Pêro Vaz de Caminha, clerk of the armada of Pedro Álvares Cabral, in a letter to the King D. Manuel, left us a remarkable account of the first Mass ever offered in the land known today as Brazil. Fr. Henrique de Coimbra, who had arrived with Portuguese explorers, celebrated this Mass on April 26, 1500. Here is a translation of the main parts of the account (see here for the original in Portuguese): “One of them saw some white rosary beads; he waved to be given them, took great delight in them, and threw them around his neck. Then he took them off and wrapped them around his arm and waved to the earth and back to the beads and the Captain’s necklace, as if saying they would give gold for it. (…)
New Liturgical Movement: Account of the First Mass in Brazil in the year 1500
New Liturgical Movement: Account of the First Mass in Brazil in the year 1500
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