Joseph of Anchieta

Saint Joseph of Anchieta S.J.
José de Anchieta, by painter Benedito Calixto
Apostle of Brazil Priest, Missionary, Religious
Born	19 March 1534 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spanish Empire
Died	9 June 1597(1597-06-09) (aged 63) Reritiba, Espírito Santo, Governorate General of Brazil, Iberian Union
Venerated in	Catholic Church (Brazil, Canary Islands, and the Society of Jesus)
Beatified	22 June 1980, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City, by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	3 April 2014 (equivalent canonization), Vatican City, by Pope Francis
Major shrine	Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna (in Canary Islands) and National Shrine of Saint José de Anchieta (in Brazil)
Feast	9 June
Attributes	Gospel Book, Crucifix and Cane
Patronage	Catechists, against animal attacks, of those who suffer scoliosis and compatrono of Brazil
Signature

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José de Anchieta y Díaz de Clavijo, SJ (Joseph of Anchieta; 19 March 1534 – 9 June 1597) was a Canarian Jesuit missionary to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the second half of the 16th century. A highly influential figure in Brazil's history in the first century after its European discovery, Anchieta was one of the founders of São Paulo in 1554 and of Rio de Janeiro in 1565. He is the first playwright, the first grammarian and the first poet born in the Canary Islands, and is considered the father of Brazilian literature.

Anchieta took part in the religious instruction, evangelization, and conversion to the Catholic faith of the Indian population. His efforts along with those of another Jesuit missionary, Manuel da Nóbrega, at Indian pacification were crucial to the establishment of stable colonial settlements in the colony.

With his book Arte de gramática da língua mais usada na costa do Brasil (1595), Anchieta became the first person to provide an orthography to Old Tupi, the language most commonly spoken along the coast of Brazil.

Anchieta is familiarly known as "the Apostle of Brazil". He was canonized by Pope Francis on 3 April 2014. He was the second native of the Canary Islands, after Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur^[1] – also a missionary to Latin America – to be declared a saint by the Catholic Church, both canonized in the 21st century. Anchieta is also considered the third saint of Brazil.^[2]