Jose de Anchieta

José de Anchieta (San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, March 19, 1534 - Reritiba, Brazil, June 9, 1597), known as Father Anchieta, was a Jesuit missionary and Spanish saint in Brazil. He was also a prominent linguist, writer, doctor, architect, engineer, humanist, and poet. He is the first playwright, the first grammarian and the first poet born in the Canary Islands and the father of Brazilian literature.

Born in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, on the Spanish island of Tenerife, he was sent to the Portuguese University of Coimbra in 1548. At the time, Portugal was more tolerant of "New Christians", and such was the mother of the future saint. His mother was the daughter of Sebastián de Llerena, a converted Jew from the kingdom of Castile. Once in Coimbra, José entered the Society of Jesus and, after due years of study, would be sent as a missionary to Brazil, where he would die in 1597. He was one of the founders of the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Father José de Anchieta was also the standardizer of the Tupi language.

He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980, in a solemn ceremony held in the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica. Due to his missionary and evangelical dedication, he is called the "Apostle of Brazil" and was declared by Pope Benedict XVI as one of the thirteen Intercessors of World Youth Day 2013, which was held in Rio de Janeiro.

Father Anchieta was canonized by equivalent canonization on April 3, 2014 by Pope Francis. He is therefore the second native saint of the Canary Islands after Pedro de San José Betancur and also considered the third saint of Brazil, due to the fact that he carried out his missionary work in what is currently that American country. The Thanksgiving Mass, presided over by the Pope, was celebrated on April 24 of the same year in the Church of San Ignacio de Loyola in Rome.

Biography

Early Years

Home of José de Anchieta in San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Tenerife).

José de Anchieta was the son of Juan de Anchieta Zelayarán (a native of Urrestilla, a neighborhood of the town of Azpeitia, in the province of Guipúzcoa, Basque Country, cousin of San Ignacio de Loyola) and of Mencía Díaz de Clavijo y Llerena, descendant through the maternal line of the Canarian nobility, but at the same time the daughter of a converted Jew. His father was also mayor of the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna.

José de Anchieta was born in the Tenerife city of La Laguna on March 19, 1534. He was baptized on April 7, 1534 in the Parish of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios (now the Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna). Since he was little, he had shown great ease in carrying out work in the fields and in everyday life.

In 1548, at the age of 13, he left for Coimbra, Portugal, in order to pursue religious studies at the famous university of that city. Little by little, José became a distinguished student, a great lover of poetry and good prose. He composed Latin, Spanish and Portuguese verses with extreme ease, such that he was called the & # 34; Coimbra Canary & # 34; .

On May 1, 1551, he joined the Society of Jesus. His excesses in penance and many hours of prayer on his knees caused him a permanent ailment in his spine. He asked to be sent to Brazil, since "in these parts his illness was incurable, they let him go to die among the infidels, where he could at least serve to teach the children";.

Trip to Brazil

He sailed from Lisbon for Brazil on April 17, 1553, in the third expedition of seven Jesuits, and arrived at Salvador de Bahía de Todos os Santos on July 13, 1553, and at the Captaincy of San Vicente on December 24. His superior, Father Manuel de Nóbrega, would welcome him in the small town of Piratininga.

According to the missionary practice of the time, José set out to learn the indigenous language of the place, in this case the Tupi language, in which he would write verses and even plays. One day, having entered the jungle, he came across some Indians who were torturing an enemy. Then, applying his knowledge of the Amerindian language, he began to evangelize the captors until they released his captive. At the age of 21, it is said that he performed wonders that fascinated the other Jesuits, such as levitating when praying before the Virgin, or lighting up the hut in which he was praying before sacred images that even responded to him. Active and hard-working, despite his illness he personally contributed to the construction of new religious buildings. It is known that Anchieta baptized several Indians after converting them to Christianity, among them the cacique Tibiriçá.

An anecdote says that, after the expulsion of the French from Guanabara, Anchieta and Manuel de Nóbrega instigated the governor Mem de Sá to arrest a Huguenot refugee named Jacques Le Balleur in 1559. The governor did not hesitate to sentence the Huguenot to death, convicted of spreading his "heresies."In 1567, Jacques Le Balleur was taken to Rio de Janeiro to serve such a sentence. When the executioner refused the execution, it is said that Anchieta strangled the Huguenot with his bare hands. This story, however, is considered a lie by the Huguenots themselves, since the documents of the time contradict each other.

Evangelization route

He, Father Manuel de Nóbrega and a young Indian, evangelized and loyal to José, would embark in a small canoe. Attacked by a group of Tamoyos, they killed the young indigenous servant. José reasoned with them and they took him to the boss, who welcomed Anchieta and her family as guests. In fact, José would always act as a peacemaker between the Portuguese and the tribes of the Amazon. One day, Anchieta and Nóbrega decided to celebrate the Eucharist in front of those Indians, who were amazed when the text of the Bible was read to them in their language and they heard the subsequent homily. After this, José would use his poetic skills to compose motets that the Indians themselves would sing in Christian ceremonies. He became so famous that many tribes strove to take him in and even once take him by force, but he was able to dissuade them.

