A collector of miracles: the work of Father Conceição Vieira

Abstract

This chapter deals with the little-known work of a Portuguese polemist of the 19th century: Father José António Conceição Vieira. Born in Alcoutim at the end of 1831, Conceição Vieira produced an anomalous literary work for the century of progress in which he lived. The mismatch between the traditional religion and the social changes promoted by nineteenth-century science led the Algarvian priest to defend ultraconservative positions even by the standards of the time. The most interesting aspects of his work are manifested in the recovery of forgotten documents in the history of Portuguese esotericism and, above all, in the critique of contemporary religious movements. Especially relevant are the readings he made of the myths surrounding Sebastianism, the attacks on nineteenth-century Spiritism, and the many criticisms he made of popular interest in hypnotism and other phenomena of the deep human mind. The works he has produced are astonishing even today, either by the rich erudite information that characterizes them, or by the tormented conscience they reveal. As the world of ancient magical beliefs seems to have nothing to do with the novel techno-scientific world that 19^th century announced, the communication argues that Father Conceição Vieira represents the malaise of the intellectuals regarding the representations of Redemption, whether linked to a universal apocalypse, an anomalous personal experience or a future civilizational happiness provided by technical means. On a more positive note, it is argued in a complementary way that the knowledge of the tradition of Portuguese esotericism is valuable (or even indispensable) for the understanding of the redemptive imaginary.