of India’s sovereignty in 1947. Salazar understood
well the political sensitivity of India and showed willingness to compromise and modify the accord,
and it happened in 1950. Mgr. Gracias had no great sympathies for Portugal. Gilberto Freyre has
recorded his impression of this in his Aventura e Rotina. It is reported that after his consecration,
Valerian Gracias was greeted in Rome by some Portuguese, including a priest. Gracias seems to
have replied curtly in English, conveying that he was an Indian and had nothing to do with the
Portuguese!49 A couple of years later Archbishop Gracias was a candidate for the cardinalate, and
the nuncio in Portugal conveyed to the Vatican its negative reaction, suggesting that it would only
accept the cardinalate for D. José da Costa Nunes who had felt slighted by the Vatican’s plans and
moved out of Goa. The Salazar regime threatened to withdraw its ambassador from the Holy See if
its grievance was not respected. The Vatican then proceeded to award a Golden Rose to the

46
O Heraldo, Panjim, 29-30 November , 1-2 December 1977.
47
The Christian response to the Report is contained in Truth Shall Prevail, ed. A. Soares et al, Bombay, 1957. The
following web link may illustrate this point in the words of Mahatma Gandhi on 11 May 1935, as reported in Harijan
http://www.vigilonline.com/records/meetings/relart/relconversionpub.htm
48
New edition was brought out by The Other Press at Kualalumpur in 1993 with a new preface by Claude Alvares and
Teotonio R. de Souza.
49
Manuel Braga da Cruz, O Estado Novo e a Igreja Católica, Lisboa, Ed. Bizâncio, 1998, p.111.

20
The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

Archdiocese of Goa in recognition of its historic role, and decided to name D. José da Costa Nunes
vice-camerlengo of the Vatican.50

José da Costa Nunes utilised very well three major religious celebrations to counter the
public opinion that was not too favourable to his defence of ―Faith and Empire‖. Curiously, he
seemed convinced that the Faith needed forever the ―Portuguese‖ empire for its survival and
progress. The three occasions were: (1) the canonization of St. John Britto in June 1947 (He was a
Portuguese Jesuit who followed the indigenization method of De Nobili in Madurai in the 17th
century and was killed), (2) the plenary council of the Church of India in 1950, where D. José da
Costa Nunes presided over its inauguration as per the right granted to him by the Concordat of 1940
(3) the fourth centenary of the death of St. Francis Xavier (whose relics attract thousands of pilgrims
to Goa) in December 1952. This coincided with the commemoration of the arrival of St. Thomas in
India. The exposition of the relics of St. Francis Xavier in Goa was attended by representatives of
the Portuguese government in Lisbon, as well as by the Cardinal patriarch of Lisbon, who came as
the Papal Legate. We cannot analyse here the speeches and writings of D. José da Costa Nunes on
these various occasions, but he did not miss a single opportunity to hammer into his listeners his
convictions as a representative of the Portuguese Padroado in the prevailing political context. Just a
quote from the Archdiocesan Bulletin of July 1951 (Nº1) commemorating 25 years of Salazar
coming to power: ‖by his culture and clear vision of problems, he laid the foundations of the so-
called New State…an eminent statesman who sees and foresees, builds and solidifies….gained a
unique reputation as a person of character and right intentions…without Dr. Oliveira Salazar it is
certain that the aims of the revolt of 28 May would end in failure.‖51

D. José da Costa Nunes was given a reception-cum- farewell party at the Governor’s palace
in the capital city of Goa in September 1953. It was meant to commemorate the golden jubilee of his
priestly ordination and his imminent departure as Patriarch of Goa. In his speech on the occasion,
he referred to his religious patriotism, which did not exclude, but intensified civic patriotism. He
affirmed that many had misinterpreted this and saw in it political motivations under the cover of
religion. He saw it only as a way of glorifying the evangelizing deeds of the Portuguese Crown
Patronage. He added: ―I have witnessed difficult moments, provoked by exalted nationalisms. Even

