Melchior Núnes Barreto

Melchior Nunes Barreto (Belchior) Some sources claim that he died on 10 August 1571.

Career Barreto was the son of Fernão (Fernam) Nunes Barreto, a local landlord in Porto. Barreto had four sisters who were sent to a convent, and three brothers: Gaspar, who inherited his father's property; João (Ioam), who became an abbot in Braga and later a bishop in Ethiopia; and Affonso, who was a priest. Between 1543 and 1544, Barreto joined the Society of Jesus in Coimbra, Portugal, claiming to be told to do so by the Virgin Mary in a dream. After the death of Francis Xavier and Gaspar Barazeuz in 1553, he became the provincial superior of the Jesuits in India. and stayed for about 10 months. However, he did not give up on his goal to preach in Japan. In June 1556, after many failed attempts, he landed in Bungo Province, Japan, with forty other Portuguese citizens. Upon his arrival, he was received by the Bungo lord, Barreto returned to India in 1557. In 1558, he wrote a partial report of his experiences in China and Japan.