PRECIOUS CROWN of Our Lady of Fátima
Opening with the Rev. Rector of the Shrine of Fátima
COLLOQUIUM
Marco Daniel Duarte, Rui Galopim de Carvalho,
Jorge van Zeller Leitão, Aura Miguel and António Filipe Pimentel
Moderated by Madalena Braz Teixeira
7 October, Thursday
18h–20h
EXHIBITION
7 October, Thursday
15h–18h
8 October, Friday
10h–18h
MARCO DANIEL DUARTE is the Director of the Museum of the Shrine of Fatima since 2008, and of the Department of Studies at the same religious Institution, since 2013. He is also the Director of the Artistic Heritage department of the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima. Doctorate in History of Art by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra, he has developed investigation in the field of Iconography and Iconology, and also in the sphere of various themes related with human thought in the context of the History of Fatima. In addition to being a Member of the Portuguese Academy of History, as a Correspondent Fellow, Marco Daniel Duarte is also a Member of the Fine Arts National Academy, as a National Correspondent Fellow, Permanent Fellow of the Portuguese Association of Art Historians, Member of the Lisbon Geography Society and Member of the Scientific Society of the Portuguese Catholic University. Researcher at CLEPUL (Center of Investigation of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon), and at CEIS20-UC (Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of the 20th Century of the University of Coimbra), Marco Daniel Duarte has also participated at the Seminar for Young Scientists of the Advanced Studies Institute of Lisbon’s Academy of Sciences. Author of several studies, published at scientific magazines and books, some of which awarded, he has commissioned several scientific exhibits related to his expertise, from which deserve a particular highlight those that took place at the Shrine of Fatima as well as the one open to the public, at the National Palace of Ajuda, on the Portuguese cathedrals.
RUI GALOPIM DE CARVALHO FGA DGA is a Gem Education Consultant with a vast experience in the study of gem-set artefacts of historical heritage in National Museums and the Church, being author of several books on the subject namely the Precious Stones in Sacred Art in Portugal, published by CTT. His currently associate editor of The Journal of Gemmology, a peer-review scientific magazine on gemmology, Vice-President of Sector A and of the Coral Commission of CIBJO – The World Jewellery Confederation, member of the Communications Committee of ICA – International Colored Gemstone Association and Advisory Counsellor of AORP, the Portuguese Jewellery and Watchmaking Association. He is also an international lecturer on gemmology and the history of gem materials in Portuguese jewellery with strong presence in social media and was the organiser of the popular "Home Gemmology" webinars during the first lockdown in 2020.
CASA LEITÃO & IRMÃO,origins in the city of Porto in the late eighteenth century, became the epitome of jewellery on being appointed Goldsmith of the Imperial House of Brazil by Pedro II, emperor of Brazil, in 1873, and Jewellers of the Portuguese Crown by Luís I, king of Portugal, in 1887.
The title of Jewellers of the Crown led Casa Leitão to move from Porto to Lisbon to be near the Court, where it set up a «modern» goldsmith workshop. It has been in operation to this day.
With shops in Lisbon and Cascais — Chiado, Bairro Alto, Hotel Ritz and Casino Estoril Gardens —, Casa Leitão represents modernity, character and quality in Jewellery, incorporating into traditional production processes the most up-to-date design and manufacturing techniques.
Casa Leitão is also noted for the manufacture of tailor-made, personalised pieces, including engagement rings, jewellery, cutlery, tableware and other articles, as well as their maintenance and restoration.
These services, carried out by the workshop's team of professionals — whose knowledge is handed down from generation to generation —, each with their own character, are the distinguishing factor of Casa Leitão.
AURA MIGUEL became a journalist in 1982, writing for newspapers such as A Tarde and Semanário, before joining Rádio Renascença in 1985, for whom she has worked exclusively ever since, specializing in religious issues, and news related to the Holy See. With permanent accreditation with the Holy See (making her a Vaticanist), she has followed the activities of the Pope and the Vatican and is usually part of the delegation of journalists traveling on the Papal plane. To date, she has completed 102 apostolic trips, alongside John Paul II, Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis. In 2002, she was one of the 14 journalists chosen by the Holy Father to write one of the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross on Good Friday, presided over by John Paul II at the Colosseum in Rome. Aura Miguel is also the author of two books on John Paul II: The Secret that leads the Pope (Principia, May 2000), about the experience of Fátima in the pontificate of John Paul II (translated into Spanish, French, Italian, German, Polish, Russian and Czech) and Why do you travel so much? (Ed. Lucerna, October 2003), on John Paul II trips, published to mark the 25 years of his Pontificate. In April 2010, on the occasion of the Pope's visit to Portugal, she published the book The reasons of Benedict XVI (Ed. Texto Editores / Leya, May 2010). In March 2017, she published Inflight Conversations (Ed. Paulus) which includes an exclusive interview with Pope Francis and several details related to his pastoral trips. She is also the author of two documentaries, at the invitation of RTP, the Portuguese State Television, (both directed by Camilo Azevedo): «In the heart of John Paul II» (in 2006, on the first anniversary of the death of John Paul II) and «Fátima in Russia» (in 2007, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the apparitions of Fátima). In addition to the activities of the Vatican, since 2016, she has hosted a weekly radio program at Renascença called, «Aura Miguel invites», which gave rise to a book, with the same name, that includes some of these interviews (Ed. Paulus, May 2019).
ANTÓNIO FILIPE PIMENTEL director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum since 2021. Having graduated in History (1985), specialising in History of Art, from the University of Coimbra, António Filipe Pimentel obtained his Master’s Degree in Cultural and Political History of the Modern Period (1991), from same institution. He completed his doctoral studies in History, specialising in History of Art, also in the University of Coimbra (2003), where he is assistant professor in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. He was Director of the university’s Art History Institute (2005-2009), which he combined with the position of Pro-Rector for Heritage and Tourism (2007-2009). In 2009/10, he took on the role of Director of the Grão Vasco Museum, in Viseu, and between 2010 and 2019 he was Director of the National Museum of Ancient Art (Lisbon), as well as being Deputy General Director for Cultural Heritage. He was also scientific coordinator of the University of Coimbra’s candidacy for UNESCO’s World Heritage Site status. Awarded the Gulbenkian Prize for History of Art 1992/94, for the work Arquitectura e Poder, o Real Edifício de Mafra (Architecture and Power, the Royal Building of Mafra), he is a national corresponding academic member of the National Academy of Fine Arts, a corresponding academic member of the Naval Academy and a member of the Scientific Society of the Portuguese Catholic University. He has published more than three hundred titles, in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Brazil.
MADALENA BRAZ TEIXEIRA (Lisbon, 1938) earned a licentiate degree in Historical and Philosophical Sciences from the Faculdade de Letras de Lisboa, and a master’s degree in History of Art from Universidade Nova de Lisboa and a doctorate in Museum Studies from Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Lisbon, in 2018. She was the director of the Museu Nacional do Traje – Parque do Monteiro-Mor, between 1983 and 2008. She organised 516 exhibitions and 255 publications in foldouts and catalogues. Several of her texts on the History of Art, Museum Studies and Heritage Management have been published as well as others in the field of Aesthetics and the History of Costume and Jewellery. Special mention should be made of her books O Triunfo da Joalharia, Caleidoscópio, Lisboa, 2007 and Um Percurso Exploratório no Museu Nacional do Traje 1983-2008 (in press). Her autobiography came out in the magazine Faces de Eva, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nº.7, Lisbon, 2002.