50
Loc. cit.
51
D. José da Costa Nunes, Magistério do Patriarca, Macau, Fundação Macau, 1999, pp. 193-194.

21
 Teotónio R. de Souza

when I tried to keep myself out and above such nationalisms, my thoughts were often disfigured. I
do not have to change any of my words or attitudes, because I followed always the wise guiding
rules of the Church. I did not engage myself in any political propaganda under cover of the Gospels,
but neither did I hesitate to say what my duty demanded. In Goa, I recommended obedience to
legitimate authorities, condemned anti-nationalist propaganda and upheld the respect for the flag
which gave the Goan his special qualities. Outside Goa I advised the faithful to love their country, to
collaborate with their authorities for the progress of India, which I regard as having a special role in
this part of the world, a role which it will fulfil satisfactorily only at the feet of Christ. Will this
happen long time from now? After another century? After many centuries? Let us not seek the
penetrate the secrets of Providence, but we can rest assured that in time, the Church will bring all
peoples under the victorious banner of the Cross… When I say good-bye to Goa after 11 years, I
say good bye to my missionary life in the East. It was sufficient time to create strong bonds to
people of Goa. I leave them with deep agitation within me and I shall always carry fond memories
with me, even though it has not been all flowers all along.‖ He reminded himself and those present
of the sight across river Mandovi, when he was standing once in the verandah of the parish
residence of Penha da França. It was a delightful and exciting sight which made him recall with
nostalgia the past centuries since the arrival of the Portuguese. He felt proud of the past, but also
sad. The empire had been mutilated over time and he was wondering if it would subject to fresh
blows. He recalled what João Mascarenhas had told Kwaja Zafar during the second siege of Diu,
when the Portuguese were asked to surrender, because their fort was already without walls. The
reply he sent to Khwaja Zafar was: ―The Portuguese do not require walls to defend themselves‖.
The Patriarch was now making those his own words: ―The land where the Portuguese are will
forever be Portuguese‖ (Terra onde estão portugueses, portuguesa será sempre”).52

But the same Patriarch was writing a piece of history of the Portuguese Crown Patronage in
the East some decades earlier: ―Portugal is rightly viewed as a country of missionaries. Before the
Discoveries and Conquests, the Gospel was limited almost exclusively to Europe. But ever since we
forced open the East and planted fortresses along the coasts of Africa and Asia, Christianity
penetrated everywhere, calling peoples to share the Christian civilization, and this call was extended
both to colonized peoples and to those who remained free‖ (os povos dominados e mesmo os que

52
Portugal em Africa, X, Nº 60, Nov-Dez., 1953, pp. 372-375.

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The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

livres continuaram).53 After all the Patriarch had said to the contrary, the Portuguese did require
fortresses to protect themselves, and there were ―dominated‖ people, and people who were ―free‖.
Obviously, in the changed anti-colonial ambience, the discourse of D. José da Costa Nunes had to
be different. We can check if his other writings did not betray nationalism which he claims was
never a part of his religious discourses and actions.

On his arrival and taking charge of Goa Archdiocese, the Patriarch changed the name of the
Archdiocesan Bulletin from Voz de S. Francisco Xavier to Boletim Eclesiástico da Arquidiocese de
Goa, and started publishing therein with regularity his ―Letters to Priests of the Archdiocese‖. Sixty
of these letters published between 1942 and 1946 were gathered into a book that was released in
1947 in Lisbon to mark his Episcopal Jubilee (1946).54 In the very first letter he reminds his
priests that a dedicated and conscientious subject takes the wish of his superior as an order, and he
expresses his interest in making his ideas and wishes known to his clergy from time to time in letters
that he intended to publish in the Archdiocesan Bulletin. Hence, some extracts from these letters,
accompanied by our critical comments may provide the reader a glimpse into the style of
functioning of the Patriarch Costa Nunes. He says it again in the same above quoted letter that he
does not want to appear as a boss who imposes anything, but as a friend conversing with friends, or
a father with his children. But the objective was clear: To be listened to and obeyed!55

From the third letter onwards there are constant recommendations to the clergy to promote
Catholic Action in order to prepare the Christian elite to counter the threats of rationalism and
communism to the established social order. He cites examples of the success of Catholic Action
movement in various European countries. His forty-two letters addressed to the youth contain his
more detailed vision for the youth.56 In his letters to the priests he touches upon several issues that
interest us: He sees no place for caste system in the Catholic community. He points to cases of open
protests of the oppressed castes in the subcontinent and expresses fears that protests from below
may lead to breakdown of the Indian society. He recommends changes from above. He admits the
reality and even the need of different levels of functioning of the ―classes‖ in a society, but does not

