Antonio de Gouvea, O.E.S.A. (1575 – 18 August 1628) was a diplomat in the service of

Habsburg Spain Habsburg Spain refers to Spain and the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy, also known as the Rex Catholicissimus, Catholic Monarchy, in the period from 1516 to 1700 when it was ruled by kings from the House of Habsburg. In t ...

, who served as ambassador (envoy) to

Safavid Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

between 1602 and 1613. An Augustinian Portuguese missionary by origin, during his service as diplomat he was appointed as

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Cyrene (1611–1628) and as Apostolic

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of the

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

of the Safavid royal capital of

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

."Bishop Antonio de Gouvea, O.E.S.A."
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...

.'' David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016"Cyrene (Titular See)"
''

.'' David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016"Titular Episcopal See of Cyrene"
''GCatholic.org.'' Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016 He was succeeded as ambassador to the Safavid Empire by García de Silva Figueroa. During his service as diplomat, De Gouvea also wrote two books on Safavid Iran; the ''Jornada'' and the ''Relaçam''.

Biography

Antonio de Gouvea was born in

Beja, Portugal Beja (), officially the City of Beja (), is a city and a List of municipalities of Portugal, municipality in the Alentejo region, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 35,854, in an area of . The city proper had a population of 21,658 in 2001. The ...

and ordained a priest in the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine on 4 June 1591. On 19 August 1611, he was appointed during the papacy of

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V (; ) (17 September 1552 – 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 Galileo Galilei as a mem ...

of Cyrene. On 8 January 1612, he was consecrated bishop by Alexeu de Jesu de Meneses,

Archbishop of Goa The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Goa and Daman (, , ) encompasses the Goa state and the Damaon territory in the Konkan region, by the west coast of India. The ecclesiastical province of Goa and Damaon includes a suffragan dio ...

. He died on 18 August 1628. While bishop, he was the principal co-consecrator of Agustín Spínola Basadone,

Bishop of Tortosa The bishop of Tortosa is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tortosa in Catalonia, Spain.

(1623), Agustín Antolínez,

Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo The Diocese of Ciudad Rodrigo () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church, located in the city of Ciudad Rodrigo in the ecclesiastical province of Valladolid.Juan Roco Campofrío Juan Roco Campofrío (8 June 1565 – 16 September 1635) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Coria (1632–1635), Bishop of Badajoz (1627–1632), and Bishop of Zamora (1625–1627). ''(in Latin)''< ...

, Bishop of Zamora (1625).

References

Sources

* 17th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops 1575 births 1628 deaths Bishops appointed by Pope Paul V Augustinian bishops People from Beja, Portugal Ambassadors of Spain Armenian Catholic Church Apostolic vicars Eastern Catholicism in Iran Ambassadors of the Spanish Empire to Safavid Iran {{RC-archbishop-stub

Biography

See also

References

Sources