BORBA, DIEGO de. - Born in the city of Borba (Evora, Portugal). For some time he belonged to the Franciscans. In the year 1538 he went with the Franciscan bishop Giovanni di Albuquerque to Goa, where, through interpreters, he began to preach the faith to the pagans in the neighbouring countries, and realized the usefulness and necessity of Indian priests.
Thus, in 1541, as principal founder, he established the college of S. Paolo in Goa, entrusted to the Franciscans, to which boys from all the East, from eastern Africa to the Molucca Islands, were to be admitted, with the exception of the Portuguese. In 1542 s. Francesco Saverio came to Goa and, after some hesitation, accepted the college, which in time became the principal seat of the Compagnia di Gesù in the East. B., a great friend of Saverio and of s. Ignazio, also wished to become a member of the Order, but his previous membership in the Franciscans stood in the way. He died on 26 Jan. 1547 in Goa, worn out by old age and mourned as a “pillar of the good.”