Aleixo de Meneses

Archbishop Aleixo de Menezes or Alexeu de Jesu de Meneses (25 January 1559 – 3 May 1617) was Archbishop of Goa, Archbishop of Braga, Portugal, and Viceroy of Portugal during the Philippine Dynasty.

Aleixo was born in 1559. It is known that he joined the Augustinians. He was consecrated Archbishop of Goa in 1595, when he was only 35.

As Archbishop of Goa, Menezes focused on strengthening Catholic ascendancy in Portugal. Part of this mission involved bringing the Saint Thomas Christians, an ancient body formerly part of the Church of the East, under the authority of the Catholic Church. By 1597 the last metropolitan bishop of the Saint Thomas Christians, Abraham, had died, and Menezes was able to secure the submission of Archdeacon George, the highest remaining representative of the native church hierarchy. That year Menezes convened the Synod of Diamper, which introduced a number of reforms to the church and brought it fully into the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. Following the Synod, Menezes consecrated Francis Ros, S. J. as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Angamalé for the Saint Thomas Christians.

In 1612 Aleixo de Menezes was appointed Archbishop of Braga, Portugal. He was viceroy of Portugal during the Philippine Dynasty from 1612 to 1615. He died in 1617, his remains are located at the Populo Church in Braga, Northern Portugal.

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