After being raised at the court of King Denis of Portugal, he studied law at the University of Salamanca, where he met Teresa Peres Vilarinho (1285-?).
In 1320, King Denis sent him and Admiral Manuel Pessanha as envoys to the papal court at Avignon to obtain, among other things, financial aid for the war against the Moors.
In 1326, Pope John XXII appointed him archbishop of Braga,[5] a post that he held until his death on 22 December 1348.
He helped Queen Elizabeth settle the quarrels between her husband King Denis and their son, the future Afonso IV.
He participated in the famous Battle of Río Salado on 30 October 1340, when the joint forces of both kingdoms destroyed those of Sultan Abu al-Hasan 'Ali of Morocco and Yusuf I of Granada.