Foreiro, Francisco
FOREIRO, FRANCISCO
Portuguese Dominican theologian and Scripture scholar who played a prominent role in the Council of Trent; b. c. 1510; d. Lisbon, Jan. 10, 1581. His academic achievements in Greek and Hebrew attracted King John III of Portugal, who sent him with Francisco de vitoria to pursue his studies at Paris. Upon his return, Foreiro won fame as a theologian and preacher. He was eventually the King's personal theologian. King Sebastian retained Foreiro in this post and in 1561 sent him to the Council of Trent. Foreiro's preaching was so acclaimed there that he was appointed to preach every Wednesday of Lent. The first secretary of the index of forbidden books, he also served on the commission for the reform of the Breviary and Missal and helped to compose the Roman Catechism. In 1568 he was elected provincial of Portugal and, when freed from this office, devoted his waning years to study. He wrote commentaries on all the Prophets and on Job as well as meditations on the Gospels and a Hebrew lexicon.
Bibliography: e. filthaut, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche (Freiburg 1957–65), 4:201.
[a. smith]