Almeida, Luis de

ALMEIDA, LUIS de. - Missionary in Japan, b. in Lisbon around 1525, d. in October 1583 on the island of Amakusa. Having completed his medical studies in his homeland, A. embarked to seek his fortune in the East through commerce and the practice of his art. In 1555 he founded a hospice for foundlings in Oita, in the kingdom of Bungo (Japan); in the same year (?), he entered the Society of Jesus as a coadjutor brother. His medical foundations then took on new developments: in 1557 a large hospital was established with an attached lazaretto, and in 1559 a hospital for the wealthier Japanese, with a surgical clinic. A., who personally performed the treatments and operations until 1561, imparted a predominantly practical instruction, and introduced various European curative methods into Japan. After 1561, having to leave the hospital of Oita to Japanese physicians, he devoted himself entirely to the mission, of which he had become procurator. To apply him to a more direct apostolate, the father visitor Alessandro Valignano sent him to Macao, where he was ordained a priest by Msgr. Carneiro (1580). But A.'s health was by then undermined by his labors, so that he died a few years after his return to Japan. Many of his letters (1557-78) found a place in various contemporary collections (Cartas do Japão, etc.); they are listed and analyzed in the Bibliotheca Missionum.

Edmondo Lamalle