Biography

by Chandrelyn Kraczek, Perla Escobar, Anna-Lisa Halling & Valerie Hegstrom

Personal history:

Catherina de Tavora, a noble of the highest class, gave birth to Soror Maria do Céu on the 11 of September, 1658 (Barrera y Leirado, 91). Damião de Froes Perim records her parent’s names as Antonio de Sa and Catharina de Tavora, (243) however Barbosa Machado refutes this claim affirming her parent’s names were Antonio Deça de Castro and Catherina de Tavora (Machado, 926). De Froes Perim wrote seven years earlier, whether that gives him more authority on the subject or not remains to be seen. The Livro da fundação ampliação e Sítio do Convento de N. Senhora da Peidade da Esperança, a book written in Soror Maria do Ceu’s  lifetime about the proceedings of the convent in which she lived, also records her father’s name as Antonio de Sâ e Castro (Hatherly, XV). Despite this, it is generally accepted that her father’s name was Antonio Deça, or as another spelling, Antonio d’Eça. As noted in the Livro da Fundação about her entry to the convent, Soror Maria do Céu came from a wealthy family, “nobilissima, illustre por sua antiguidade” [noble, illustrious in its antiquity] (Hatherly, XV). Her mother’s father, D. Antão de Almada, served as an Ambassador to England and held such titles as Senhor de Pombalinho and Senhor dos Lagares d'El-Rei. (Machado, 926). Catherina de Tavora gave birth to twins, Maria and her twin sister, Isabel Senhorinha da Silva, by all accounts so similar to each other both in temperament and appearance that they could be distinguished only by a difference in their voices (Perim, 242). Her parents, both devout Catholics, baptized her in the parish Senhora dos Mártires (Hatherly, XIV). Throughout life she received the education of a noble and became renowned as a poet even before she entered the convent (Perim, 243). Her sister did not enter the convent but rather married Diogo Luis Ribeiro Soares, a general of the cavalry of the court according to Machado (926), and a lieutenant general of the artillery according to de Barros (150). Isabel Senhorinha da Silva also published several literary works such as poems and short stories (Machado, 926). At the age of eighteen Soror Maria do Céu entered the Convento de Esperança de Lisboa Occidental da Ordem de S. Francisco on June 27, 1676 (Machado, 420). She died on the 28th of May, 1753 at the age of 94, still a devout and active member of the convent in which she lived (Machado, 252).

Religious life: 

She lived the rest of her long life in the Convento de Esperança, located only 1.2 kilometers from the parish church Senhora dos Mártires (the place of her baptism), roughly a 17 minute walk. Elizabete Gama indicates that Convento de Esperança had several names including Nossa Senhora da Piedade da Esperança de Lisboa, the Mosteiro da Esperança, or the Convento de Esperança. Inspiration and initiative from D. Isabel de Medanha led to its construction in 1527 and upon her death in 1532 her work continued under the direction of  D. Joana de Eça. Upon the death of the last religious tenant in 1888, the city of Lisbon received the building and surrounding land with the purpose of modernizing the area (Gama). From 1888-1900, the municipality converted the convent into the fire station that currently houses the  Sapadores Bombeiros de Lisboa ²The term sapadores used here denotes professional firefighters as opposed to a volunteer unit. 

The nuns living in the Convento de Esperança practiced the Order of St. Clare second order of St. Francis of Assisi, making Soror Maria do Céu a Franciscan nun as Perim and Gama note. Clare Offreduccio formed the order of St. Clare, also known as “Poor Clares,” under the direction of St. Francis beginning in 1212, however the church did not officially ratify it as an order until 1253 (Frances, 31). Traditionally their lifestyle included fasting frequently, manual labor, contemplation in silence for many hours of the day, enclosure, extreme poverty, and chastity. Their rule required that nuns of their order “live in obedience, without anything of one’s own, in chastity” (Frances, 55). Upon entering the convent they would give up their secular clothes, cut their hair, and don monastic garb (Petruzello). ³According to Veronica Bennett, traditional habits of poor Clare nuns were made of undyed coarse wool cloth, usually brown or reddish-brown in color. They wore a knotted cord in place of a belt with … Continue reading On their feet they wore only sandals to reflect their commitment to poverty.

Despite this strict tradition, many sources indicate that the Convent of Esperança was not so destitute: A. Vieira da Silva notes that the convent enjoyed an “exceptional riqueza decorativa” [exceptional richness in decoration] and Fonseca Benevides comments on the “Imensa profusão de azulejos” [immense profusion of azulejos (painted tiles)] that decorated the convent walls (Morujão, 289). Perhaps this richness in decoration can be attributed to the fact that noble families of the area would send their daughters to the convent of Esperança, as evidenced by Soror Maria do Céu’s service there. Queen Maria Francisca de Sabóia herself passed some time in the convent temporarily in the second half of the seventeenth century (Hatherly, XII). Letters written by Soror Maria do Céu to the Duchess Teresa de Medinaceli and her daughter, who also stayed in the convent for a period of time, are yet more evidence indicating a comfortable furnishing of the convent, at least comfortable enough for royalty to visit (Hatherly, XIX). Perhaps, in this convent at least, the vows of poverty and commitment to walking barefoot taken upon entry were more symbolic than practiced. 

