English College, Lisbon Explained

The English College, Lisbon (Portuguese: Portuguese: Convento dos Inglesinhos) was a Roman Catholic seminary that existed from the 17th century to the 20th century.

English College, Lisbon
Native Name:Portuguese: Convento dos Inglesinhos, Lisboa
Native Name Lang:Portuguese
Other Names:Pontifical English College of St. Peter and St. Paul, Lisbon
Established:1624
Closed:1973
Founder:Pedro Coutinho

Early history

Philip III of Spain issued a royal charter for the college on 3 December 1621, with a papal brief from Gregory XV following on 29 September 1622.[1] In 1624, Pedro Coutinho, a member of a prominent family, proceeded to found a college for English students wishing to study for the Catholic priesthood and for mission work in England and Wales.[2] It was known as SS. Peter and Paul's (with greater formality the Pontifical English College of Sts Peter and Paul - Lisbon). It was awarded the same rights and privileges as the English College, Rome, and was one of the Pontifical Colleges in the sense of being centrally controlled from Rome, one of the substantial group of institutions set up with the aim of maintaining the Catholic faith in England, Ireland, and Scotland. In 1628, the first students arrived from the English College, Douai.

The moving force behind the foundation was the priest William Newman (1577–1640), though he never became head of the college. Newman had been entrusted with property from the estate of the late Nicholas Ashton, a Catholic chaplain in Lisbon.[2] Initial progress was slow after a papal brief of Pope Gregory XV in 1622, with only a church erected on property given by Coutinho, who also gave endowment. Richard Smith, the Catholic bishop in England, took a hand and sent one of his archdeacons, Joseph Haynes (also Hynes, Harvey).[2] The foundation was supported by the arrival of group of students and teachers from the English College, Douai in 1628, the first president being Haynes.[3] Haynes, however, then died quite suddenly, shortly after the college opened in 1629.[2] [4] [5]

The second president was Thomas White, alias Blacklow, with William Clifford as vice-president. He was at the college for three years from 1630. His rules for its governance brought it under the Bishop of Chalcedon (the title used at the time by the Catholic bishop in England). Pursuing further funding and students in England, he was dissatisfied at the results and resigned.[6]

Following the French revolution and the closure of seminaries in Douai and Paris, the Lisbon college was enlarged to accommodate 40 more people.[1]

Later history

The college suffered severely from the earthquake of 1755, but continued its work. It assembled an extensive belle-lettristic library in English over the second half of the eighteenth century, including works by Shakespeare, the earliest to reach Portugal and indeed the earliest known to have circulated in the Portuguese-speaking world.[7] The college finally closed in 1973,[8] James Sullivan being the final president of the college. In 1974 the archives and library of the college were transferred to Ushaw College, Durham. The college had remained on the site it was originally established on, until its closure. The Lisbonian Society was set up by alumni of the college to maintain the legacy and communicate with former students.

People associated with the College

See also

References

Attribution

Notes and References

  1. https://www.brockworth.eu/English%20College,%20Lisbon.html A History of the Pontifical English College of Sts Peter and Paul Lisbon
  2. [:s:Historical account of Lisbon college/Chapter 1]
  3. Web site: English College Lisbon . 2011-02-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110130031657/http://brockworth.eu/EnglishCollegeLisbon.aspx . 2011-01-30 . dead .
  4. Orders . d'Arcy . The Inglezinhos. A short history . British Historical Society of Portugal Annual Report . 1995 . 22 . 97 . 15 March 2022.
  5. Norris . A.H. . The English College, Lisbon . British Historical Society of Portugal Annual Report. 15 . 1979 . 6 . 15 March 2022.
  6. [:s:Historical account of Lisbon college/Chapter 2]
  7. Stone, John (March 2024). "Othello Goes to Lisbon, 1765". Notes and Queries. https://doi.org/10.1093/notesj/gjae022
  8. Web site: Convento dos Inglesinhos . 2011-02-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110523151108/http://www.conventodosinglesinhos.pt/index_en.html . 2011-05-23 . dead .
  9. Book: http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A030175b.htm. Australian Dictionary of Biography. Bleasdale, John Ignatius (1822–1884). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  10. Web site: Bishop Victor Guazzelli dies (obituary) Cardinal Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster . www.rcdow.org.uk . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930221841/http://www.rcdow.org.uk/cardinal/default.asp?library_ref=1&content_ref=150 . 2007-09-30.

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