53
J. da Costa Nunes, ―Padroado Português no Extremo-Oriente‖, Boletim da Agencia Geral das Colónias, Nov. 1929,
Nº 53, pp. 40-45.
54
D. José da Costa Nunes, Cartas aos Sacerdotes da Arquidiocese de Goa, Lisboa, Agência Geral das Colónias, 1947.
55
Ibid., p.7.
56
D. José da Costa Nunes, Cartas aos Jovens Goeses, Macau, Fundação Macau, 1999.

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 Teotónio R. de Souza

see place for caste in the modern times and does not want to see any trace of it in the functioning of
his priests.57 Regarding Indian nationalism and tendencies to curb the freedom of missionary
preaching, he sees them as contrary to freedom of conscience that is guaranteed in a democracy. He
questions the veracity of accusations levelled against the use of force by the Portuguese in
converting people. He admits that there may have been stray cases, but that it was not a rule. He
explains the ―violence‖ as methods of a society moulded by Christian principles to allure pagans to
church by favouring the converts in every possible way. He sees that as measures adopted to
safeguard the freedom of cult against the social controls of the Hindus. The Patriarch laments that in
more recent times the Portuguese authorities have failed to keep up the policy of the early
colonizers. He imagines that if Portugal had 30-40 millions instead of 2-3 million inhabitants in the
XVI-XVII centuries, the whole of India could be changed into a catholic nation without any
violence, and it would be like Brazil. It would be a great power in Asia with its own culture and
national unity. He compares British India with Portuguese India and concludes that despite some
large and developed cities, British India is materially and culturally much more backward than
Portuguese India. He goes further to state that whatever progress was made in British India, it was
achieved with the assistance of Goan emigrants, whose contribution could be found in the scattered
cities and ports of India. He attributes the capacity of Goan emigrants to their Christian upbringing,
even in cases where this upbringing may be consciously rejected by some.58 In his 8th letter, he
refers to the enthusiasm with which he was greeted by the Goan Catholic population in Bombay
when he was returning after a pastoral visit to Daman, Nagar Haveli and Diu. He sensed that they
were filled with love for Portugal and for the Padroado. He refers to nearly 50.000 Goans occupying
posts in all walks of life and administration. Though belonging to 3rd or 4th generation of
emigrants, they were fond of Goa, fond of St. Francis Xavier and fond of the country that had
brought Gospel to their ancestors. He had noticed the same feelings in Catholic emigrants all over
Asia where he had been.59 He refers to the problem of beggary in Goa. He sees it as ubiquitous and
suggests that random assistance would be of little help. He suggests that setting up Conferences of
St. Vincent of Paul could help to remedy the problem with a well organized material assistance. 60

57
Ibid., pp. 26-28.
58
Ibid., pp. 35-41.
59
Ibid., pp. 43-53.
60
Ibid.,pp. 71-74.

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The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

Elsewhere he focuses upon the urgency of organizing and coordinating at diocesan and metropolitan
levels the Catholic Action groups in all the parishes. He refers to stagnation in Goan Catholic life
and prevalence of abuses of alcohol, contraception, prostitution among emigrant women and house
maids, etc. He suggests better use of funds through Catholic Action movement, creation of parish
libraries, instead of wasting the funds in music bands and fireworks during novenas and feasts. 61 He
refers also to the ignorance among the clergy of the Indian culture and philosophy. Feels that they
could care less for western philosophers and literatures, but ought master the Indian thought in
order to pass on the Christian message to Indian minds.62 He states also that among ―all the overseas
possessions, Goa translates best the colonizing spirit of the Portuguese, who had made it a Christian
land and a Portuguese land, without destroying its Indian characteristics‖. A Goan Christian could
remain psychologically proud of his Indian cultural and historical greatness. A Goan was a link
between India and Europe.63 His constant refrain is the lack of missionary spirit among Goan
priests, who have little to do in the parishes, while vast regions in India have no priests. He
expresses his interest in helping the Goan Congregation of Pilar Fathers to launch out in mission
work.64 But the letters contain frequent statements of dubious historical value. While rejecting the
accusations that Goan converts were made to change names and dressing habits, states that they
were the ones who willingly opted for those changes to distance themselves form the Hindu society
that rejected them and to be closer to the Portuguese who helped them. He sees the accusations to
the contrary as expressions of exaggerated nationalism. He points out to other countries that adopt
western style of dress as they get materially more developed and interact more with other countries.
Is convinced that Europe will be the universal model for the educated generations all over the world.
He takes up also the accusation of missionaries being foreign nationalists! He does not see why a
missionary should renounce his country, as long as he does not make political propaganda under
cover of religion.65

