Américo Ferreira dos Santos Silva

Américo Ferreira dos Santos Silva[lower-alpha 1] (16 January 1830 – 21 January 1899) was a Portuguese prelate of the Catholic Church, who was Bishop of Porto from 1871 until his death. He was made a cardinal in 1879.

His Eminence

Américo Ferreira dos Santos Silva
Bishop of Porto
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
DiocesePorto
SeePorto
Appointed26 June 1871
Installed20 September 1871
Term ended21 January 1899
PredecessorJoão de França Castro e Moura
SuccessorAntónio José de Souza Barroso
Other post(s)Cardinal-Priest of Santi Quattro Coronati (1880-99)
Orders
Ordination26 September 1852
Consecration10 September 1871
by Inácio do Nascimento Morais Cardoso
Created cardinal12 May 1879
by Pope Leo XIII
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born
Américo Ferreira dos Santos Silva

16 January 1830
Porto, Kingdom of Portugal
Died21 January 1899(1899-01-21) (aged 69)
Porto, Kingdom of Portugal
BuriedPorto Cathedral
ParentsJoão Ferreira dos Santos Silva
Carolina Augusta de La Rocque
Alma materUniversity of Coimbra
Coat of armsAmérico Ferreira dos Santos Silva's coat of arms

Biography

Américo Ferreira dos Santos Silva was born in Porto on 16 January 1830.[lower-alpha 2] His father Joao Ferreira dos Santos Silva, baron of Santos, was a businessman and banker; his mother Carolina Augusta de La Rocque was of French descend. The family lived in Paris for a time and from 1840 to 1843 he studied at a Portuguese-language school, Colegio Luso-Brasileiro in Fontenay-aux-Roses outside of Paris.[7]

He studied at the Theological Faculty of Coimbra and earned a doctorate in theology in 1852. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Porto on 26 September 1852. From 1853 to 1862, he taught dogmatic and pastoral theology at the seminary in Santarém, where he became vice-rector in 1855. In the 1860s he moved to Lisbon and held several positions before bring named archpriest on 13 August 1869 and serving as vicar from 1869 to 1871.

King Luís I of Portugal nominated him for bishop of Porto on 31 May 1871 and Pope Pius IX appointed him bishop of Porto on 26 June 1871. He received his episcopal consecration on 10 September 1871 from Inácio do Nascimento de Morais Cardoso, patriarch of Lisbon. He distinguished himself in promoting the education of the clergy and their proper behavior.[4]

Pope Leo XIII made him a cardinal priest on 12 May 1879.[8] He received his red galero and the title of Santi Quattro Coronati on 27 February 1880.[2]

A guide to the College of Cardinals published in 1889 said he was a rare example of virtue and austerity among the Portuguese hierarchy, well-known in Portugal but "perfectly unknown" in Rome, sufficiently unknown to be misidentified as an archbishop.[9]

He died in Porto on 21 January 1899.[3]

Notes
  1. Some sources use Silva (occasionally Silvas) as the family name,[1] but the records of the Holy See refer to "Emo [Eminentissimo] Ferreira dos Santos Silva".[2] The Diocese of Porto death registry, witnessed by his coadjutor, records his name as "Americo Cardeal Ferreira dos Santos Silva".[3]
  2. His birth year is often given as 1829,[4][1][5] but his baptismal record says he was "Nasceu no dia dezaceis de Janeiro do anno de mil oito centos e trinta" ("He was born on the sixteenth of January of the year of a thousand eight hundred and thirty")[6] and 1830 is consistent with his death record which states his age as 69, not 70, on 21 January 1899.[3]

References
  1. "Silva, Americo Ferreira dos Santos". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  2. Acta Sanctae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XII. 1879. pp. 433, 444–5. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  3. "Registos de Óbitos da Sé, Porto de 1899". Arquivo Distrital do Porto. 21 January 1899. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  4. Marini, Antonio, ed. (1890). Calendario ecclesiastico per l'anno 1890 (in French and Italian). Rome. p. 74. Retrieved 20 February 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. "Américo Cardinal Ferreira dos Santos Silva". Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  6. "Registos de Baptismos de Massarelos, Porto de 1823 a 1843". Arquivo Distrital do Porto (in Portuguese). 23 January 1830. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  7. "Le Cardinal Ferreira Dos Santos Silva". Revue du monde catholique (in French). Vol. LVIII. 1879. pp. 868–70. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  8. Acta Sanctae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XI. 1878. pp. 587–8. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  9. de Bonnefon, Jean (1889). Le pape de demain (in French). pp. 287–8. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
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