In her years at the convent, Soror Maria do Céu served as portress, mistress of novices, and abbess on two separate occasions (Machado, 420). The author of the Livro da fundação do Convento da Esperança describes her as one with “profunda humildade e modestia” [deep humility and modesty] (Hatherly, XV). Fr. Antonio do Sacramento writes that upon her entrance to the convent she “crescia em virtudes, tendo exacto cuidado na observancia da Regra de Sua Madre Santa Clara” [grew in virtues, carefully observing the rule of her Mother St. Clare] (Hatherly, XVII). He further notes that as Abess the other nuns and religious affiliates “lhe obedeciam com alegria, a respeitavam prudente, e dotado de grande juízo” [obeyed her with joy, respected her prudence, and thought her possessed with great wisdom] (Hatherly, XVII). In the leisure time she had from the duties of monastic life, she dedicated her time to books and reading and with time became quite erudite (Machado, 420). 

Literary Works:

Over the course of 77 years she published a great deal of poetry, plays, and short stories, both in Portuguese and Spanish (Commire and Klezmer, 1225). Much of her work is allegorical and didactic in nature, intended to teach about behavior and life in the convent. During her early years as a writer she published under the pseudonym Marina Clemência, religiosa de S. Francisco do Convento da Ilha de São Miguel due to a strong desire to avoid the public eye (Perim, 243-244). A Feniz Apparecida na Vida, Morte, Sepultura, e Milagres da Gloriosa S. Catharina; A preciosa, Allegoria Moral; and A Preciosa, Obras de Misericordia were all published under this name (Hatherly, XXI). Eventually admirers of her work identified Soror Maria do Céu as the writer behind the pseudonym Marina Clemência and she began to publish her works under her own name (Hatherly, XXVI). She published her works using various printers and publishing houses including the Officina Real Deslandefiana, the Officina da Musica, Manoel Fernandes da Costa, Miguel Rodriquez, Miguel Menescal da Costa, and Antonio Isidoro da Fonseca (Machado, 420). In her time, all published materials passed through a censor who approved the work as appropriate for audiences or deemed it as unacceptable. De Barros notes that few authors could boast of such high praise as she was given by her censors in the licenses they wrote to allow the book to pass (153). De Barros writes: “Todos os censores aplaudem os gestos daquela religiosa bem intencionada” [all the censors applauded the actions of that well meaning religious woman] (153). In rough chronological order her works include: 

• A feniz aparecida na vida, morte, sepultura, e milagres da gloriosa S. Catherina Rainha de Alexandria, virgem, e mártir com sua Novena, e peregrinação ao Sinay. 1715. 
• A preciosa Alegorica Moral, part 1. 1731. 
• A preciosa: Obras de Misericórdia em primorosos, e místicos Diálogos expostos. Elogios dos santos em vários cantos poéticos e históricos. 1733.
• Obras várias e admiráveis. 1735. 
• Aves ilustradas, e avisos para as religiosas servirem os officios de seus mosteiros. 1738.
• Triunfo do Rosário repartido em cinco autos do mesmo, muito devotos, e divertidos pelas singulares ideias. 1740
  • Perla y Rosa
  • Rosal de Maria
  • La flor de las finezas
  • Las rosas com las espigas
  • Tres redenciones
• Enganos do bosque, desenganos do rio. 1741

In her book about Triunfo do Rosário Ana Hatherly notes that the Tres Autos de S. Aleixo, which are mentioned by several other historians in lists of her work, were published in the 1741 version of Enganos do Bosque part 1 and 2 (8). These three plays include: 

• Maior fineza de Amor
• Amor e Fé
• As lagrimas de Roma 

Diôgo Barbosa Machado lists the biography written by Soror Maria do Céu about Madre Helena da Cruz, Relação da vida, e morte da serva de deus a V. Madre Helena da Cruz religiosa do convento da Esperança desta cidade de Lisboa no ano de 1721, after Enganos do Bosque, but he does not provide a publishing date. Perim too lists the biography of Madre Helena da Cruz after the Tres Autos de S. Aleixo, but does not provide a publishing date for either of them. Ana Hatherly notes that there are two manuscript versions known of today, one with the date of 1721 and the other undated, however with indications that it was written later (XX).

Damião de Froes Perim and Diôgo Barbosa Machado attribute En la cura va la flecha, Preguntarlo a las Estrellas, and En la más oscura noche, three comedies, to her as well (Perim, 243). Neither of them, however, specify the date of publication. Perim published his catalog in 1736, so it stands to reason that they were published before that date, but their publication date is not conclusively known.