Andrés de Oviedo (1518 - 29 June 1577), also known as Andre da Oviedo, was a Spanish

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionary and Patriarch of Ethiopia. Oviedo was born in

Illescas, Toledo Illescas is a town and municipality of Spain located in the province of Toledo, Castilla–La Mancha. The municipality spans across a total area of 56.75 km2 and, as of 1 January 2020, it has a registered population of 30,229, which makes it the t ...

. On 19 June 1541, while in Rome, he entered the Society of Jesus, nine months after it was approved by

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

. In autumn of that year he travelled to Paris, where he studied theology, although his studies were interrupted by the war between France and Spain, so he continued studying in

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

, completing in 1544. He was auxiliary of the Patriarch of Ethiopia

João Nunes Barreto João is the Portuguese equivalent of the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the sections below. Kings * ...

in the apostolic mission which began in 1556 under the sponsorship by

John III of Portugal John III ( pt, João III ; 7 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed The Pious (Portuguese: ''o Piedoso''), was the King of Portugal and the Algarves from 1521 until his death in 1557. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the thi ...

and Ignatius of Loyola. With the death of Nunes on 22 December 1562, he succeeded to the Patriarchate. Though the mission's purpose - reconciliation with the Church of Rome - failed, Oviedo remained till the end of his life in

Fremona Fremona ( ti, ፍሬሞና, ''fəremona'') was a town in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It was about a mile in circumference and was flanked with towers. The town served as the base of the Roman Catholic missionaries to Ethiopia during the 16th and 17th ...

(Ethiopia), at the service of the small catholic community, where he died the 26 June 1577.

References

* Konrad Eubel (1923). ''Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi'', vol. 3. Librariae Regensbergianae, Münster. . * Ángel Santos Hernández (2001). ''Jesuitas y obispados: Los jesuitas obispos misioneros y los obispos jesuitas de la extinción'', vol. 2. Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid. . 1518 births 1577 deaths Roman Catholic missionaries in Ethiopia 16th-century Spanish Jesuits Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries People from the Province of Toledo 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Africa 16th century in Ethiopia Spanish expatriates in Ethiopia Jesuit missionaries in Ethiopia Ethiopian Catholic bishops {{Spain-RC-bishop-stub