Manuel do Cenáculo
Manuel do Cenáculo | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Évora | |
Portrait of Frei Manuel do Cenáculo, National Library of Portugal | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Archdiocese of Évora |
| Appointed | 16 March 1802 |
| Installed | 9 August 1802 |
| Term ended | 26 January 1814 |
| Other post | Bishop of Beja (1770–1802) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 4 April 1747 |
| Consecration | 28 October 1770 by Francisco de Saldanha da Gama |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Manuel de Vilas-Boas Anes de Carvalho 1 March 1724 |
| Died | 26 January 1814 (aged 89) Évora, Portugal |
| Buried | Church of the Holy Spirit, Évora |
| Alma mater | University of Coimbra |
| Styles of Frei Manuel do Cenáculo | |
|---|---|
| Reference style | His Most Reverend Excellency |
| Spoken style | Your Most Reverend Excellency |
| Religious style | Frei Manuel |
Dom Frei Manuel do Cenáculo, T.O.R. (né Manuel de Vilas-Boas Anes de Carvalho; 1 March 1724 – 26 January 1814) was a Portuguese Franciscan prelate, who served as the first Bishop of Beja (1770–1802) and as Archbishop of Évora (1802–1814).
One of the country's leading intellectuals at the time, Manuel do Cenáculo was aligned with the novel ideas of the Enlightenment and the Pombaline reforms of public instruction in Portugal: he played a leading role in the reform of the University of Coimbra, he directed the Royal Censorship Board (with which deposits he for the first time proposed to create a national library), and gathered a vast collection of books, antiquities, and works of art.
Following Pombal's fall from grace in 1777, Manuel do Cenáculo lost much of his influence at court and directed his attention to ecclesiastical life while, at the same time, spearheading the creation of public schools, libraries, and academies across the country; chief among them are the Évora Public Library, the Library of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, and the art and archaeology collection that nowadays comprises the Frei Manuel do Cenáculo National Museum.