Patriach’s silence about Goa’s freedom struggle ?

61
Ibid.,pp. 81-85.
62
Ibid.,pp. 87-91.
63
Ibid.,pp. 93-94.
64
Ibid.,pp. 105-109
65
Ibid.,pp. 112-115

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 Teotónio R. de Souza

Tristão Bragança-Cunha, a Goan nationalist and freedom-fighter, was the first Goan
deported to Portugal in 1946 for 8 years in jail.66 It happened during the Church governance of D.
José da Costa Nunes in Goa. The Brazilian sociologist Gilberto Freyre, who visited Goa at the
behest of Salazar in 1951, saw ―lusotropicalism‖ which he was commissioned to see and had
nothing to say in his published report Aventura e Rotina about Tristão Braganza-Cunha, who was
jailed in Lisbon at the time he passed through Lisbon before visiting Goa. The Goan freedom
fighter, however, did not forget to comment on the superficial knowledge of Gilberto Freyre about
the Goan reality.67 Tristão Bragança-Cunha also wrote in his newspaper ―Free Goa‖ on 25-8-1956
about the already mentioned Nyogi Report, which recommended the ban on conversions to
Christianity in India. T.B. Cunha fully endorsed the recommendation, because he too considered the
European missionaries as mainly responsible for the ―denationalization‖ of the Goans. T.B. Cunha
makes reference to the visit of José Costa Nunes to Goa in the previous month and quotes a part of
what he calls a ―bellicose harangue‖:

―For us, Portuguese, this land of Goa is a precious treasure of remembrances and high values
that gives so much splendour to the Portuguese nation. Here took place events which brightened our
history; here were written pages that time cannot tarnish; here was planted the tree of Cross which
spread its branches over the entire East; here lived heroes and saints who aggrandized our country
and religion; Western culture which we brought to this half of the world, previously full of legends
and mysteries, started from here; hosts of soldiers and missionaries came here to serve their king
and God; and now in this glorious land of Goa new events are taking place that history will recall as
examples of loyalty and patriotism, spiritual strength and love to common Motherland.

―Why wonder if we refuse to quit? A soldier who sheds his blood for his national territory
is worth more than a coffer full of gold or fine speeches which move audiences. Numbers do not
count, but only the quality of each unit. In the past, with few we did great things….

66
He was recognized as the prime representative of Goa’s freedom struggle and his ashes are preserved in a monument
dedicated to those who died for Goa’s freedom struggle in the capital city of Goa.
67
"Gilberto Freyre in India: Championing Transnational Luso-Tropicalism", Studies in History of the Deccan:Medieval
and Modern: Professor A.R.Kulkarni Felicitation Volume, [Eds.] M.A.Nayeem, Anirudha Ray and K.S.Mathew, New
Delhi, Pragati Publishers, 2002, pp.253-262.

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The Socio-Cultural Perspective in ISIPH Seminars: Assessing 25 Years of Performance

Goa and other Eastern lands, where lives the race sung by our national poet, are in our days
the greatest centres of culture and civilization of Asia. It is on you, members of the Catholic Action,
that lies the duty of preserving this centre of faith.‖

T.B. Cunha wonders about the partiality and double standards of the Vatican which was
quick to admonish the Cardinal of Bombay for some mild words in favour of Goa’s political
liberation, but had nothing to say about the provocative words of the former Patriarch of Goa, José
da Costa Nunes.68

