José António Camões

Father José António Camões (Fajãzinha; 10 December 1777 — Ponta Delgada, 18 January 1827) was a Portuguese Catholic priest, poet and historian. He wrote several works of satire, including his heroic satire O Testamento de D. Burro, Pai dos Asnos (The Testament of D. Burro, Father of the Asses).

He was thought to be the son of friar Manuel de São Domingos, a Franciscan monk in the Convent of São Boaventura (Santa Cruz das Flores, and a Corvino woman, and raised in the public system. He was baptized in the parochial church of Fajãzinha, on 13 December 1777, at about 2 or 3 years of age, and given only the name José, without a family surname. Ironically, he was raised for a while on the island of Corvo, by his maternal grandparents, but accompanied friar São Domingos, as a student, to the Convent of São Boaventura after the friar visited Corvo.

After a difficult period in the convent, he abandoned his studies, to work for a farmer in Fajãnzinha (a family relative). Explused from his first job, he went to work for another farmer, where he accompanied the farmer's son, Manuel Fernandes de Barcelos (1774–1854) in his studies.

By 1797, he was a professor of Latin in the parish of Santa Cruz. He later left for Terceira, where began his studies at the Convent of São Francisco; it was at this time that he adopted the surname, Camões (the choice of name was inspired by his admiration for the famous Portuguese poet. After a long process, beginning in 1799, he was promoted by the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Angra and given access to higher ecclesiastical rights (something that, by being abandoned, he could not achieve). He was ordained on 20 October 1804 in Angra, by special appointment of the Captain-General (dated 18 December 1804), and became a professor of Latin Grammar to the island of Flores (3 April 1805). With the permission of the parish, he was re-baptized on 16 July 1805 in Fajãzinha; one of his first acts as parish priest. He was very successful in his role as professor, attracting many students from Corvo and Faial.

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