Preacher, politician, natural law theorist, administrator, diplomat, polemicist, prophetic thinker: Vieira was all of these things, but nothing was more central to his self-definition than his role as missionary and pastor. Articles in this issue were originally presented at a conference, "The Baroque World of Padre António Vieira: Religion, Culture and History in the Luso-Brazilian World," Yale University, November 7–8, 1997, commemorating the three hundredth anniversary of Vieira's death.