Joseph of Anchieta
Spanish Jesuit missionary (1534-1597)
Feast: 9 June (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 3 April 2014 — Decree of the Dicastery (decree list, 2014)
Who they were
José de Anchieta was born on Tenerife in the Canary Islands on 19 March 1534, of a noble Basque line, and at fourteen went to study philosophy at Coimbra. He became a Jesuit and was ordained at 32.
He spent almost his whole life in fruitful missionary work in Brazil, was a founder of the city of São Paulo and from 1577 to 1587 provincial of the Jesuits in Brazil. He died at Reritiba.
The miracles
Pope Francis later canonised him; the biography does not describe a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A Jesuit who gave his life to the peoples of Brazil and helped found São Paulo.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Giuseppe de Anchieta
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q317126 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Joseph of Anchieta (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.