Braz Fernandes

Braz Fernandes
ComC
Braz Fernandes ComC
	Portrait of Braz Fernandes
Vice-Consul of Portugal at Bombay
Monarch	Ferdinand II of Portugal
Preceded by	None
Personal details
Born	3 February 1791
Died	9 November 1865 (aged 74)
Resting place	St. Andrew's Church, Mumbai
Nationality	Portuguese
Spouse	Quiteria de Mello e Fernandes
Children	8
Relatives	Braz Anthony Fernandes (grandson)
Occupation	Diplomat; philanthropist;

Braz Fernandes ComC (3 February 1791 – 9 November 1865) was a Portuguese diplomat and philanthropist. He was the scion of an ancient and wealthy family.[1]

Personal life

Braz Fernandes was born to Manuel Salvador Fernandes and Ana Maria Fernandes. He was married to Quiteira de Mello. Quiteira's grandfather, John Barretto, was known for founding the Barretto Charity School in Cavel, Bombay (present-day Mumbai), now known as Barretto High School, where originally education was free, and the school taught Portuguese, Latin, and English.

Fernandes had eight children: John (who became a Reverend), Euphrasia, Antonio Lourenco, Quiteria Angelica, Matilda (Sister Philomena), Gabriel, Anna Maria, and Braz. The eminent historian Braz Anthony Fernandes was his grandson, from Gabriel.

Career

Fernandes was the first ever Vice-Consul for Portugal in Bombay. Prior to the establishment of the Vice-Consulate in Bombay, the Portuguese representative was known as the Consular Agent.[2]

Order of Christ

Fernandes's tombstone states he was a Commander of the Order of Christ (Portugal). It is not known whether he was appointed directly to Commander or whether he was promoted to there from the rank of Knight. Knights in the Order of Christ were not advanced to a commandery until they had given proofs of their military prowess and valour, in those fortresses which Portugal retained on the African coast.

According to the then statutes of the order, the knights were obliged to prove at least four degrees of hereditary nobility, but this requirement could be dispensed with by the sovereign. The knights were under the same regulations and enjoyed the same privileges as those of the Order of Calatrava in Spain.[3]

Philanthropy

Amador Viegas founded the Maria Viegas Girls School in March 1874, but his untimely death shortly thereafter put the school in jeopardy as he died before he could make a provision that would have guaranteed the permanence of the school.

Deprived of the founder's support, the school would have closed down prematurely but for the intervention of Braz Fernandes who spared no sacrifices to give a new lease of life to the school. The Convent School is today the School of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.[4]

References

Noted Historian Dead, Obituary, Times of India, 9 June 1951
Bandra: Its Religious Secular History, By Braz A. Fernandes, D.K. Parker at "the Fine Art Press", Bombay, 1927, page 104-105
Robson (engraver.), Thomas (1830). The British herald, or Cabinet of armorial bearings of the nobility & gentry of Great Britain & Ireland.
In the mission field : the Diocese of Damaun, Catholic Church Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, Bombay 1925, page 153

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[1] Noted Historian Dead, Obituary, Times of India, 9 June 1951

[2] Bandra: Its Religious Secular History, By Braz A. Fernandes, D.K. Parker at "the Fine Art Press", Bombay, 1927, page 104-105

[3] Robson (engraver.), Thomas (1830). The British herald, or Cabinet of armorial bearings of the nobility & gentry of Great Britain & Ireland.

[4] In the mission field : the Diocese of Damaun, Catholic Church Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, Bombay 1925, page 153