BRAGA
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BRAGA
of great service to the future Catholic historians of
these dioceses.
Dr. Brady pubhshed several works in favour of the disestablishment of the Irish Protestant Church, such as: "Remarks on the Irish Church Temporali- ties" (1865); "Facts or Fiction; The alleged Con- version of the Irish Bishops to the Reformed Religion at the Accession of Queen Elizabeth and the As- sumed Descent of the Present Estalilished Hierarchy from the Ancient Irish Church Disproved" (1866), which went through five editions; "State Papers concerning the Irish Church in the time of Queen Elizabeth" (1868); "Some Remarks on the Irish Church Bill" (1869); and "Essays on the English State Church in Ireland" (1S69). On the Irish Church question he also contributed numerous let- ters to the newspaper press, and articles to "Eraser's" and "The Contemporary", many of which were sub- sequently reprinted in pamphlet or book form. Some interesting articles from his pen appeared in the "Catholic World" on "Ireland's Mission" (May, 1870); "The Ancient Irish Churches" (July, 1870), WTitten while yet a Protestant, and "Pius IX and Mr. Gladstone's Misrepresentations" (May, 1875). His only work of a purely secular character is "The McGillicuddy Papers; a Selection from the Family Archives of the McGillicuddy of the Reeks, with an Introductory Memoir" (1867).
When the Church Disestablishment act was passed. Dr. Brady went to Rome, where he examined the Vatican archives for information touching the eccle- siastical affairs of England, Ireland, and Scotland. He shortly resigned his benefices as Vicar of Donough- patrick, and Rector of Kilbery, Meath, to which he had been promoted from Cork, and in May, 1873, was received into the Catholic Church by Mon- signor, afterwards Archbishop, Kirby, Rector of the Irish College at Rome. His Vatican researches led to the publication of two volumes on "Episcopal Succession in England, Scotland, and Ireland, A. D. 1400 to 1875, with Appointments to Monas- teries, and Extracts from Manuscripts in Public and Private Libraries in Rome, Florence, Bologna, Vienna, and Paris" (Rome, 1876-77). He also brought out, "Annals of the Catholic Hierarchy in England and Scotland, A. d. 1585-1876, with a Dissertation on Anglican Orders" (Rome, 1877; London, 1883). During his stay in Rome, Dr. Brady acted for a long time as correspondent of the London "Tablet", and issued a pamphlet on "The Pope's Anti-Parnellite Circular" (London, 1883). The last of his works was the "Anglo-Roman Papers", pub- lished in 1890. He had a large share in the political controversies of the day and corresponded much with Gladstone and other eminent statesmen. He died of apoplexy and was buried in the Campo Verrano Cemetery in Rome. His grave is marked with an Irish Cross on white marble, bearing the inscription, "In memory of William Maziere Brady, Cavalier of the Order of Pius IX, and Private Cham- berlain to his Holiness Pius IX and his Holiness Leo XIII. Born in Dublin, January 8, 1825, died in Rome, March 19, 1894".
Irish Celts (Detroit, 1884); Joum-al of the Cork Archcvological Society. 2nd series, vol. IX. No. 59 (July-September. 1903), .^. V. Sei^en Clerical Worthies; Allibone, Diet, of Authors. ."^uppl., I.
Edwabd p. Spill.^ne.
Braga, Archdiocese of (Br.\c.\ra Augusta, CiviTAS Bracauensis), is situated in a flat fertile tract of land between the rivers Este and Cavado, in the province of Minho, in the Kingdom of Portu- gal. The name was derived from the costume worn bj' the ancient native inhabitants, which reached from the waist to the knee, unlike the tunics worn by the Romans; for this reason the latter called these bragas (bracas) a barbarous costume, and those
who wore them — Persians, Scythians, and the Celtic
inhabitants of Gaul — barbarians. The city of Braga
is very ancient as the etymology of the name implies.
Some, like St. Lsidore, believe it is derived from the
Greek Bpaxvs. short, others from pdxos, thorn-bush;
others again, like Diodorus Siculus, say that it is of
Celtic origin. In the fifth book of his "Historical
Library", speaking of the Gauls he says, quas bracas
illi nominant. Braga, the metropolis of Galicia, was
one of the principal cities of Lusitania (Portugal),
until the Emperor Augustus, having brought his wars
to a close, made a new division of the provinces and
united it to Hispania Tarraconensis, giving it the
name of Augusta, and making it one of the three
judicial divi-sions into which the province of Galicia
was divided. It was one of the first cities of Spain to
receive the light of the Gospel. The tradition that
St. Peter de Rates, a disciple of St. James, preached
here, is handed do^Ti in the ancient Breviary of
Braga (Breviarium Bracarense) and in that of
Evora; but this, as the BoUandists tell us, is purely
traditional. Paternus was certainly bishop of the
see about 390.
Some have denied that Braga was a metropolitan see; others have attempted without sufficient evi- dence, however, to claim two metropolitan sees for Galicia before the sixth centiu-y. The real facts in the case are that after the destruction of Astorga (433) by the Visigoths Braga was elevated to the dignity of a metropolitan see in the time of St. Leo I (440—461). Balconius was then its bishop and Agrestius, Bishop of Lugo, was the metropolitan. At the latter's death the right of metropolitan rank was restored to the oldest bishop of the province, who was the Bishop of Braga. From this time, until the Mohammedans invaded Spain (711) he retained the supremacy over all the sees of the province. In 1110 Pope Paschal II restored Braga to its former metropolitan rank. W^hen Portugal separated from Spain, Braga assumed even greater importance. It contested with Toledo the primacy over all the Spanish sees, but the popes decided in favour of the latter city. At present it has for suffragans the dioceses of Porto, Coimbra, Visco, Braganga-Miranda, Aveiro, and Pinhel. There have been many very famous bishops and ■^Titers in this diocese. Among its earlier bishops, besides the traditional St. Peter already mentioned, the most famous is St. Martin of Braga who died in 580, noted for his wisdom and holiness. St. Gregory of Tours says of him (Hist. France, V, xxxvii) that he was born in Pannonia, visited the Holy Land, and became the foremost scholar of his time. St. Isidore of Seville ("De Viris illustribus", c. xxxv) tells us that he "was abbot of the monastery of Dumio near Braga, came to Galicia from the East, converted the Suevic inhabitants from the errors of Arianism, taught them Catholic doctrine and discipline, strength- ened their ecclesiastical organization, and foimded monasteries. He also left a niunber of letters in which he recommended a reform of manners, a life of faith and prayer, and giving of alms, the constant practice of all virtues and the love of God. " For his wTitings see Bardenhewer, " Patrologie " (2nd ed., 1901), 579-581. Braga having been destroyed by the Saracens, and restored in 1071, a succession of illus- trious bishops occupied the see. Among these were Mauricio Biu-dinho (1111-14). sent as legate to the Emperor Henry V (11 18), and by him created antipope with the title of Gregorj- VIII; Pedro Juliano, Arcii- deacon of Lisbon, elected Bishop of Braga in 1274, created cardinal by Gregory X in 1276, and finally elected pope imder the name of John XXI; Blessed Bartholomew a Martyribus (1559-67), a Dominican, who in 1566, together with Father Lms de Soto- mayor, Francisco Foreiro, and others, assisted at the Council of Trent; Agustfn de Castro, an Angus-
