1619. Carta de Antónia de Vilhena, abadessa, para destinatário desconhecido.

Private letter from Antónia de Vilhena, abbess, to an unknown recipient.

The author exposes several facts that would have moved certain enemies to denounce to the Inquisition a nun of their convent, and defends her as to the identity of her progenitor.

Rafaela de Santo António was arrested on July 7, 1620, remaining in prison until April 3 of the following year. In the Holy Office of Coimbra a lawsuit was filed against Rafaela, accused of Judaism, based on several denunciations, namely of Filipa de São Francisco, a nun in the same convent and who would be also arrested. In fact, it was proved that some nuns practiced Judaism, which absolutely transgressed the principles not only of the order they professed, but of the Catholic Church itself. Rafaela alleged in court that she was not the biological daughter of a new Christian, who had died, but of Diogo de Sá de Meneses, "a known gentleman and one of the truly nobles." In fact, the mother would have managed to conceal her pregnancy from her future husband, with whom she already lived. For this reason, the mother interned her at the age of four, at the Monastery of Madre de Deus de Monchique de Miragaia (Porto), where the sisters followed the rule of Santa Clara (Order of Friars Minor, Portugal). In her process, we find several letters of honor, collected by the abbess, Clara Antónia de Vilhena, and other nuns, in an attempt to free the defendant from the guilts that were formed against her, and to watch over her well-being while she remained in jail. Particular mention should be made of the testimony written by the defendant's mother, in which she clarifies her affiliation. This case is not free of adversities: the abbess, even though she wrote a letter of honor and made several inquiries in favor of the defendant, when she reached the defense phase she testified to the contrary. In the end, the inquisitors would come to the conclusion that the guilts had been caused by false testimony, due to certain quarrels of Rafaela with some companions who lived in the same house and who she had denounced. She thus was promptly absolved and released, turning to that institution .