author
José de Anchieta
1534–1597
A Jesuit missionary, poet, teacher, and linguist, José de Anchieta helped shape the cultural and religious life of 16th-century Brazil. His work in Tupi, Portuguese, Spanish, and Latin earned him recognition as the “Apostle of Brazil” and a pioneering figure in Brazilian literature and theater.
1 Audiobook
Carta da Companhia de Jesus para o seráfico São Francisco
by José de Anchieta
About the author
Born on March 19, 1534, in Tenerife in the Canary Islands, José de Anchieta studied in Coimbra, Portugal, and joined the Society of Jesus in 1551. He arrived in Brazil in 1553 and soon became deeply involved in missionary work, education, and the study of Tupi, the language widely spoken along the coast.
Anchieta helped establish the Jesuit college at Piratininga in 1554, an institution associated with the beginnings of São Paulo, and later participated in the founding of Rio de Janeiro. He wrote poetry, plays, letters, religious works, and a pioneering grammar of Tupi, while serving as a teacher and leader of the Jesuit mission. He died in Reritiba, Espírito Santo, on June 9, 1597. Beatified in 1980 and canonized by Pope Francis in 2014, he remains known as the Apostle of Brazil.