Credit: Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo
On May 23, 1536, Pope Paul III issued the papal bull Cum ad nihil magis, which officially established the Inquisition in Portugal after a request from King D. João III. At the time, the bishops of Coimbra, Lamego, and Ceuta were appointed as inquisitors, marking the beginning of one of the most controversial periods in Portuguese history.
In 2026, 490 years have passed since the formal creation of the Holy Office Tribunal in Portugal. The image shows the original papal bull, preserved at the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, one of the country’s most important historical archives.
