Why did the city get its name?

When twelve Jesuit priests of the Society of Jesus, among them, Manuel da Nóbrega It is José de Anchieta, came together to build a Catholic school at the top of the Serra do Mar, they set the stage for the creation of the most populous municipality in the entire southern hemisphere: São Paulo!

This happened on January 25, 1554, when they chose the location between the Anhangabaú and Tamanduateí rivers to found the headquarters, whose objective would be to catechize and teach literacy to the Indians who lived in the region of the Piratininga plateau. Later, the place became known as Vila de São Paulo.

As a result, new buildings emerged around this school, the population increased and the relevance of the place grew, until, in 1681, the place was promoted to capital of the Captaincy of São Vicente (current state of São Paulo), being in this position for 333 years.

But how did the name of the city come about?

Even though the history of the city’s founding is remembered year after year, as the date is marked on the calendar as a municipal holiday, it is possible that a question still persists among São Paulo residents and everyone who is interested in the state capital: why Was São Paulo given this name?

The answer is simple: because of the Bible! This is because the origin of the name is biblical, as it was given in honor of the apostle Paulsince the dates of the creation of the city and the celebration of the conversion of Paul of Tarsus Christianity by the Catholic Church converge: both are celebrated on January 25th.

It is worth remembering that the priest himself José de Anchieta stated the fact in a letter to the Society of Jesus, where he explained the relationship between the conversion of Paul of Tarsus and the city, as reported by the Aventuras na História portal. Check out the excerpt:

On January 25th in the Year of the Lord 1554, we celebrated, in a very poor and very narrow house, the first mass, on the day of the conversion of the Apostle Saint Paul. That’s why we dedicate our home to him!”

Curiosity: São Paulo only became the city’s patron saint in 2008, when a personal request from the cardinal-archbishop of São Paulo, d. Odilo Schererwas sent to the Pope Benedict XVIrequesting the exchange, since, until then, Sant’Ana, the patron saint of the elderly and protector of carpenters, held the position, as she had been chosen patron by the Pope Paul VI in 1782.