Thousands of manuscripts, books, newspapers, magazines, and photographs have been donated by 85-year-old priest António Lourenço Fontes to the Ecomuseu do Barroso – Espaço Padre Fontes, located in Montalegre.
“For me, they are no longer useful and have immeasurable value,” Fontes stated, expressing his desire for his work to become “useful to society.”
Renowned for organizing the Congress of Popular Medicine in Vilar de Perdizes, Fontes emphasized the social, cultural, tourist, archaeological, and scientific value of his archive, which encapsulates decades of work, study, and research on the Barroso region, a territory encompassing the municipalities of Boticas and Montalegre in northern Vila Real district.
Found at a café in Vilar de Perdizes, the village where he resides, Fontes was preparing for another afternoon of card games with local women.
Despite suffering from a degenerative and progressive disease, the priest ensures he leaves his home daily to walk and socialize, noting that the card games benefit his memory. Laughter shared over the games brings him back to the café, where his opponents jokingly accuse him of “cheating a lot.”
Fontes began his collection at the age of 10, upon entering the seminary in Vila Real.
“I bought a pocket notebook to jot down things I heard from people in my area and events. That’s when I started gathering proverbs and popular sayings,” he explained.
The Ecomuseu has established the “Fundo Padre Fontes” room to house the priest’s archive.
“He donated all his work and collection to the municipality and the Ecomuseu do Barroso for public access,” said Nuno Rodrigues, head of the Ecomuseu.
The archive comprises over 80,000 documents and 3,000 books, offering a substantial foundation on the history and culture of the region for scholars, academics, or the curious.
“We are finalizing the digitization of all documents, which will be available online. Most materials discuss the Barroso region and Galicia, as Father Fontes has significant connections with Galicia,” Rodrigues added.
The archive includes information on various subjects, such as the Congress of Popular Medicine in Vilar de Perdizes, Friday the 13th, archaeology, history, culture, and the medicinal properties of herbs.
“It contains everything imaginable regarding his work and the documents he gathered over his life, like posters and newspaper reports. This was the work Father Fontes wanted to share with everyone,” Rodrigues emphasized.
Cataloging and digitizing the archive is an ongoing project.
“Each visit to his home reveals more items or another piece of work he offers,” Rodrigues noted.
Fontes assisted in the cataloging and technical work.
In 2023, António Lourenço Fontes was appointed ambassador of Alto Tâmega and Barroso by the region’s intermunicipal community.
Born in Cambezes do Rio, Montalegre, Fontes gained fame for promoting the Congress of Popular Medicine in Vilar de Perdizes and is a prominent figure associated with Friday the 13th, a scholar and defender of medicinal plants, a writer, hotelier, and namesake of the Ecomuseu.
The Vilar de Perdizes Congress, held since 1983, brought public attention to the village and the priest who transformed mysticism into a tourist attraction. The merging of sacred and profane led by a priest added uniqueness and allure to the congress.
“Father Fontes is the most prominent figure in Barroso and Alto Tâmega. He consistently showed and defended the region’s merits throughout his life. It is our duty to perpetuate his name,” Rodrigues concluded.
The Alto Tâmega region includes the municipalities of Boticas, Chaves, Montalegre, Ribeira de Pena, Valpaços, and Vila Pouca de Aguiar.
