Frei Galvão
Brazilian Franciscan friar
Feast: 23 December (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Antônio de Sant'Anna Galvão was born at Guaratinguetá, Brazil, in 1739, son of a Portuguese immigrant who was the town's captain-major. A Franciscan friar, he was ordained and served as preacher, confessor and porter.
He was confessor to a house of devout women in São Paulo and founded the monastery of Conceptionist nuns, the 'Retreat of Light', which he guided with exemplary spiritual direction. He died on 23 December 1822 and was buried at the people's and the sisters' request in the church he had built.
The miracles
Benedict XVI recognised his second miracle on 16 December 2006; the biography does not describe it. He was the first Blessed born in Brazil.
Why that counted as sanctity
A Franciscan preacher and confessor who built a house of prayer at the heart of São Paulo.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Antonio de Sant'Anna Galvão
- Wikidata Q469209 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Frei Galvão (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.