The
Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Vicosa
(also known as
The Order of Our Lady of Conception of Vila Vicosa
;
[2]
Portuguese
:
Ordem de Nossa Senhora da Conceicao de Vila Vicosa
) is a
dynastic order of knighthood
of the
House of Braganza
, the former Portuguese Royal Family. The current
Grand Master
of the Order is
Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza
, the Head of the House of Braganza.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
The order was created by King
John VI of Portugal
in
Rio de Janeiro
on 6 February 1818,
[4]
the date of his acclamation, in recognition for the efficient protection of the Kingdom's Spiritual Sovereign (Portugal is known as the Land of Santa Maria since its foundation). The Blessed Virgin Mother under the invocation of the Immaculate Conception (venerated in the Ducal Chapel of the Palace of Vila Vicosa) had earlier been acclaimed "Queen" and Patroness of the kingdom by King John IV on March 25, 1646
[5]
following a referendum of the Empire that lasted 6 years and asked subjects: 1. If they believed the Blessed Virgin Mary to have been conceived without sin, and 2. If they believed that the Blessed Virgin Mary was the physical reigning Queen of Portugal and not just symbolically the Patroness. The people answered affirmatively and since the Coronation that took place at Vila Vicosa, the Kings of Portugal never again wore a crown.
[3]
Allegory of the Order of the Immaculate Conception, 1818, by
Jean-Baptiste Debret
, who also designed the insignias of the new order of knighthood
This order distinguished those who proved their loyalty to the Portuguese Royal House in the war against the Bonapartist occupying forces. Later, in 1818, a royal decree stated that the Order would be given as a military award in four (4) classes of Grand Cross, Commander, Knight, and Servant. Knighthood was given to those who were servants to the king and devoted Catholics to the pope and the Holy Mother. The Order was originally limited to twelve Grand Crosses, forty Commanders and one hundred Knights, with the provision for the award of supernumerary Grand Crosses. Grand Crosses were usually given to higher nobles who had positions in the Royal Household.
[4]
Lower grades (Commander and below) were granted to lesser nobles who had provided personal service to the King.
[6]
Unlike the earlier Religious-Military Orders, the
Order of Christ
, the
Order of St. Benedict of Aviz
, and the
Order of St. James of the Sword
, Vila Vicosa was more aligned to the
Order of the Tower and Sword
which had been re-established by King John VI.
[7]
Late into the 19th century, the constitutional sovereigns were inclined to treat the Order of Vila Vicosa as the paramount award given by the sovereign for services rendered to the Royal House.
[6]
In 1910, a revolution installed a Republican government that took over all State Orders except the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Vicosa;
[1]
as a result, King
Manuel II of Portugal
in exile and, after his death, the Dukes of Braganza continued to use the order's insignia and to bestow it as they considered the Order to belong to their dynasty rather than the state. Just after the Second World War, it was bestowed on Prime Minister
Antonio de Oliveira Salazar
by Queen
Amelia
when she visited Portugal for the last time.
In December 1983,
Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza
, re-activated the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Vicosa, and maintains it as an honorific order of the Portuguese Royal Family. He has since then distinguished many Portuguese personalities (including giving the Order's Medal of Merit to among them football star
Cristiano Ronaldo
).
Organisation
[
edit
]
Ducal Palace of Vila Vicosa
, the seat of the
Dukes of Braganza
The order is primarily bestowed upon Portuguese nobles, and only occasionally out of protocol on
Heads of State
and
Royal Houses
, but has also been bestowed (before 2005) on foreign and Portuguese recipients who received it solely as an honorary award for services rendered to the expansion of the Cult of the Blessed
Virgin Mary
, the Message of
Our Lady of Fatima
, or the Roman Catholic Church, but who are not listed as active members of the Portuguese order and therefore not invited to attend functions or events organised by the order.
The order is unofficially acknowledged by the Portuguese government. It may be worn by Portuguese citizens, but not on Portuguese military uniforms.
Honorary members are not expected to contribute with yearly dues or contributions, although they may wear the decorations at public events if they solicit and obtain permission beforehand to do so from the Secretariat of the Royal House.
Grades
[
edit
]
The Order is divided in four grades:
- Grand-Cross (GCNSC)
- Commander (ComNSC)
- Knight/ Dame (CvNSC / DmNSC)
- Serving Brother or Sister (SNSC)
Insignia
[
edit
]
Breast Star of the Grand Cross and sash insignia of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Vicosa
The order's insignia was designed by the French painter
Jean-Baptiste Debret
(1768?1848), who was in charge of creating in
Rio de Janeiro
an arts and crafts
lyceum
(Escola Real de Artes e Oficios) under the auspices of King
Joao VI
and the
Marquis of Marialva
. The order's
sash
is light blue and white. The
medallion
is starshaped and crowned, and in it center has a monogram with the letters "AM". Surrounding the monogram there is an inscription saying "
Padroeira do Reino
" ("Patroness of the Kingdom").
Notable recipients
[
edit
]
Duke of Saldanha wearing the Grand Cross of the order of Vila Vicosa among other orders of knighthood.
Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona
(father to King Juan Carlos I)
Juan Carlos I of Spain
(
King of Spain
)
Mgr
Gaetano Bisleti
(
Cardinal
)
Joseph Geefs
(Sculptor)
Aymard d'Ursel
(Papal Chamberlain)
Charles Rogier
(8th
Prime Minister of Belgium
)
Count
Paul de Smet de Naeyer
(16th
Prime Minister of Belgium
)
Joseph, Prince de Caraman-Chimay
(Belgian noble)
[8]
Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples
;
(Head of the
Royal House of Italy
)
Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro
(Head of the
Royal House of the Two Sicilies
)
Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria
(Head of the
Royal House of the Two Sicilies
)
Otto von Habsburg
(
Crown Prince of Austria and Hungary
)
Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
(Head of the
Royal House of Serbia
)
Dom Miguel,
Duke of Viseu
(
Infante of Portugal
)
Infante Henrique, Duke of Coimbra
(
Infante of Portugal
)
Dom Afonso, Prince of Beira
(
Infante of Portugal
)
[9]
Joao Carlos Saldanha de Oliveira Daun, 1st Duke of Saldanha
(Portuguese military and noble)
Conselheiro Rodrigo Augusto da Silva
(Brazilian senator)
Jose Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco
(
Prime Minister of Brazil
)
Luis Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias
(Brazilian military and noble)
Prince Luiz of Orleans-Braganza
(Head of the
Imperial House of Brazil
)
Paul Kruger
(President of the
Republic of Transvaal
, awarded in 1892, after the breakdown of Boer-Portuguese relationships in 1899 he returned the order and was struck off the roll)
[10]
Jorge Carlos Fonseca
(President of
Cabo Verde
, decorated in November 2012)
Cristiano Ronaldo
(professional footballer, decorated with the Medal of Merit on 30 August 2006)
[11]
[12]
Dr.
Dario Item
, Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda
Jose Antonio Marques
, founder of the Portuguese Red Cross
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Duckers, Peter (2008).
European orders and decorations to 1945
. Botley, Oxford, UK: Shire Publications. pp. 68?70.
ISBN
978-0-7478-0670-7
.
- ^
Duren, Peter Bander van (1995).
Orders of knighthood and of merit : the pontifical, religious and secularised Catholic-founded Orders and their relationship to the Apostolic See
. Gerrards Cross: Smythe. pp. 266?67.
ISBN
978-0-86140-371-4
.
- ^
a
b
Haffner, Paul (2004).
The mystery of Mary
. Leominster, Herefordshire: Gracewing. pp. xi.
ISBN
978-1-59525-008-7
.
- ^
a
b
Tagore, Sourindro Mohun Tagore (1884).
The orders of knighthood, British and foreign: with a brief review of the titles of rank and merit in ancient Hindusthan
. Calcutta, British India: Catholic Orphan Press
. Retrieved
8 December
2011
.
This Order was founded on the 6th February, 1818 by King John VI ,and received its Statutes on the 10th September, 1819...legend "Padroeira do Reino"- (Patroness of the Realm)
- ^
John Paul II.
"Mass for Farmers, Homily of Pope John Paul II, Vila Vicosa, Friday, May 14, 1982"
.
Apostolic Pilgrimage in Portugal, 12?15 May 1982
(in Italian). The Holy See
. Retrieved
8 December
2011
.
Nel Santuario di nostra Signora della Concezione di Vila Vicosa, sotto lo sguardo della "Regina" del Portogallo, coronata da Dom Joao Quarto.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Conception of Vila Vicosa, under the gaze of the Queen of Portugal, crowned by Dom Joao IV.
- ^
a
b
Pisani, Alberto (2003).
"Privilegi Nobiliari dell'Ordine Militare della Concezione di Villa Vicosa in Portogallo"
[Noble Privileges of the Military Order of the Conception of Villa Vicosa in Portugal]
(PDF)
.
Rivista Araldica
(in Italian). Collegio Araldico Roma.
ISSN
0035-5771
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 30 April 2012
. Retrieved
8 December
2011
.
- ^
Tesouros reais
([2. ed. rev. e corr.]. ed.). Lisboa: Palacio Nacional da Ajuda. 1992.
ISBN
972-9496-12-9
.
- ^
Independance Belge (L') 23-03-1854.
- ^
"Familia Real Portuguesa on Instagram: "HH Infanta Dona Maria Francisca Duchess of Coimbra with her father HRH Dom Duarte Pio Duke of Braganca and older brother, HRH Dom Afonso Prince of Beira, during the reception of @grand_duke_george_of_russia and @rebecca_bettarini wedding at the Russian Ethnographic Museum, which was founded by Russia's last tsar, Nicholas II. SA a Infanta Dona Maria Francisca Duquesa de Coimbra com seu pai SAR Dom Duarte Pio Duque de Braganca e o seu irmao mais velho, SAR Dom Afonso Principe da Beira, durante a recepcao do casamento do @grand_duke_george_of_russia e @rebecca_bettarini , no Museu Etnografico Russo, que foi fundado pelo ultimo Czar da Russia, Nicolau II #portugueseroyalfamily #familiarealportuguesa #duquedebraganca #casadebraganca #duquesdebraganca #domduarte #royals #portugal #monarchy #monarquia #realeza #royalfamily #monarchies #houseofbraganza #kingofportugal #monarquiaportuguesa #monarquico #monarquista #casareal #europeanroyals #nobility #reideportugal #domafonsodebraganca #donamariafrancisca #marcelorebelodesousa #republica #republicaportuguesa #presidenciadarepublica"
"
.
Instagram
. Retrieved
2023-01-17
.
- ^
Hirschson, Niel
The naming of Johannesburg as an historical commentary
Nugget Press, 1974, p. 39
- ^
"D. Duarte condecora seleccao nacional"
(in Portuguese). Correio da Manha. 31 August 2006
. Retrieved
27 August
2017
.
- ^
Clapham, Peter Wynter Bee ; illustrated by Lucy (2008).
People of the day 3
. Woking: People of the Day Limited. p. 45.
ISBN
978-0-9548110-2-0
.
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