The history of the Franciscans in the Valley

Saint Francis of Assisi reformed the society of his time, reviving the spirit of the Gospel through the three religious orders he founded:

    that of the Friars Minor (first order) that of the poor ladies (Clarissas – second order) that of the brothers of penance (third order)

Saint Francis of Assisi is known as the greatest reformer after Jesus Christ. The Capuchin friars are of the first order. They have been in Brazil since 1612 and the first to arrive belonged to the Province of Paris, when they accompanied the expedition of Daniel de La Touche, Lord of La Ravardiére with the aim of creating missions.

Having verified the uselessness of the Military Posts in the region of Matas do Mucuri and the permanence of violent means between the indigenous and the residents, the government decided to provide the religious catechesis of the Indians, forming villages, as the only way to put an end to the lamentable state of affairs. and ensure tranquility for the inhabitants of the region.

On February 6, 1872, Friar Serafim de Gorizia (43 years old) and Friar Ângelo de Sassoferrato (27 years old) received in Rome, from the hands of the Superior General, the “obediential letters” that appointed them apostolic missionaries for the missions in Brazil. They left Genoa for Brazil on March 10, on the steamer “Poitou”, owned by Companhia Francesa and arrived in Rio de Janeiro on April 7, 1872.

In Ouro Preto, capital of the province of Minas Gerais, they received from the general director for the protection of Indians, Mr. Brigadier Antônio Luís de Magalhães Mosqueira, the instructions to establish themselves in the forests of the Mucuri in an appropriate place for the meeting of wild tribes, in fertile lands that produced an abundance of all types of cereals, large sources of drinking water with falls or waterfalls capable of make any machinery work. There they should form a village, a parish and even a city.

After 20 days of travel on horseback, they arrived in Philadelphia from Mucuri. They were very well received, but the mission was to enter the forests of the Mucuri Valley, where they would have to settle the Indians, taking them out of these forests and darkness for the coexistence of civil life and the Holy Church. The friars guided by the Potões Indians, on February 19, 1873, reached the top of the mountain that divides the waters of Itambacuri and Córrego d'Areia.

They visualized the superb valley of wild and imposing beauty and understood that this would be the place indicated by God to plant the landmark for the foundation of the village and the tent of their apostolate. Friar Serafim, ecstatic, exclaimed:


“I will not leave here anymore!”.

The road for troops to Philadelphia was ready at the end of March 1873. On April 13 (Easter day) Friar Angelo celebrated the first mass on the spot, on a ranch made of 4 forks and covered with bamboo mats. made by the Indians. The central square was filled with people, both civilized and savage, who accompanied the Friars in the unusual celebration.

At the end of l876, Friar Serafim sent a report to Brigadier Luís de Magalhães Mosqueira presenting the results of the missionary work in the Mucuri Valley, highlighting the process of satisfactory development of catechesis in its objective of saving souls and the civilization of the gentiles.

The children of savages already spoke in Portuguese, read and wrote. They also asked for the construction of a church for the worship of religion in an appropriate place, which would serve both the Indians and the civilized in favor of the material and moral progress of the village.


And yet, the need to appoint a teacher for girls and adults, to teach them, in addition to reading and writing, to mend and cook.

Arrival of the Sisters

Franciscan Missionary Poor Clares

In November 1906, the Bishop of the Diocese of Diamantina, Dom Joaquim Silvério Gomes de Souza, was the one who asked the Institute of Franciscan Missionary Poor Clares of the Blessed Sacrament in Bertinoro, Italy, to bring some Sisters to work in the indigenous missions in Brazil.

On May 30, 1907, four Italian Sisters from the Congregation of Franciscan Missionary Poor Clares of the Blessed Sacrament left the port of Genoa for Brazil. They were:


Benedicta do Redeemer

Ana of the Innocents

Bernardine of the Holy Name of Jesus

Francisca dos Santos Stigmas


They arrived in Rio de Janeiro on June 15, 1907 and were received by the superior of the Convento dos Capuchinhos do Morro do Castelo. The Sisters' objective was to create a girls' school in the village of Itambacuri for the education of children, indigenous orphans of the Botocudos, daughters of whites or Brazilians in the region. In addition to teaching reading and writing, they should teach how to sew, cook and integrate indigenous children and young women into white civilization.

All of them were to be initiated by Baptism into the Catholic religion. After a long journey by coastal ship, by train, and on horseback, they arrived in Itambacuri on July 3, 1907. it had been built for the purpose of housing the sisters and operating the future College.

The Poor Clares Missionary Project was based on Evangelical Pedagogy: Conversion, New Way of Seeing Life, Evangelization and Creation of a World of Justice and Fraternity.

Bishop Dom Joaquim was satisfied with the work of the missionaries, for their dedication, humility and simplicity of Franciscan spirituality, welcoming with naturalness and love the poverty of the environment. Furthermore, Sister Bernardina's ability to work and organize, the first director of Colégio Santa Clara, caught the Bishop's attention.

In 1909, sisters from Italy began work at the Nossa Senhora da Saúde Hospital in Diamantina. In 1915, a house attached to the Nossa Senhora da Saúde Hospital was acquired for a Novitiate, thus preventing the young women from going to Italy.

Text by Marcelo Prates - Review by Wallace Moraes - Edited by Luciana Thomé

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