The Old Jesuit Colleges of Bahia and Rio de Janeiro

 
BRAZIL, 2008, the bicentenary of two medical schools

The issue marking the bicentennial of the Faculties of Medicine in Bahia and Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) alludes to old Jesuit colleges in each of those cities. Manuel da Nóbrega in 1552 founded the college in Terreiro de Jesus (Jesus Square), the historic center of Salvador (also called Salvador da Bahia or Bahia to distinguish it from other Salvadors). It was run by the Jesuits until their expulsion in 1759, and was attended by the poet Gregório de Mattos and Fr. Antonio Vieira, SJ. The nearby Cathedral, built between 1604 and 1656, was originally the college church. At that time it was the largest Jesuit college outside Rome.

The following year, 1553, St. Ignatius created the Province of Brazil and named Nóbrega as first superior of its 30 Jesuits. Under the direction of Nóbrega, another college was founded in 1567 on Morro do Castelo (Castle Hill), the historic heart of Rio de Janeiro. After the expulsion of the Jesuits from Brazil both institutions became conveniently available and had been used to house, in each city, the Royal Military Hospital of that city.

In 1808 the Portuguese Royal Court moved to Brazil to avoid falling into the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte. The Prince Regent Dom João, later King João VI, created in Brazil institutions of higher learning including courses in medicine and surgery in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador da Bahia. In that year the School of Surgery of Bahia was established, the first medical school of Brazil at the old Jesuit College in Bahia; and the School of Anatomy, Surgery and Medicine was founded in the former Jesuit College that had begun on Morro do Castelo in Rio de Janeiro. The courses were at first directed by the University of Coimbra in Portugal. In 1813, both schools were reorganized and transformed into medical-surgical academies. In 1826 they began giving their own degrees independently of Coimbra. In 1832, they became independent medical schools. Eventually both outgrew their original buildings, moved to the new sites pictured on the stamps and became incorporated into Federal Universities as Faculties of Medicine. The old Jesuit college building in Bahia, however, still houses a museum of Brazilian Medicine, including books, furniture and equipment connected with the earliest medical courses. Morro do Castelo in Rio was leveled between 1920 to 1924 with all its buildings and used as landfill.

St. Ignatius College, Rio de Janeiro

BRAZIL, 2003, the centenary of the school, Scott 2885

The Jesuits were in Rio from its founding. A college of the old Society had begun in 1567 on Morro do Castelo. The present college, Colégio Santo Inácio, opened in 1903, in the rua São Clemente, and during the following 100 years it has been a center of cultural, religious, and educational activity. The lower half of the school's coat of arms is the arms of the Loyola family.

The Church of São Miguel das Missoes, Rio Grande do Sul

 
BRAZIL 1974, Scott 1350
FRANCE, 1982, UNESCO World Heritage Sites issue

 
BRAZIL 1985 and 1998, Scott 1980 and 2688

1985, FDI cancel for Scott 1980

São Miguel das Missoes in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul, was one of the Jesuit missions added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1984. It is sometimes refered to as São Miguel Arcanjo since it is dedicated to the archangel Michael, but it should not be confused with the chapel of São Miguel Arcanjo in the state of São Paulo mentioned above. That was first built in 1560, this in 1735-1745. More

The Chapel of São Miguel Arcanjo, São Paulo

BRAZIL, 2004, the 450th anniversary of São Paulo, Scott 2917

Fr. José de Anchieta, who came to Brazil in 1553 with other Jesuits, helped establish the village of São Paulo the following year. To keep in contact with converted natives who moved away from the Jesuit College at São Paulo he built small chapels in two native villages, including one in 1560 dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel. It was so named for an angel to whom he had special devotion and who was the patron of his home, São Cristóvão de la Laguna on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. On 18 July 1622, a new chapel replaced the old one thanks to the work of Fr. João Álvares, SJ and a native carpenter Fernão Munhoz. It was remodeled again at the end of the 18th century by the Franciscans, who took over the area when the Jesuits were expelled. As the 450th anniversary of the city was being celebrated, this stamp and souvenir sheet allude to the place played by São Miguel in the history of the city.

The Old College Church, São Paulo

BRAZIL, 1978, to commemorate the restoration of the church, Scott 1572

In 1554 José de Anchieta founded a small church, which became the center of Jesuit missionary work in the city and vicinity of São Paulo. By 1681 a college had been added. The Suppression of the Jesuits and later secularization did away with both church and college. The college became a government palace, the church was torn down, and the Patio do Colégio or School Courtyard was renamed the Place du Palais. In 1896 a accurate reproduction of the whitewashed Portuguese Baroque chapel called the Church of the Patio do Colégio, was rebuilt on this spot on the Rua Boa Vista, across the square from the cathedral.

 
BRAZIL, 1970, show cancel from São Paulo,showing the church where the city was founded
and also honoring Fr. Manuel da Nóbrega, SJ on the 4th centenary of his death
BRAZIL, 1978, cancel for Scott 1572 above

Saint Aloysius College, São Paulo

BRAZIL, 1968, the centenary of the school, Scott 1082

The Italian Jesuits in 1867 began a boarding school in the town of Itú in the State of São Paulo. Civil approval of the school was granted a year later. The estate and building eventually used for the new school, the Colégio São Luiz, was donated by José Galvao Barros Franca, but had once been the estate of José Campos de Lara, a Jesuit who was secularized at the time of the Suppression. The school was transferred to the capital in the 1920s.

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