This thesis studies the life and work of priest Manuel Juvenal Pita Ferreira, who was born in 1912, and was a priest in Funchal´s diocese, and a remarkable man of the 20th century. He had a major impact in the religious, historical, cultural and social areas, standing out, while still a seminarist (first in “Mosteiro Novo” and then in “Seminário da Encarnação”), because of his sensivity on issues related with history as well as doctrine.He was ordained a priest in 1935, and nomenated for important ecclesiastical positions, becoming later on, a vicar in parish of Ribeira Brava (1938-1940), also in São Vicente (1940-1941), then a priest in Porto Santo (1941-1945) and finally in São Gonçalo (1945-1963) until his death.Priest Manuel Juvenal Pita Ferreira, had several qualities, and lived an intense pastoral activity, especially in Ribeira Brava, where he combined his cultural knowlegde with the preaching to children and youth, throughout theathre and also scouting.As a researcher, with a special predilection for history – although without specific training in this area (he was not a doctorate) – he contributed to a deeper understanding of some realities, such as the beginning and origins of the discovery of Madeira´s archipelago, the creation and development of the Diocese of Funchal, bringing unprecedented studies on these subjects to the public, always using primary sources (manuscripts and other documents, consulted in various archives), intending to corroborate the facts, which actually, contradicted some studies and authors of the his time and the past which made him being criticise. Nevertheless knew how to deal with it with firmness and arguments, through reliable evidence, in everything he consulted.He had a major role in promoting culture, namely several art and religious heritage exhibitions (sculpture, sacred jewelery), together with engineer Luiz Peter Clode. He knew how to join his knowledge and his intellectual profile for the service of faith and the Church, relating sacred art and the Liturgy, namely with regard to the works of art present in the Cathedral of Funchal. Joining his interest in history with his concerns as a pastor, the priest invested time and strength in field studies, such as the folkloric study on Christmas in Madeira, collecting, throughout the island, numerous data on Madeiran Christmas traditions (Christmas Masses, Jesus birth Masses, the slaughter of the pig, etc.), full of meaning and loaded with faith and the Gospel. Aa a dedicated priest, he joined the movement for the renewal of catechesis in the 1960s, augmented in the diocese by his bishop, Dom Frei David de Sousa, publishing, in three parts, a Catechism Initiation Course (in portuguese: Curso de Iniciação Catequística), for the catechists and students of catechism. Also known as passionate ecclesiastical, refined intellectual and a man of well-rooted human and evangelical values, he also knew how to be attentive to the social reality of his time, as can be seen in his speech to the Vincentian Conferences, held in 1945, and the way he approached the poor and in need of calling where he was parish, S. Gonçalo.We presente, schematically, Pita Ferreira as a man of sensitivity, in several aspects: a) pastoral sensitivity - demonstrated in the renewal of catechesis and in the approach of humble people, children and young people, and also in the defense of religious heritage; b) the liturgical sensitivity with which he studied the Funchal Cathedral and its artistic heritage; c) the historical sensitivity, clearly evident in his investigation, in several fields: pastoral; popular; churchman; d) social sensitivity, starting from the Gospel, with which a man was attentive to the realities of his time, approaching the poor, in the social district in the Parish of São Gonçalo, since 1945.
| Date of Award | 12 Apr 2021 |
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| Original language | Portuguese |
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| Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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| Supervisor | António Matos Ferreira (Supervisor) |
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