The remains of Esa de Queiroz will soon be transferred to the Pantheon.

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, announced this Wednesday that the remains of the writer Esa de Queiroz will soon be transferred to the National Pantheon.

The head of state stated this while speaking at the Lisbon Congress Center after the inauguration of the new governing bodies of the CIP – Confederação Empresarial de Portugal.

The President of the Republic referred to a group of late 19th-century intellectuals known as the “losers of life”, referring to an extract from a speech by the new president of the CIP, Armindo Monteiro.

In this regard, he announced: “By the way, we are going to honor briefly the transfer to the National Pantheon of the remains of Esa de Queiroz.”

In January 2021, the Assembly of the Republic unanimously approved a PS draft resolution to “grant the awards of the National Pantheon to the remains of José María Esa de Queiroz in recognition and respect for a unique and decisive literary work in the history of Portuguese literature.” .

At the same time, the same resolution decided “to set up a working group, composed of representatives of each parliamentary group, with the task of setting a date, and defining and directing a transfer program together with other participating government bodies.” , as well as a representative of the Eça de Queiroz Foundation.”

Esa de Queiroz died on August 16, 1900 and was buried in Lisbon. In September 1989, his remains were transferred from the Alto de São João cemetery in the capital to the family tomb in the Santa Cruz do Douro cemetery in Baiau.

The resolution, adopted in 2021, was a response to the challenge raised by the Esa de Queiroz Foundation, in accordance with the provisions of the law that defines and regulates the honors of the National Pantheon, intended to “honor and commemorate the Portuguese citizens who have distinguished themselves. for services to the country, in the performance of high public offices, high military services, in the dissemination of Portuguese culture, in literary, scientific and artistic creativity or in the defense of the values ​​​​of civilization, in favor of the dignity of the human person and the cause of freedom.

Esa de Queiroz, born in 1845 in Povoa de Varzim, Porto district, was the author of short stories and novels, including “Os Mayas”, considered by generations of critics and literary scholars to be the best Portuguese realist novel of the 19th century.

His extensive work includes such titles as O Cousin Basilio, City and Mountains, Padre Amaro’s Crime, Relic, Ramirez’s illustrious house, and Rua das Flores Tragedy. . . .