Antonio de Gouvea

Antonio de Gouvea, O.E.S.A. (1575 – 18 August 1628) was a diplomat in the service of Habsburg Spain, who served as ambassador (envoy) to Safavid Iran between 1602 and 1613. An Augustinian Portuguese missionary by origin, during his service as diplomat he was appointed as Titular Bishop of Cyrene (1611–1628) and as Apostolic vicar of the Armenians of the Safavid royal capital of Isfahan.[1][2][3][4] He was succeeded as ambassador to the Safavid Empire by García de Silva Figueroa.[5]

Most Reverend Antonio de Gouvea
Titular Bishop of Cyrene
Church	Catholic Church
Orders
Consecration	8 January 1612 by Alexeu de Jesu de Meneses
Personal details
Born	1575 Beja, Portugal
Died	18 August 1628 (age 53)
Nationality	Portuguese
Previous post	Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo (1623–1624)

During his service as diplomat, De Gouvea also wrote two books on Safavid Iran; the Jornada and the Relaçam.[5]

Biography

Antonio de Gouvea was born in Beja, Portugal and ordained a priest in the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine on 4 June 1591.[2] On 19 August 1611, he was appointed during the papacy of Pope Paul V as Titular Bishop of Cyrene.[2] On 8 January 1612, he was consecrated bishop by Alexeu de Jesu de Meneses, Archbishop of Goa.[2] He died on 18 August 1628.[2] While bishop, he was the principal co-consecrator of Agustín Spínola Basadone, Bishop of Tortosa (1623), Agustín Antolínez, Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo (1623), and Juan Roco Campofrío, Bishop of Zamora (1625).[2]

See also

• Dengiz Beg Rumlu

References

1. Matthee 2002, pp. 177-179.
2. "Bishop Antonio de Gouvea, O.E.S.A." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016
3. "Cyrene (Titular See)" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016
4. "Titular Episcopal See of Cyrene" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016
5. Matthee 2002, pp. 177–179.

Sources

• Matthee, Rudi (2002). "GOUVEA, ANTONIO DE". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XI, Fasc. 2. pp. 177–179.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)