1607. Carta de Álvaro Belo, frade, para a Jorge de Melo e Salvador da Teixeira, inquisidores.

Private letter from Álvaro Belo, friar, to Jorge de Melo and Salvador da Teixeira, inquisitors.

The author refers to his illness and mentions the poor conditions in the convent where he is being held.

The defendant in this process is Álvaro Belo, religious of the Order of St. Francis and guardian of the Convent in the village of Alvito (Alentejo). Natural from Setubal, the defendant is accused of heresy by the Evora Inquisition, for having said at the refectory table that "God formerly ruled better than now" and that he "wished he was God," and also for having written that "all religions were good and in all of them men could be saved if they had faith, among other things. The defendant was denounced by the Father Vicente da Cruz, who felt indignant to hear his words at meal time. The transcribed letters were submitted by the defendant to the Inquisition Table in his defense. Not wanting to present himself voluntarily, the defendant was held captive in the San Francisco Convent.