(April 5, 1654 – June 28, 1694) was an Italian Roman Catholic Jesuit priest who was appointed as Bishop of Nanking.
[1] In April 1692, he set sail from Lisbon as the superior to 16 missionaries, only two of which were Portuguese, carrying an introduction letter from the Pope to present to the Chinese emperor.
[1] In 1660, the Propaganda Fide (the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith) at the Vatican established an Apostolic vicariate in Nanking which was under its direct control, upsetting the Portuguese.
[1] On April 10, 1690, the two dioceses were erected: the current Vicar Apostolic of Nanking, Dominican Gregory Luo Wenzao, was made bishop of Nanking; and Franciscan Bernardino della Chiesa was named bishop to the newly created Diocese of Beijing.
In 1696, after complaints from the Propaganda Fide, a new agreement was reached with the Portuguese monarch which would allow the Vatican to establish Apostolic Vicariates without the monarchy's support in territories not under the jurisdiction of the three dioceses under Portuguese control (Macau, Nanking, Beijing).