The City Council of Lisbon (CML) will support with €50,000 the reconstruction of the tomb of João XXXI, the only Portuguese Pope, located in the Viterbo Cathedral in Italy and currently in a state of disrepair.
According to the proposal approved at the municipal meeting, funds will be transferred to the Diocese of Viterbo for the restoration of the tomb, which is currently in a state of destruction, next to the main altar of the Cathedral of San Lorenzo.
After restoration, the tomb will be moved to its own chapel in the same cathedral, which will bear the name of the Portuguese Pope.
The Diocese of Viterbo will be responsible for the execution of the work and will inform the Lisbon City Council (PSD/CDS-PP – Novos Tempos coalition) about the progress and control of the work, presenting a report with the results and description of the work. carried out activities.
João XXI, also known as Pedro Espano, was a famous 13th-century scientist, physician, philosopher, theologian and mathematician and the only Portuguese to bear the name of Pope.
He was born in Lisbon in 1215 as Pedro Julian Rebolo and died on May 20, 1277, being buried in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in the city of Viterbo.
The tomb changed location several times: on March 28, 2000, John XXI was moved to the central nave of the Viterbo Cathedral, next to the high altar, thanks to the support of the municipality of Lisbon.
As stated in the press release, the vice-president of the Chamber, Filipe Anacoreta Correia (CDS-PP), who presented the proposal, recalled that John XXI was the only Portuguese Pope, “a citizen of Lisbon who crossed boundaries and a man of exceptional erudition”, therefore the support of the municipality justified because the tomb has the dignity it deserves.
BE (councillor) and two councilors from the Citizens for Lisbon movement (independent members elected by the PS) voted against the proposal, while another councilor from this group abstained, as did two councilors from the PCP.
The coalition of Novos Tempos (seven council members), PS (three) and Livre (one) voted in favor.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.