SAN LUIGI DEL MARAGNANO (SÃO LUIZ DE MARANHÃO), ARCHDIOCESE of. — In the State of Maranhão, Brazil. It is the metropolis of the ecclesiastical province of the same name, which has as suffragans the dioceses of Teresina, Caxias del Nord, Oeiras, Parnaíba, and also the prelatures nullius of Bom Jesus do Piauhy, S. José do Grajahú, and Pinheiro.
The archdiocese covers approximately 20,336 sq. km., with 800,000 inhabitants, of whom 780,000 are Catholics, distributed among 43 parishes served by 33 diocesan priests and 20 religious priests; it has one seminary, 5 male and 9 female religious communities. Patron: s. Luigi di Francia; feast 25 August.
The city of S. L. lies at 2° 31′ 42″ S latitude and 44° 16′ 42″ W longitude, Greenwich, and has approximately 60,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the State and a commercial and intellectual centre. It is a coastal shipping port serving its own State and the neighbouring State of Piauí, chiefly for the export of grain, hides, and products of the highly useful babassú palm.
History. — The coast of Maranhão was perhaps visited Brazil (v.). During the sixteenth century, the Portuguese attempts to colonize the region through feudal lords repeatedly came to nothing. The French had better fortune: after several explorations, they allied themselves with the indigenous peoples and resolved to establish Equinoctial France, an undertaking carried out by a strong expedition under the command of Carlo des Vaux and Francesco de Rosilly. Four Capuchins came with the conquerors; twelve more joined them later and built two churches and a convent, immediately beginning the evangelization of the indigenous peoples.
The Portuguese, however, attacked and defeated the invaders toward the end of 1614, signing an armistice with them which was subsequently broken by the total expulsion of the French in 1620. From 1624, for topographical reasons, the government of Maranhão was separated from that of Brazil. Soon, however, a bitter struggle lasting for long periods broke out between the Jesuits and the colonists over the enslavement of the Indians. In this dispute, which assumed vast proportions, the celebrated Jesuit orator and politician Vieira distinguished himself. Maranhão was not spared Dutch rule (v. OLINDA E RECIFE, ARCIDIOCESI DI), nor did it lack occasions for revolts, such as that of 1682–85 against the commercial monopoly and that of 1838 for reasons of internal politics (v. CAXIAS DEL MARAGNANO). It is curious that Maranhão did not accept Brazilian independence without difficulty.
The diocese was erected by the bull Super universas of 30 August 1677 as a suffragan of the metropolitan see of Lisbon, becoming part of the ecclesiastical province of Brazil only in 1827. The vast territory of the diocese was subsequently reduced in favour of the new bishoprics of Belem (1719) and of the other jurisdictions now subject to it, after the apostolic constitution Rationi congrati of 10 February 1922 raised the church of S. L. to the rank of a metropolitan see.
Among the pastors of Maranhão there were some who came into serious conflict with the civil authorities, some who took part in the Portuguese reaction against the emancipation of Brazil, and some who finally distinguished themselves through their zeal and virtue. Here is their list: Antonio de Sta Maria (1677, did not take possession); Gregorio dos Anjos (1679–1689); Francisco de Lima (1690); Timoteo do Sacramento (1691–1700); José del Garte (1717–23); Manuel da Cruz (1738); Francisco de Santiago (1747–52); Antonio de S. José (1756–78); Jacinto Carolos da Silveira (1779); José Domenico Jesus (1780); Antonio de Padua e Bellas (1783–90); Joaquim Ferreira de Carvalho (1795–1801); Luiz de Brito Homen (1802–13); Joaquim de N. S. de Nazaré (1820–23); Marcos Antonio de Sousa (1826–42); Carlos de S. José (1844–50); Manuel Joaquim da Silveira (1851–61); Luiz da Conceição Saraiva (1861–76); Antonio Candido de Alvarenga (1878–98); Antonio Xisto Albano (1901–1905); Santino da Silva Coutinho (1906); Francisco de Paula e Silva (1907–18); Helvécio Gomes de Oliveira (1918–22); Otaviano Pereira de Albuquerque (1923–33); Carlos Carmelo de Vasconcellos Mota (1935–1944). The current archbishop is mons. G. de Medeiros Delgado.
As examples of colonial architecture, the Cathedral, the Archbishop’s Palace, the Government Palace, and several churches are noteworthy.