DN Online: D. Duarte chamado "rei" numa igreja do Rio
In a non-official celebration that took place yesterday, at the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e São Benedito dos Homens Pretos (the same church where D. João VI attended the
Te Deum, as soon as he arrived in Rio, on March 8th 1808), D. Duarte Pio and his wife were enthusiastically received by the local population. The Duke of Bragança, who was invited by the City Hall of Rio de Janeiro to come to Brazil, walked two blocks to arrive in the church, where the head of the Brotherhood of the Black Men enthusiastically announced him: "there comes the king of Portugal!".
In the church there were already D. Luís Gastão (the heir to the Brazilian throne) and his brothers, who were also associated to this non official celebration.
For the descendants of D. João VI, all the commemorations are good, as far as they dignify the memory of the family in the History. "I was very moved by the speech of Lula", said D. Bertrand de Orleans e Bragança, brother of D. Luís. In fact, the Brazilian president thanked the royal family for the role played in the creation of Brazil as a nation and praised D. João VI in his speech.
D. Duarte Pio, on the other hand, is the descendant of D. Miguel (who was opposed to his brother, D. Pedro, in the Brazilian question). But 200 years later, and with the monarchy abolished in both countries, the matter seems irrelevant now, as prooved by the curious and euphoric reception received by D. Duarte and D. Isabel, during this mass.
After the cerimony, the people that had attended the mass greeted the heir to the throne, D. Luís, with a kiss-hand (much similar to the royal kiss-hand of D João VI in the Royal palace). It was a true popular manifestation, said D.ª Isabel de Herédia: "it was much amused and without any prejudices".
"Viva Brazil! Viva D. Luís! Viva D. Duarte Pio! Viva Portugal, our mother land", cheered the black presenter, at the end of the cerimony.
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Just before this non-official celebration, the royal cathedral had beed reopened after the restoration works, in a official ceremony that was presided by the Portuguese president.
PR/Brasil: Cavaco Silva almoça com comunidade portuguesa no segundo aniversário da sua posse - Lusa - SAPO Notícias
In the scope of the official commemorations for the 200 years since the arrival of the royal Court to Rio de Janeiro, on March 8th 1808, the president the republic participated in the inauguration of the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo da Antiga Sé, after 18 months of restoration works.
Inaugurated back in 1761, the old cathedral of Rio de Janeiro is associated both to the Portuguese royal family and to the Brazilian imperial family.
In 1816, Queen D.ª Maria I was burried with a mass that took place in this same Royal Chapel, where D. João VI was acclaimed king, in 1818.
Besides, D.ª Maria da Glória (later Queen D. Maria II of Portugal) was baptized in this Royal Chapel in 1819, and three years later, D. Pedro was crowned Emperor of Brazil in this same church and, in 1841, D. Pedro II was also crowned here.
The reopening of this national monument consisted of a concert performed by the Brazilian Sinfonic Orchestra and it was attended by Cavaco Silva and his retenue, as well as by the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, César Maia, the Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Cardinal D. Eusébio Óscar Scheid, as well as by D. Duarte Pio and the descendants of the Brazilian imperial family.
But didnt know which one either.
