Living Testimony of the Religious Persecutions

Here is the recorded testimony of 58 persons, men and women of mature age, with their names and ages annexed, given in the presence of Christian men in New York in August 1848.-- Contributed by Bob Coraor (Correia)

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Testimony of Living Witnesses to the facts of the recent
Persecutions on the Island of Madeira

"We, the undersigned, are all natives of Madeira: We were all born and educated in the Roman Catholic Church: We have always been in the habit of attending mass, confession, and the various ceremonies, feasts, and fasts of that church. We knew of no other way of Worship, because we had never seen nor read the word of GOD. We did not know there was such a book as the Bible, in which was found the history of Jesus Christ and of the Apostles, until Dr. KALLEY began to circulate it in Madeira. In reading the Bibles we received from him, we learned, for the first time, that we must be saved by the Blood of Jesus, and not by penance, and mass, and purgatory. We found that the virgin and saints are not mediators, for there is only one Mediator between God and man, that is, Christ Jesus. When we began to rejoice in Jesus as our only mediator, and to read the bible with joy, then we were forbidden by the Priests and the Government to read it. The Priests began to take our Bibles and to burn them. Many of the Bible-readers were thrown into prison. Some of us have been in prison 2 years, and others 3 years. We have been driven from our houses and our country---have wandered in the mountains, and slept in caves--because we read the word of GOD, and desired to live according to its precepts, and for no other reason. We were compelled by the Priests and the Government in Madeira to flee away and leave all our goods, and houses and lands; and, on this account, we are now destitue, in a strange country. To the truth of all these things we are prepared to testify before all the world."

Signed by

Age [nos. hard to read on film]

FRANCISCO SILVESTRE

58 years

LUZIA SILVESTRE

54

JACINTHA SILVESTRE

30

ALBINA SILVESTRE

26

NICOLAS TOLENTINO VIEIRA

31

DEMITILDE VIEIRA

30

CANDIDA XAVIER

40

SEVERIANNA XAVIER

35

LUIZA XAVIER

30

MARIA DA SILVA

40

RITA DA SILVA

28

MANOEL AFONSA

27

SUFIA AFONSA

29

LUIS FIGUEIRA

49

GENEVEVEVA FIGUEIRA

47

ANTONIO FERNANDES

30

LUIZA FERNANDES

26

JOAO GOMES CAMAXO

50

JOSE DE VASCONCELLOS

37

CARELOTA VASCONCELLOS

24

JOAQUIM FERREIRA LOMELINO

36

ANTONIA FERREIRA LOMELINO

31

JOAQUIM DIAS

37

JOAQUINA DIAS

22

JOAO RODRIGUES FIGUEIRA

39

... and 33 others.

 

 

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