 On his aunt’s advice, he traveled to Rome, where Pope Nicholas V, hearing of the disgraces inflicted upon his family after Alfarrobeira, resolved to appoint the young James as the new Archbishop of Lisbon, which had been recently vacated by the death of D. Luís Coutinho.However, not being old enough to be consecrated to the dignity, James was only appointed administrator in perpetuity of the Archdiocese on April 30, 1453.Given the political situation in Portugal, James was unable to return to Lisbon to take possession of it, and so remained in Italy and governed his archdiocese from afar, via the vicar-general Luís Anes.