Bresil

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Relazione della cattura e del viaggio del Brasile a Lisbona e da Lisbona a Genova de PP. Gesuiti da Provincia del Brasile

1760réf. 5489Genoa: 29 July 1760. Hardcover. Fine. Manuscript in Italian written in a neat cursive in brown/black ink on laid paper. With some minor foxing some folding lines the creases slightly flattened the bottom edge of the leaves is slightly frayed. Otherwise in very good condition. A harrowing eye-witness account by a Jesuit Father of the Province of Brazil describing the forced expulsion of the Jesuits from Brazil in 1760 the hardships they endured during their capture and the perilous journey from Brazil to Genoa via Lisbon. The author begins his narrative with the persecution suffered by the Jesuits in Brazil following the official suppression of the Order. The Jesuit colleges were thoroughly plundered property seized precious silver taken and church furnishings stripped away. They were ordered not to open the church doors or ring the bells although on three occasions the Blessed Sacrament was brought to the sick an act which deeply moved the local people. The Jesuits endured many sufferings during their captivity. They were confined under harsh conditions; guarded constantly by soldiers. Their living quarters were cramped and filthy so small that they could neither sit nor lie down comfortably. Many suffered from hunger thirst and illness and several lost their lives during this ordeal. On 16 March the journey by sea began. The voyage was nothing short of a cruel martyrdom: extreme hunger and sickness afflicted the Jesuit Fathers. One elderly and saintly Father Francesco Paolo died shortly after the journey began not from disease but from severe distress caused by lack of food and medicine. Another Father Giovanni de Matha suffered a dangerous hemorrhage and narrowly survived while many others fell ill. They arrived at the mouth of the Tagus River in Portugal on 6 June after which they were transferred under guard to a Genoese ship effectively imprisoned once again. They were forbidden from going ashore or even signaling their arrival. More Jesuit Fathers from Brazil joined them later in June many weakened and sick from the hardships endured. Tragically some who had been sent ahead to Portugal suffered such extreme famine and thirst that they resorted to drinking their own urine and several died without the comfort of the last rites which were denied by the ship's captain. The captains and executioners of the royal orders showed little compassion even as they witnessed the Jesuits' pale and dying condition. Throughout this entire ordeal a royal minister constantly monitored the Jesuits offering false hopes that they might remain in the kingdom if they renounced their order and left the Jesuit habit behind. Some succumbed to these pressures but most remained steadfast. The Jesuits also faced opposition from the Bishop of Rio de Janeiro who initially used them for missions but later prohibited their confessions and sermons accusing them falsely of heretical teachings. He even excommunicated those who encouraged perseverance in the Jesuit order. Despite all these hardships the siege imprisonment brutal sea voyage hunger disease and ecclesiastical persecution the Jesuits maintained their faith and dignity praying for peace and the restoration of their Society. In a long postscript the writer gives further news that he has received from Brazil. He describes the devotion despite the Suppression of the Brazilian indigenous novices and the bravery of the students many of whom accompanied other Jesuit fathers in a cramped ship for the long voyage to Europe. A number of students held back -reluctantly- realizing that their presence on the ship would only lead to further overcrowding and privation for the Jesuit fathers in particular those who were old and frail. With sorrow they wept on the shore as the ship weighed anchor and departed for the miserable voyage. The account closes on 29 July 1760 expressing a solemn hope that after so many disasters peace will return to the Jesuit order. 29 July hardcover books