Melchior Nunes Barreto (Belchior) was a 16th century Portuguese

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

who acted as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. He was born c. 1520 in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

(Oporto),

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, and died in Goa,

Portuguese India The State of India, also known as the Portuguese State of India or Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded seven years after the discovery of the sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the ...

on 6 October 1571.Elesban de Guilhermy (1868): ''Menologie de la Compagnie de Jesus'', pages 125-126.Jean-Pierre Duteil (1994): ''Le mandat du ciel: le rôle des Jésuites en Chine'' (The Mandate from Heaven: The Role of the Jesuits in China), page 316 François Angelier (2011) ''Dictionnaire des Voyageurs et Explorateurs Occidentaux''. Published by Pygmalion. page 92 Some sources claim that he died on 10 August 1571.João Paulo Oliveira e Costa (1998): ''O Cristianismo no Japão e o Episcopado de D. Luís de Cerqueira'' (Christianity in Japan and the Bishopry of Dom Luís de Cerqueira). Doctoral Thesis, Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

Career

Barreto was the son of Fernão (Fernam) Nunes Barreto, a local landlord in

. Barreto had four sisters who were sent to a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

, and three brothers: Gaspar, who inherited his father's property; João (Ioam), who became an

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

and later a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

; and Affonso, who was a priest. Between 1543 and 1544, Barreto joined the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

, Portugal, claiming to be told to do so by the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

in a dream. His application was approved by

Peter Faber Peter Faber, SJ (, ) (13 April 1506 – 1 August 1546) was a Savoyard Catholic priest, theologian and co-founder of the Society of Jesus, along with Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier. Pope Francis announced his canonization in 2013. Life Ea ...

, a companion of

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...

. In 1551, Barreto served as a missionary in Goa, which was a Portuguese colony. During his tenure as a missionary, he was appointed rector of the

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

at Baçaim (Vasai) by

, the founder of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

. While he was a rector in Goa, he filed a complaint with the authorities against

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

missionaries from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. They were then arrested.Baltasar Telles, S.I. (1645): ''Chronica da Companhia de IESU, na provincia de Portugal, e o que fizeram d'este Reyno, os Religiosos que na mesma Provincia entràram, nos annos em que viveo S. Inacio de Loyola, Nosso Fundador''. Published by Paulo Craesbeeck. After the death of

and Gaspar Barazeuz in 1553, he became the

provincial superior A provincial superior is an officer of a religious institute (including religious orders) acting under the institute's Superior General. A provincial superior exercises general supervision over all the members of that institute in a territorial ...

of the Jesuits in India. From 1554-1557 he left India for a mission to preach in

. On his return in 1557 he became the rector of the Jesuit college of

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

(modern-day Kochi).

Mission to East and South East Asia

From India, Barreto tried to sail to Japan through

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

in 1554. He did not reach his intended destination at first. Instead, he visited several Islands in the

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

n archipelago, including the island of Lampacau. He paid tribute to the tomb of

on Sancham. From Malaysia, Barreto continued on to the Portuguese enclave of

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, south of Canton (

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

). He reached the Portuguese enclave on November 20, 1555. He was one of the first Jesuits to visit

,Anonymous (2012): "Macao. 450 anni di presenza" (Macau: 440 years of presence)
GesuitiNews 2012-04-18
Accessed on 2018-05-30. "Benché il P. Melchior Nunes Barreto SJ, sia stato il primo gesuita a passare da Macao il 20 novembre 1555 ..." and stayed for about 10 months. (The Jesuit effort to reach China began with the founder of the order,

, who never reached the mainland, dying after only a year on the Chinese island of Shangchuan.) Barreto was the first Catholic priest to be allowed to leave

Macao Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most densely populated region in the world. Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...

and enter the city of Canton. His mission included ransoming three Portuguese prisoners. During his mission, Barreto noted an indifference of the Chinese people toward their own religion, alongside low esteem for their clergy. From this, he concluded that China would be a hard target for Christian conversion.Po-chia Hsia (2010): ''A Jesuit in the Forbidden City: Matteo Ricci 1552-1610.'' Oxford University Press. Page 59. However, he did not give up on his goal to preach in

. In June 1556, after many failed attempts, he landed in Bungo Province,

, with forty other Portuguese citizens. Upon his arrival, he was received by the Bungo lord. Barreto returned to India in 1557. In 1558, he wrote a partial report of his experiences in China and Japan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunes Barreto, Melchior 1571 deaths 16th-century Portuguese Jesuits Portuguese Roman Catholic missionaries Jesuit missionaries in China Portuguese missionaries in China Jesuit missionaries in India Jesuit missionaries in Japan Clergy from Porto Portuguese India

Career

Mission to East and South East Asia

See also

References