It happened that Father Nóbrega had to march to formalize a treaty in the city that would seal harmony and coexistence between the Tupi and the Portuguese. After the march, José continued his mission. With the sorcerer of the tribe, Anchieta learned many secrets of medicine from him. Father Nóbrega returned a year later after having sealed his pact.

Tour around Piratininga

After the arrival of Manuel de Nóbrega, José returned to the village of Piratininga to join the other Jesuits. He then contributed to the founding of the Portuguese cities of São Paulo de Piratininga and São Sebastián de Rio de Janeiro, and in this same city he would be ordained a priest in 1566, at the hands of Bishop Pedro Leitão.

A year later, Nóbrega would die of a disease contracted in the jungle. José would become director of the San Vicente school and two years later, he would go to Europe. On his return he would end up in the Canary Islands, his birthplace, and then return to Bahia, in Brazil.

At the age of 49 he had earned a reputation for holiness in the Brazilian colony, where many turned to him for spiritual help and healing. From 1588 he was already considered & # 34; the apostle of Brazil, & # 34; In addition to being a celebrated writer: he wrote a book on medicine, on the fauna and flora of Brazil, and a book on poetry and songs.

Death and commemorations

Monument to Father José de Anchieta, in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in Tenerife.

On June 9, 1597, he would die in the village of Reritiba, later called "Anchieta" in his honor. He himself had predicted the day and hour of his death.

In 1960, a statue in his honor was installed in San Cristóbal de La Laguna —his hometown—, the work of the Italian-Brazilian artist Bruno Giorgi. This statue was a gift from the Government of Brazil to the hometown of the saint. There is also another important statue of him next to the Metropolitan Cathedral of São Paulo. In the Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna there is a wooden carving and a relic of the saint, which are conducted in a solemn procession every June 9, his festivity in the Catholic saints. The Brotherhood of the Knights of Anchieta is based in this city.

In the Basilica of Our Lady of Candelaria, sanctuary of the patron saint of the Canary Islands, there is a painting that represents Saint José de Anchieta founding the city of São Paulo while a Marian apparition takes place.

In 1965, the Spanish postal service issued a stamp with Anchieta's image, in a series called "Forjadores de América".

In 1997, in the city of La Laguna, a small book was published, about 40 pages in comic format, which tells the story of this missionary, the most important in the Canary Islands together with the holy brother Pedro de San José Betancur.

Beatification

He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 22, 1980 in a solemn ceremony held in the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica. In this act, Pedro de San José Betancur, canonized in 2002 and the first saint of the Canary Islands, was also beatified. Father Anchieta and Brother Pedro, in turn, became the first canaries to be beatified.

Canonization

On February 27, 2014, Pope Francis announced that Father Anchieta would be canonized in Rome in April of that year. The announcement was first communicated to three Canarian priests who attended the Pope's mass at his residence in Santa Marta, who communicated it to the Bishop of Tenerife, Bernardo Álvarez Afonso. The date was initially set for April 2 but it was subsequently moved the following day, through an "equivalent canonization".

For his part, April 24 was the Thanksgiving ceremony presided over by the pope, held in the Roman Church of San Ignacio de Loyola. He agreed that precisely April 24 is the feast of Pedro de San Jose Betancur. It was the sixth canonization performed by S.S. Francisco, as well as the second Jesuit to be canonized by the same pope, after the French Pedro Fabro. Similarly, he was the first canonization of the year 2014 and the first Spaniard to be canonized by Pope Francis.

Sponsorships

San José de Anchieta is the patron and model of catechists. Anchieta was also declared by Pope Benedict XVI as one of the thirteen intercessors of the 2013 World Youth Day, which was held in Rio de Janeiro.

In April 2015 he was declared by the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil as compatron of this country, since the patron saint of Brazil is Our Lady of Conception Aparecida.

Shrines in his honor

The main sanctuaries dedicated to Saint José de Anchieta in Brazil and the Canary Islands are those that are directly related to his life:

• Canary Islands (Spain): In the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna (place of its birth) its main diocesan sanctuary is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Remedies itself. In this temple Anchieta was baptized in 1534 and is found the image that is venerated in his hometown. Every 9th of June in this city a flower offering is celebrated in front of the great bronze statue of the Holy One, to later be made a solemn Eucharist in the cathedral presided by the Bishop of Tenerife and later procession of the image of the Holy by the streets to the home of the Holy One. A flower offering is also made in this place.

• BrazilBrazil: The Sanctuary of San José de Anchieta is located in the town of Reritiba (now called Anchieta) in the state of Holy Spirit. The Sanctuary has an important museum of sacred art, and is built in the place where he lived the last years of his life and died. In this place we celebrate the national feast dedicated to the Holy with pilgrimages of faithful from all over Brazil. Following Anchieta's statement as Brazil's companion in 2015, the temple was declared National Sanctuary.