
The remains of Eça de Queiroz (1845-1900), one of Portugal’s most celebrated authors, have been transferred with great honors to the National Pantheon in Lisbon, 125 years after his death.
The National Pantheon, located at the Church of Santa Engrácia, is a grand Baroque building housing the tombs of the country’s most distinguished figures.
The ceremony included a procession and speeches by leading Portuguese figures, such as President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who praised Queiroz’s enduring literary legacy. The prime minister, Luís Montenegro, and the president of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, were present.
Presiding over the ceremony, President Rebelo de Sousa remarked that the “Pantheon is the place of the immortals” – many of them were writers – such as Gil Vicente, Luís de Camões, Almeida Garrett, Cesário Verde or Fernando Pessoa, among others.
Eça de Queiroz is renowned for works like The Maias and The Crime of Father Amaro, cornerstones of Portuguese literature. His most famous novels are translated into 20 languages including English.
For Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, “The greatest tribute to Eça will undoubtedly be to re-edit him, study him and, above all, read him”. He also considered that there are “obvious acts of justice” that must take place, “such as this transfer, even though we don’t know the writer’s wishes on the matter,” and that “It is not enough to bury the dead and look after the living […] but also necessary to look after the dead.”
After he died in Paris, in 1900, at the age of 54, Eça de Queiroz’ remains were transferred to Portugal and buried in Lisbon’s Alto de São João Cemetery. In 1989, they were relocated to the family tomb in Santa Cruz do Douro, in the municipality of Baião.
Eça de Queiroz’s writings are characterized by realism and sharp social criticism and highlight the flaws and hypocrisies of 19th-century Portuguese society. A member of the “Generation of ’70,” Queiroz was part of a movement advocating for cultural and social reform. Beyond literature, he had a diplomatic career, serving as consul in cities like Havana and Paris. One of Portugal’s most famous writers, he graduated in Law from the University of Coimbra in 1866. Although journalism and literature became his true vocation, he also had a career in diplomacy, having been appointed consul in Havana, Newcastle, Bristol, and, finally, Paris.
The solemn ceremony was followed by performances, readings from his works, and reflections on his influence, with calls for his continued study and readership.
PAJ/Staff