Mantius of Évora ( pt, São Manços) was the legendary first bishop of Lisbon and

Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old to ...

in the 1st century AD. In some versions of his legend, he was one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, who was sent to preach the Gospel in Lusitania.

Legend

According to the most well-known version, known from at least the 16th century (recounted in

André de Resende André de Resende (1498–1573) was a Dominican friar who is considered to be father of archaeology in Portugal. He spent many years traveling in Spain, France and Belgium, where he corresponded with Erasmus and other learned men. He was also in ...

's ''Breviário Eborense'', 1548), he was born in Rome and, converting to Christianity, went to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, where he was able to meet

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and be one of His disciples. Mantius would even have participated in the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

and witnessed

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers o ...

. He would have been, therefore, among the

seventy disciples The seventy disciples or seventy-two disciples, known in the Eastern Christian traditions as the seventy apostles or seventy-two apostles, were early emissaries of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. The correct Greek terminology is evdomikon ...

. After the

crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and conside ...

, he was sent out as a missionary of the Gospel and, after passing through

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only durin ...

(where he performed a miracle in the name of Jesus in the town of

Châlons-en-Champagne Châlons-en-Champagne () is a city in the Grand Est region of France. It is the capital of the department of Marne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims. Formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne, the city was officially renam ...

, restoring to life a young man of nobility who had drowned), continued into Hispanic lands and arrived in Lusitania. He preached in the

Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alen ...

region, where he would have converted many people, and arrived at

, where he would have established a Christian community, presided over by him as the first bishop. A later tradition also has Mantius travelling to Lisbon and founding a new community there, also becoming their first bishop. Neither of the two traditions has historical basis, and both dioceses date from around the 4th century. Roman persecution of Christian communities would have Mantius imprisoned; after refusing to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods, he was martyred near Évora, traditionally in the site nowadays occupied by the civil parish of

São Manços SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

Veneration

The first written reference to Saint Mantius dates back to 1195, and devotion to the saint spread in the end of the 13th century, possibly following the arrival of his presumed relics in

Castile Castile, Castille or Castilla may refer to: Places Spain *Castile (historical region), a vaguely defined historical region of Spain covering most of Castile and León, all of the Community of Madrid and most of Castilla–La Mancha *Kingdom of ...

. According to the same tradition, the relics of Saint Mantius were in the church of São Manços but, in order to save them from Muslim invaders, they were brought in 714 to

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensi ...

as were the remains of other saints. In 1070, Gutierre Téllez de Meneses would have had a dream in which Saint Mantius told him to take his relics to Castile. Thus the relics arrived at what today is

Villanueva de San Mancio Villanueva de San Mancio is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Sp ...

, in the province of

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peo ...

, near

Medina de Rioseco Medina de Rioseco is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Valladolid (province), province of Valladolid, in the autonomous community of Castile and León and Spain. According to a 2011 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística ( ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

; the authorities would not let him enter the town with the saint's remains, so the knight founded a monastery on the outskirts, with the support of the Benedictine monks of Sahagún, where the relics were left — the town subsequently grew around the monastery. In the last Roman Martyrology he is called "martyr" and is said to die in the VI century.

References

{{Reflist 1st-century bishops in Hispania 1st-century Christian martyrs 1st-century Romans Bishops of Évora Bishops of Lisbon Portuguese Roman Catholic saints