José Francisco Miguel António de Mendonça

His Eminence

José Francisco Miguel António de Mendonça
Cardinal, Patriarch of Lisbon
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
ArchdioceseLisbon
SeeCathedral of St. Mary Major
Installed10 March 1788
Term ended11 February 1818
PredecessorFernando de Sousa e Silva
SuccessorCarlos da Cunha e Menezes
Orders
Ordination5 October 1755
Consecration16 November 1788
Created cardinal7 April 1788
by Pius VI
Personal details
Born(1725-10-02)2 October 1725
Lisbon, Portugal
Died11 February 1808(1808-02-11) (aged 82)
Lisbon, Portugal
NationalityPortuguese

José Francisco Miguel António de Mendonça, or rather, Mendoça (Lisbon, October 2, 1725 - Lisbon, February 11, 1808), was the fifth Patriarch of Lisbon under the name of D. José II.

Biography

He was the son of Nuno Manuel de Mendoça, 4th Count of Vale de Reis, and his wife, D. Leonor Maria Antónia de Noronha. He was the younger brother of the 5th Count and 1st Count of Azambuja, and of D. João Rafael de Mendonça, Bishop of Porto.

He graduated in canon law, having been canon of the Patriarchal See of Lisbon, Monsignor and still principal of the same church.

José Mendonca succeeded D. Francisco de Lemos as rector of the University of Coimbra from 1780 to 1785.[1] During his tenure he attempted introduce a number of reforms.[2]

In 1786, he was appointed Patriarch of Lisbon. By 1792 he was still trying to get permission from the Real Mesa Censória (Royal Censorial Court) to publish two pastoral letters. A law passed on April 5, 1768 reaffirmed the right of "temporal sovereignty" over the prohibition of "pernicious books and papers" in the interest of political defense. As the Mesa had jurisdiction over all printed materials, this included pastoral letters.[3]

Pope Pius VI made him a cardinal in 1788. He died in 1808 and his body is buried in the Convent of Grace.

References

  1. ^ Venturi, Franco (2014). The End of the Old Regime in Europe, 1776-1789, Part I. Princeton University Press. p. 222. ISBN 9781400861903.
  2. ^ Miller, Samuel J. (1978). Portugal and Rome C. 1748-1830: An Aspect of the Catholic Enlightenment. Gregorian Biblical BookShop. p. 333. ISBN 9788876524646.
  3. ^ Miller 1978, p. 356.