D. João de Sousa (1647Castro, 90 - 28 September 1710) was a Portuguese prelate,

Bishop of Porto The Diocese of Porto () (Oporto) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Portugal. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Braga. Its see at Porto is in the Norte region, and the second largest city in Portugal. History The dioc ...

Archbishop of Braga The Archdiocese of Braga () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Portugal. It is known for its use of the Rite of Braga, a use of the liturgy distinct from the Roman Rite and other Latin liturgical ...

and

Archbishop of Lisbon The Metropolitan Patriarchate of Lisbon () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or patriarchate, patriarchal archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Its episcopal see, archiepiscopal see is the Lisbon Cathedra ...

Biography

D. João was the son of Tomé de Sousa, 8th Lord of Gouveia with Francisca de Meneses, and nephew of Dom Diogo de Sousa,

Archbishop of Évora In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

. He graduated in canons at the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, 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 university ...

, and afterwards entered the service of the Holy Office, he was a deputy in

Évora Évora ( , ), officially the Very Noble and Ever Loyal City of Évora (), is a city and a municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of . It is the historic capital of the Alentejo reg ...

, being already Archdeacon of Santa Cristina, in the Archbishopric of Braga, also holding the position of '' sumilher'' to

Pedro II of Portugal ''Dom (title), Dom'' Pedro II (Peter II; 26 April 1648 – 9 December 1706), nicknamed the Pacific (''Português:'' O Pacífico) was King of Portugal from 1683 until his death, previously serving as regent for his brother Afonso VI of Portugal, ...

., 3=Portugal:Dicionário Histórico Portugal, Volume VI, pág. 1045, Edição em papel de 1904-1915, João Romano Torres - Editor, Edição electrónica de 2000-2010, por Manuel Amaral
/ref> In 1682, he served in the Armada and went to

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

to aid the

Duke of Savoy The titles of the count of Savoy, and then duke of Savoy, are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the House of Savoy held the county. Several of these rulers ruled as kings at ...

as his ''sumilher''. On his return, at the time when Diogo de Sousa, his uncle, was Archbishop of Évora; he held the position of President of the Ecclesiastical Relation of that city. He was, afterwards deputy of the Inquisition of Lisbon, having refused the priory of Palmela and the Bishopric of Miranda. Nevertheless, he accepted the place of

and had his elevation confirmed by

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI (; ; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689. Political and religious tensions with ...

in 1684, being consecrated on April 16 by Cardinal D. Veríssimo de Lencastre, assisted by Bishop Manuel Pereira, Bishop-emeritus of St. Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro and by D. Antonio de Santa Maria, Titular Bishop of Diocaesarea in Isauria. He remained in the diocese until 1696, when he was elevated to

. His solemn entry took place on 29 June 1697. D. João remained in that post until 1703, when he was transferred to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. By his work and extreme humility, he received praises in the Apostolic Brief of

Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII (; ; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He took a hard stance against nepotism ...

. Kings Pedro II and João V made efforts to elevate the archbishop to cardinal, but when he was to be appointed by

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI (; ; ; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI was a patron of the arts an ...

, he died on 29 September 1710. He is buried in the cemetery of the poor in the old cathedral, without epitaph and in humble burial, as he had wanted.

Bibliography

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References

External links

"Patriarchal See of Lisboa"
''GCatholic.org''.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sousa, Joao de 1647 births 1710 deaths Archbishops of Lisbon Roman Catholic archbishops of Braga Bishops of Porto 18th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Portugal University of Coimbra alumni 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Portugal