He was nominated as bishop of Lisbon soon after the assassination of his predecessor, Bishop Dom Martinho, who was defenestrated by the citizens when Lisbon was besieged by the Castilians in 1383, under suspicion of conspiring with the enemy.
In 1393, Lisbon was elevated from a simple diocese to an archdiocese, by a bull of Pope Boniface IX, with Dom João named as the first archbishop.
Due to his friendship with King João, he also participated in the peace negotiations between Portugal and Castile.
He was succeeded by João Afonso Esteves de Azambuja [pt].
This article about a Catholic archbishop from Portugal is a stub.