António Manoel de Vilhena
Encyclopedia
Prince of the Church
The term Prince of the Church is nowadays used nearly exclusively for Catholic Cardinals. However the term is historically more important as a generic term for clergymen whose offices hold the secular rank and privilege of a prince or are considered its equivalent...
and Grand Master of the Order of Malta from 19 June 1722 to his death in 1736.
Manoel de Vilhena was a Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
aristocrat of royal descent, son of Dom Sancho Manoel de Vilhena
Sancho Manoel de Vilhena
Sancho Manoel de Vilhena, 1st Count of Vila Flor , was a remarkable Portuguese aristocrat and military leader, of royal background....
, 1st Count de Vila Flor, and first wife Ana de Noronha, and a remote uncle of the Duke of Terceira. Although most Grand Masters of the Order of Saint John were known to keep aloof from the Maltese populace, Vilhena was loved by the Maltese as he strived to better their lot and also set up a number of charitable institutions. To meet the demand for housing and accommodation in Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
he laid the plans for the building of a suburb in the neighbourhood, Floriana
Floriana
Floriana is a town in Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. Floriana is the birthplace of many famous Maltese, amongst which the composer of the national anthem, 'L-Innu Malti', Robert Samut; former Bishop of Malta Dom Mauro Caruana, the poet Oliver Friggieri, and Swedish Idol winner...
, where his statue still stands today in Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
Square. He built Fort Manoel
Fort Manoel
Fort Manoel is a fortification on the island of Malta. It stands on Manoel Island in Marsamxett Harbour to the north west of Valletta and commands the entrance to Marsamxett Harbour and the anchorage of Sliema Creek...
in Marsamxett Creek. In 1731, he built the Manoel Theatre
Manoel Theatre
The Manoel Theatre is reputed to be Europe's third-oldest working theatre, and the oldest working theatre in the Commonwealth of Nations...
which is believed to be the second oldest theatre in Europe and is still in use today. His tomb in the Knights' Cathedral St John's Co-Cathedral
St John's Co-Cathedral
St. Johns Co-Cathedral , located in Valletta, Malta, was built by the Knights of Malta between 1573 and 1578, having been commissioned in 1572 by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière as the conventual church of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller of St John, known as the Knights of Malta...
is considered the largest and most sumptuous of all the Grand Masters' tombs.