Saint Frei Galvão

Anthony of St. Ann Galvão (Portuguese: Antônio de Sant'Anna Galvão; 13 May 1739 – 23 December 1822), more commonly known as Frei Galvão, was a Brazilian friar of the Franciscan Order. One of the best-known religious figures in colonial Brazil renowned for his healing powers, Galvão was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on 11 May 2007, becoming the first Brazilian-born saint. He was the second Brazilian to be proclaimed a saint by the Catholic Church. Galvão was born in the freguesia of Santo Antonio of Guaratinguetá, in the captaincy of São Paulo. He was the fourth of ten children in a deeply religious family of high social and political status. His father, Antônio Galvão de França, was the captain of the village. Although he was active in the world of politics and commerce, Antônio the father also belonged to the Third Order of Saint Francis and was known for his generosity. His mother, Isabel Leite de Barros, was from a farming family, and was a great-granddaughter of the famous bandeirante explorer Fernão Dias Pais, known as the "Emerald Hunter". She gave birth to eleven children before her premature death in 1755, at age 38. Equally known for her generosity, Isabel was found to have given away all of her clothes to the poor at the time of her death. At age 13, Galvão was sent to the Jesuit-run seminary Colégio de Belém in Cachoeira, Bahia by his father, which wished to provide humanities and cultural training to his son. He followed his brother José, who was already studying there. At Colégio de Belém, which he attended from 1752 to 1756, Galvão made great progress in social studies and Christian practice. He aspired to become a Jesuit priest, but the anti-Jesuit persecution led by Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the Marquis of Pombal, led him to enter the Franciscan Order instead. in Taubaté, following the advice of his father. At age 16, Galvão gave up a promising future and his family's social influence, becoming a novice at the St.