The clearest political utterance of D. José da Costa Nunes on the issue of Goa’s liberation
occurs in his letters to the priests in 1946, stating forcefully that he will never abdicate as a
Portuguese citizen his right to defend his country against historical calumnies. He states in the same
context: ― As a matter of principle, while Goa is a Portuguese territory, I can and should teach its
inhabitants to love Portugal and condemn the cheap ideas (veleidades) of integrating it in Greater
India. The Gospel commands obedience to legitimate authorities and Rome does not permit that any
missionary indulge in anti-national propaganda within the boundaries of the Portuguese Colonial
Empire. I do not do anything wrong, therefore, in recommending submission and respect to the
Portuguese authorities… while this is Portuguese, I have the right to defend the National Flag and to
condemn any disturbances against the Country‖.69 In two earlier letters the Patriarch called upon the
priests to love Portugal and warned them: ―You owe all to Portugal; you owe your religion which
made Goa the most advanced region of India. If Portugal ceases to be in India, it would be the
greatest disaster for the Goan Catholics. Under Portuguese rule, they are something, they have
everything in their land; without Portugal their fate will be sad indeed‖.70

Epilogue

In 1958, the Portuguese dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar was being defied in his choice
of a President for Portugal in elections that since his coming to power in 1926 were meant to
confirm his fancies. General Humberto Dalgado was not his choice for the Presidency, but he had
become a voice of the suppressed political opposition and had rightly earned for himself the popular
nickname of ―Fearless General‖. However, while dissociating himself publicly from this opposition

68
T.B.Cunha, ―Anti-Indian activities of Catholic Missionaries‖, in Goa’s Freedom Struggle: Selected Writings of T.B.
Cunha, Bombay, Dr. T.B.Cunha Memorial Committee, 1961, pp. 493-497.
69
Cartas aos Sacerdotes, p. 279-280.

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 Teotónio R. de Souza

candidate, Antonio Ferreira Gomes, the Bishop of Oporto, had sent in July 1958 a ―pró-memória‖
or an aide-memoire to the Portuguese dictator, asking for an interview in which he wished to bring
to the notice of the dictator his pastoral concern about the political pressures upon the Church
preaching and the political violations of the right of workers to protest against the State sponsored
―corporativism‖. The bishop wished to know if the Church was free to teach its social doctrine and
if the faithful had the right to make their own political options and to participate freely in the
forthcoming elections. The bishop was quickly rebuked and arrangements were made through
Cardinal José Costa Nunes, who was serving at the time at the Vatican, to send the bishop for
―holidays‖ to Rome. It would be a 10-year long exile for the vocal bishop. Apparently, D. José da
Costa Nunes, mentioned to a researcher years later that he was ―misled by Salazar into believing
that it was only for a very short period of time‖.71 The exile of the bishop of Oporto had a far
reaching impact and provoked many Catholics that opposed the regime to come out more openly
with their protests. The Catholic Action which the Patriarch had worked so hard to introduce and
promote in Goa had now become the prime target os Salazar’s protests before the Vatican. He saw
the Catholic Action groups being transformed into undeclared political parties in violation of his
Constitution.72 Encyclicals of Pope John XXIII and the teachings of Vatican II came to provide
doctrinal support for their demands and to fan more active political dissidence, which, jointly with
the discontent of the young recruits being sent to fight the colonial rebellions in Africa, contributed
to the downfall of the dictatorial regime in 1974.

D. José da Costa Nunes lived long enough to see many of his life-long convictions collapse.
He may have realized at the end of his long career that it was not easy for the Portuguese Church
that was wedded to the State to practise the Gospel advice about giving to Caesar what belonged to
Caesar and to God what belonged to God. Curiously and ironically, he had this Gospel citation in
his first pastoral letter after he took charge of the diocese of Macau.73

70
Ibid., pp. 115,143.
71
Dicionário de História Religiosa de Portugal, IV, ed. Carlos Moreira Azevedo, Lisboa, Circulo de Leitores, 2000, p.
409; António Marujo, ―Quando o bispo do Porto se demarcou da oposição‖, Público, Lisboa, 22 April 1999; António
Teixeira Fernandes, Relações entre a Igreja e o Estado, Porto, 2001, pp. 52 ff.
72
Manuel Braga da Cruz, op.cit., pp.69-77.
73
Textos do Cardeal Costa Nunes – Pastorais, Vol. V, Macau, 1999, p. 33.

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