Fr José da Silva Tavares or José da Sacra Família

A priest of Póvoa de Varzim in England

José da Silva Tavares or José da Sacra Família (Argivai, Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal, 14-02-1788 — Brentwood, Essex, England, 14-09-1858) was a Portuguese Catholic priest. He taught in the University of Coimbra, when he was an Augustinian friar, and later, because of the liberal revolution, went into exile in France, Germany and England. Meanwhile, he left his order and became a secular priest. In France he founded and directed a college – Colégio Português e Brasileiro, in Fontaine-aux-Roses, Paris – and later he went to England. There, he first (1848) opened a modest school in Stratford Green, near London, and later, as a missionary, in Witham, Essex, worked enthusiastically to build a small temple, which still exists, and developed a fraternal dialogue with influential Protestants of the region.

Some years later, he went to Germany and he returned to England in 1853, to the Catholic community of St Helen, Brentwood. There he died in 1858 and was buried in the parish cemetery near the church. Cardinal Wiseman attended his funeral.

An article of the Cathedral Parish of Saint Mary and Saint Helen website mentions another Portuguese priest, Emanuele Dios dos Santos (probably Manuel dos Santos) who played an important role in Brentwood in the difficult times of the first half of the nineteenth century, but this article doesn't mention Fr José da Silva Tavares.

Because he was born in the same Portuguese municipality of Blessed Alexandrina and because for many years the devotion to this Beata is remarkable in England, we thought that it was good to put this information here.

Two books in French on Blessed Alexandrina

In the first half of this week Alex-Diffusion put up for sale two recently published books in French: Seulement par amour!, by Eugénia Signorile, and La spiritualité d'Alexandrina, by Paulette Leblanc.

Gary Bevans

To those who don’t know the “very gifted man” who is Deacon Gary Bevans, the father of Bernadette and Emily Bevans (he played in the DVD), we suggest to connect to these two links: first (biographical information), two (site on the English Martyrs Church).

Mary’s Dowry Productions made a DVD about the ceiling in the church which Deacon Gary painted, that can be got on their website.

Mary’s Dowry Productions - launch of the Blessed Alexandrina DVD (1)

......................................... By Kevin Rowles

On Saturday 4^th December 2010 – a First Saturday of Our Lady – Mary’s Dowry Productions launched their new DVD on Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa.   A review of the DVD has already been published here.   

The event took place at ‘The Barn’, which is the Parish Hall of the Catholic Church of the English Martyrs at Goring-on-Sea, Worthing, in West Sussex.  Bad weather, including rain and snow, was affecting much of the country, but despite this, people still came to support this unique occasion.  The hall is next to the Church of the English Martyrs, which is well-known in the United Kingdom for having an awe-inspiring reproduction of the Sistine Chapel on its ceiling, which was painted by permanent Deacon Gary Bevans, who is the father of Bernadette and Emily Jane Bevans, who run Mary’s Dowry Productions. 

The Bevans sisters ran the day as a double event.  It started at 2pm as a traditional Christmas Fayre, with food and various stalls and features.   The Bevans sisters had an impressive stall for the Mary’s Dowry Production DVD’s, CD’s, books and devotional items.  The new Blessed Alexandrina DVD was on sale and was a source of great interest.

Pictures (from top to bottom):

1. The ceiling of the Church of the English Martyrs, by Deacon Gary Bevans.
2. The Mary’s Dowry Productions stall
3. Bernadette and Emily Jane Bevans with copies of their Blessed Alexandrina DVD

Mary’s Dowry Productions - launch of the Blessed Alexandrina DVD (2)

Some of the stallholders dressed in period costume, reflecting the main thrust of Mary’s Dowry Productions’ work, which is the promotion of our historical Saints and Martyrs, and there was even a costume re-enactment, by friends of the Bevans’ family, of the arrest of the martyred Jesuit priest St Edmund Campion! 

The Bevans sisters kindly invited myself and Richard Sheridan to represent the Alexandrina Society, and we had a stall where my booklet on Blessed Alexandrina ‘A Living Miracle of the Eucharist’, was on sale. 

We also gave away leaflets and information on Blessed Alexandrina and the Alexandrina Society, and literature and devotional items that were kindly donated by the Universal Living Rosary Association.  We brought along the first-class relic of Blessed Alexandrina, and people were pleased to see the relic and venerate it.  Also, José Ferreira of Portugal kindly donated some Blessed Alexandrina relic cards from Balasar, which were given out, and these were very popular.

Some members of the Heralds of the Gospel, an International Association of Pontifical Right, which was approved by the Holy See in 2001, came to see the Blessed Alexandrina DVD in the evening.  Their apostolate ties in very closely with that of Blessed Alexandrina – intensely Eucharistic and Marian.  It was great to see them there, supporting this event.

Pictures:
Kevin at the Blessed Alexandrina stall with the 1^st-class relic
The Heralds of the Gospel at the Blessed Alexandrina stall

Mary’s Dowry Productions - launch of the Blessed Alexandrina DVD (3)

After the Christmas Fayre, the second half of the event started around 7.30pm with a selection of excerpts from various Mary’s Dowry Production films, followed by the first public showing of the Blessed Alexandrina DVD.

Agnes Lee, who played Blessed Alexandrina in the film was among those in the audience.  The Blessed Alexandrina DVD was very well received.  One woman religious who was present described it as ‘moving and important’ and bought a copy of the DVD to show others. 

Another couple came along, and it transpires they had been at Alexandrina’s beatification in Rome in 2004.  They said:- “We had not gone to Rome for the Beatification.  In fact we did not know until the day before that there would be a Beatification on the Sunday - it was just an added bonus to our visit.  There were six Beatifications on the day and I am sorry to say we were not familiar with any of the individuals.  I can remember on our return home reading in the Catholic papers the following week about the beatifications in Rome and this was the first time we learnt anything about the people concerned.  We always felt very privileged to have attended a beatification and although we kept the book as a memento we had forgotten the names of the individuals involved.  It wasn't until the end of the film last night, when the narration confirmed the date of the beatification, that we made the connection that we must have been present at Alexandrina's Beatification”. 

It seems Blessed Alexandrina didn’t want them to forget her!

Others were commenting that the DVD was very moving and the best Mary’s Dowry Production film to date.

Sincere congratulations and thanks to the Bevans family and their helpers for giving us all a memorable and very enjoyable day.   Blessed Alexandrina, pray for us all!

For further information:

·        Mary’s Dowry Productions website.

·        Buy the Blessed Alexandrina DVD here.

·        Mary’s Dowry Productions blog here.

·        Blessed Alexandrina – ‘A Living Miracle of the Eucharist’ booklet by Kevin Rowles, available here.

·        For details of where to purchase in Ireland and the UK, please e-mail alexandrina2@btinternet.com

·        Heralds of the Gospel in England & Wales blog here.

Pictures:
The Mary’s Dowry Productions stall
The audience watching the showing of the DVD’s

News

Despite the bad weather (snow!), the Bl. Alexandrina DVD was launched yesterday.  It was a lovely day. 

We will receive a full report with pictures this week, along with the two leaflets that were given out at the event, one made by Kevin Rowles and one made by the Bevans sisters.

See also here information about the interview of Bernadette and Emily to the BBC.

In this link you can find some information about our collaborator Leo Madigan, who won a price in the Hay Short Story Competition.

(“Leo Madigan will read his two winning stories, 'Beyond the Dreams of Avarice' and 'The Will of Quintus Kirkwood', and be presented with his prize.”)

Here can be found some biographical information on the author of the book   Alexandrina Maria da Costa.