Fernando Martins Mascarenhas (otherwise referred to as Fernão Martins Mascarenhas; c. 1548 – 20 January 1628) was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

scholar, theologian, and church leader. King Philip I appointed him Rector of 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 ...

and, later, Bishop of Faro; he later resigned to take up the post of Inquisitor General of Portugal.

Biography

Fernão Martins de Mascarenhas was born in

Montemor-o-Novo Montemor-o-Novo () is a municipality in the District of Évora in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 17,437, in an area of 1232.97 km2. The city itself had a population of 8,928 in 2001. The present Mayor is Olímpio Manuel Vidigal Galvão, ...

, Alentejo, the second-born of D. Vasco Mascarenhas, Keeper of the Wardrobe (''Reposteiro-mor'') of Prince John (son of King John III), and Maria de Mendonça. He studied Philosophy in the

University of Évora The University of Évora (''Universidade de Évora'') is a public university in Évora, Portugal. It is the second oldest university in the country, established in 1559 by the cardinal Henry, and receiving University status in April of the same ...

, earning the degree of '' Artium Magister'' and, later, a doctorate in

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 ...

from the

as a student (''porcionista'') in the Royal College of Saint Paul. On 15 May 1586, he was made Rector of the

by decree of King Philip I. On 3 January 1594 he was nominated Bishop of Faro, a vacant see since the death of his predecessor, Francisco Cano; he was consecrated by

Miguel de Castro D. Miguel de Castro (1536-1625) was Bishop of Viseu in 1579, Archbishop of Lisbon in 1586, and later Viceroy of Portugal. He received his doctorate in Theology at Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. Th ...

Archbishop of Lisbon The Patriarchate of Lisbon ( la, Patriarchatus Olisiponensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or patriarchal archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Its archiepiscopal see is the Patriarchal Cathedral of ...

, in the Lisbon Cathedral, on 5 February 1595. As bishop, he was highly regarded for his charity. During his episcopate, 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 ...

endured a plague outbreak, and Bishop Mascarenhas assisted the sick with great commitment; when Vila Nova de Portimão faced a terrible

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...

, he had all the wheat in his granary distributed amongst the populace. In 1599, he established the Jesuit College in

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...

and, in 1607, he donated large sums to help build the Capuchin Convent of Saint Anthony in

Tavira Tavira () is a Portuguese town and municipality, capital of the ''Costa do Acantilado'', situated in the east of the Algarve on the south coast of Portugal. It is east of Faro and west of Huelva across the river Guadiana into Spain. The Gilã ...

. On 4 July 1616 he was made Inquisitor General by papal brief of

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

, and took office on 15 December. He accumulated this post with that of

Councilor of State A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...

, and of Lord Prior of the in Guimarães. He was offered the Sees of

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

and of Lisbon, but he refused. His remains are buried in the chancel of the Church of Saint Roch, in Lisbon.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mascarenhas, Fernando Martins 1536 births People from Montemor-o-Novo 1628 deaths Portuguese Inquisition 17th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Portugal University of Coimbra alumni Academic staff of the University of Coimbra University of Évora alumni