The treasure of São Roque: A look at the Counter-Reformation

“Reading this text provides a dispassionate historical-critical perspective on the cult of relics, as it was understood and rejected by the Protestant Reformers and the opposing understanding defended by the Catholic Church during the golden age of the Counter-Reformation, in which the Society of Jesus played a militant role in defending its cult, as well as in its promotion.”

António Meira Henriques, from the Preface to the Portuguese version

The Treasure of São Roque: a look at the Counter-Reformation constitutes the most comprehensive historical study ever conducted on the collection of relics and reliquaries of the Church of São Roque. The work becomes essential for understanding the provenance of the relics donated to the Society of Jesus in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, particularly highlighting the significant donation from D. João de Borja (1533-1606), son of Saint Francis Borgia, made in 1587, which, due to its grandeur, would forever distinguish the first Jesuit church in Portugal. Any subsequent work on this subject should take into account this wealth of scholarship, meticulously prepared in 1932 by William Telfer, an English academic from the University of Cambridge, published by the Church Historical Society in London in the same year.

The importance of this work led the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa to seriously consider its translation into Portuguese, with the poet Fernando Pessoa being commissioned to translate it in 1933. However, the poet and translator's passing in 1935 dashed this expectation. This was followed by a long silence of eight decades during which it remained accessible only to a few specialists. In 2017, the classic work of William Telfer was finally published in Portuguese, now available to all those interested in the precious collection of reliquaries held by the Misericórdia de Lisboa.

Authors: William Telfer, M.A.

Year of publication: 2017
Publisher: SCML
ISBN: 9789898712646