Garcia, D Francisco

Garcia, D. Francisco a Portuguese Jesuit, joined the order at the age of eighteen, and went to the East Indies with fifty-eight other Jesuit missionaries. He resided successively at Goa and Cochin, and emas appointed coadjutor of the archbishop of the mountain region inhabited by the Christians of St. Thomas (q.v.). The archbishop dying in 1641, Garcia succeeded him, and exerted great influence over the people by his knowledge of the native dialects. He had many disputes with the Christians of St. Thomas. He died September 3, 1659. He left a MS. entitled Relacao dos sectasios da India oriental. Dialogos espirituaes, carta escrita ao arcediago dos christaos da Serra, which is said to contain valuable information on the tribes of the East. — Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Gener. 19:461.