Diogo das Chagas, O.F.M. (Diogo of the

Holy Wounds In Catholic tradition, the Five Holy Wounds, also known as the Five Sacred Wounds or the Five Precious Wounds, are the five piercing wounds that Jesus Christ suffered during his crucifixion. The wounds have been the focus of particular devotions, ...

); (c. 1584 in

Santa Cruz das Flores Santa Cruz das Flores (; ) is a municipality situated in the north half of the island of Flores, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Situated in the sparsely populated Western Group, the population in 2021 was 2,020 inhabitants in an ar ...

– c. 1661 in Angra do Heroísmo) was a Portuguese

Franciscan friar , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

. He is best known as the author of ''Espelho Cristalino em Jardim de Várias Flores'', an important resource on the colonization of the islands of the central and western groups of the Portuguese archipelago of his native region of the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

after 1640.

Biography

Diogo was the son of Mateus Coelho da Costa,

Captain-major A donatary captain was a Portuguese colonial official to whom the Crown granted jurisdiction, rights, and revenues over some colonial territory. The recipients of these grants were called (donataries), because they had been given the grant as a ( ...

of the island of Flores, and his wife, Catarina de Fraga Rodovalho. Little is known of his infancy and childhood; Diogo wrote that his first studies occurred in the city of Angra, where he most likely entered the

Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

and received his initial ecclesiastical training. Due to the absence of a resident

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

in the Diocese de Angra, he travelled to Lisbon in 1612 in order to be ordained a priest. He returned to the Azores in 1614, and began studying the Arts at the Jesuit college in Angra. In 1616 he returned to the mainland where he registered at the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The u ...

to continue his theological studies. He completed these studies in 1620 and again returned to the Azores, where he taught

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the Friary of São Francisco in Angra. Diogo became the Guardian of the Friary of São Francisco in

Praia da Vitoria Praia (, Portuguese for "beach") is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde.Terceira Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 53,311 inhabitants in an area of approximately . It is the location ...

in 1627, where he received a license to preach in 1629. Along with his brother, Friar Mateus da Conceição (Matthew of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

), he was responsible for convincing the Franciscan superiors to remove the Azores from the

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

, headquartered on the mainland, and be established as their own independent province in 1638. It was only after the

acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

by King

John IV of Portugal John IV ( pt, João, ; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), nicknamed John the Restorer ( pt, João, o Restaurador), was the King of Portugal whose reign, lasting from 1640 until his death, began the Portuguese restoration of independence from H ...

in 1641 that the Province of St.

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

of the Azores was established. A friend of

Francisco de Ornelas da Câmara, Diogo was a vocal supporter of the

Siege of São Filipe The siege of the Fortress of São Filipe, was a battle fought from 27 March 1641 to 4 March 1642 as part of the Portuguese Restoration War, near Angra, Azores, between Spanish and Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or rel ...

during the Portuguese Restoration War (27 March 1641 - 4 March 1642), which was responsible for the surrender of the Spanish garrison at the Fort of São João Baptista in

Terceira Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 53,311 inhabitants in an area of approximately . It is the location ...

. In 1646, Diogo was appointed

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

Provincial for the Azores, a position he would hold until 1649. During his time in the role, he traveled successively throughout the archipelago, in order to meet with the friars scattered across the different islands. He was considered the ''most dignified Father'' in 1655, at the time that new provincial elections were held. Diogo died in 1661 at the Franciscan friary in Angra do Heroísmo.

Published works

* ''Espelho Cristalino em Jardim de Várias Flores'' (c. 1646 - c. 1654) * ''Relação do que aconteceu na Cidade de Angra da ilha Terceira, depois da feliz aclamação d'el rei D. João IV, que Deus guarde, na restauração do Castelo de S. João Baptista do Monte Brasil, até se embarcarem os castelhanos que o ocupavam…'' * ''Fundação da Província de São João Evangelista das Ilhas dos Açores'' (lost) * ''Meditação da luta do Diabo com Adam, pelo qual saiu Cristo Senhor Nosso a lutar com o Diabo'' * ''Consolação da pobreza, e remédio para qualquer muito muito pobre, ser muito rico'' * ''De como se busca e acha a bem-aventurança''

References

;Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diogo das Chagas 1584 births 1661 deaths People from Flores Island (Azores) Portuguese Friars Minor 17th-century Portuguese Roman Catholic priests University of Coimbra alumni Franciscan scholars Azorean historians Burials in the Azores