The episcopate is in Aparecida (SP) for the 60th General Assembly of the CNBB
The main theme of the edition is focused on the overall assessment of the CNBB’s path. They appear as priority guidelines: Doctrine of the Faith, Liturgy, CNBB Regulations, Quadrennial Report, Economic Report, and Liturgical Texts.
In all, the 60th General Assembly has 22 sessions, over two weeks, with the participation of 326 active bishops and 157 emeritus. From the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, 10 active bishops and one bishop emeritus participate. The Congregation still has two emeritus bishops, but who are not present in Aparecida (SP): Msgr. Fernando José Monteiro, C.Ss.R. and Msgr. José Carlos de Oliveira, C.Ss.R.
Get to know the profile of each of the bishops participating in the 60th General Assembly of the CNBB:
Msgr. Francisco de Assis Gabriel Santos, C.Ss.R. – Bishop of the Diocese of Campo Maior (PI)
Born on February 5, 1968, in Esperança (PB), Msgr. Francisco de Assis Gabriel Santos, C.Ss.R. was ordained as a priest in the same city, on July 22, 2000. The Redemptorist completed a degree in Philosophy, in 1994, from the Theological and Pastoral Institute and a bachelor’s degree in Theology, in 1999, from the Theological Institute of São Paulo, with a diploma from the Institute Saint Anselm of Rome.
Dom Francisco also graduated in Journalism, in 2010, from the Catholic University of Pernambuco. The religious produced radio programs, among them, “Caminhos da Fé”, from Rádio Olinda (PE) and the publication “Dom Helder Abrindo Caminhos”.
His Episcopal Ordination took place on August 26, 2017, at Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro Church, in Garanhuns (PE), by Msgr. Frei Antônio Muniz Fernandes.
Msgr. Darci José Nicioli, C.Ss.R. – Metropolitan Archbishop of Diamantina (MG)
Msgr. Darci José Nicioli, C.Ss.R. was born on May 1, 1959, in Jacutinga (MG). He entered the Santo Afonso Redemptorist Seminary in Aparecida (SP) in 1974, where he attended high school.
In 1982, he made his religious profession at the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.
He studied theology at the Instituto de Estudos Superiores de São Paulo, in the city of São Paulo, and a Masters in Dogmatic Theology, at the Pontifical Ateneu Santo Anselmo, in Rome.
Ordained a priest in 1986, he performed numerous services in the Redemptorist Province of São Paulo, in cities such as Campinas (SP) and Aparecida. In the Capital Mariana da Fé, he was appointed, in 2008, Rector of the National Sanctuary of Aparecida.
Msgr. Darci’s Episcopal Ordination took place on February 3, 2013, at the National Sanctuary of Aparecida, at the hands of Msgr. Raymundo Damasceno Assis.
On March 9, 2016, he was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Diamantina (MG) by Pope Francis.
Msgr. Geraldo de Paula Souza, C.Ss.R. – Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Niterói (RJ)
Born in Assaí (PR), Msgr. Geraldo de Paula Souza, C.Ss.R. was born on November 1, 1961. He moved with his family to Aparecida (SP) when he was only one year old.
In 1981, he joined the Propedeutic at the Santa Teresinha Seminary, in Tietê (SP), at the age of 19. He studied Philosophy at the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas, and in 1985 he began the Novitiate. The following year he took his first vows in the Redemptorist Congregation, for which he also made his Perpetual Profession in 1989.
He also studied Theology, at the São Paulo Institute of Higher Studies, and Psychology at the São Marcos University.
In the Province of São Paulo, Dom Geraldo dedicated himself to work on different fronts, such as training, vocation, and missionary team.
The Episcopal Ordination of the Auxiliary Bishop of Niterói (RJ) took place on December 20, 2022, at the National Sanctuary of Aparecida. He was ordained by Msgr. José Francisco Rezende Reis.
Msgr. Geraldo Freire Soares, C.Ss.R. – Bishop of the Diocese of Iguatu (CE)
Msgr. Geraldo Freire Soares, C.Ss.R. was born on January 6, 1967, in Sertânia (PE).
He studied Philosophy at the Salesiano Institute of Philosophy in Recife, Pernambuco, and Theology at the São Paulo Institute of Higher Studies. He made his religious profession on February 11, 1996, at the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer and was ordained a priest on July 1, 2000.
Within the Redemptorist Vice-Province of Recife, he was a formator in Campina Grande, in Paraíba, Arapiraca, in Alagoas, and bursar and superior for three terms. In addition, he was parochial vicar of Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro in Campina Grande and parish priest of Sagrado Coração de Jesus in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, in that Metropolitan Archdiocese, where he was also episcopal vicar for Religious.
Until his ordination as bishop, he was an assistant parish priest and trainer in Arapiraca, in the Diocese of Penedo, in the State of Alagoas.
He was ordained Bishop in Sertânia, by Msgr. Bernardino Marchió. The solemn Eucharistic Celebration of ordination was attended by the Principal Ordaining Bishop, Bishop Bernardino Marchió.
Msgr. José Luiz Ferreira Salles, C.Ss.R. – Bishop of Pesqueira (PE)
Msgr. José Luiz Ferreira Salles, C.Ss.R. was born on January 23, 1957, in the city of Itirapina (SP).
In 1970 he joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. He made his religious profession on January 31, 1982, and was ordained a priest on December 14, 1985.
He was ordained a Bishop on March 17, 2006, titular of Tipasa in Numidia. The Episcopal Ordination had Msgr. José Antônio Aparecida Tosi Marques as Ordaining Bishop.
On February 15, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Diocesan Bishop of Pesqueira. He came to take possession of the Pesqueirense Cathedral on April 14, 2012.
On October 1, 2021, in his second pastoral letter, Dom Luiz recognized the high probability of the supernatural character of the experience lived by Maria da Conceição Silva (1920-1999) and by Maria da Luz Teixeira de Carvalho (1922-2013), who claimed to have had visions of the Virgin Mary in Vila de Cimbres between 1936 and 1937, stating that the messages communicated during allocutions with the visionaries are in line with the Christian faith and Catholic doctrine.
Msgr. José Luiz Majella Delgado, C.Ss.R. – Metropolitan Archbishop of Pouso Alegre (MG)
Msgr. José Luiz Majella Delgado, C.Ss.R. was born in Juiz de Fora (MG) on October 19, 1953. A member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, he received priestly ordination on March 14, 1981.
The archbishop of Pouso Alegre (MG) has a degree in Philosophy from Faculdade Salesiana de Lorena (SP) and Theology from ITESP, in São Paulo (SP), with a degree in Social Studies. He holds a specialization in Liturgical Theology and Redemptorist Spirituality from the Alphonsian Academy in Rome (Italy).
As a priest, he dedicated a large part of his ministry to teaching. He was a professor at the Redemptorist Seminary in Aparecida and at the Center for Missionary Evangelization in São Paulo. He was also Superior and Director of Redemptorist Seminaries in Sacramento (MG) and Aparecida. He was prefect of the National Sanctuary of Aparecida, parochial vicar in Sacramento, and in the Basilica of Aparecida.
In 2007, he became local executive secretary for the Fifth General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopate (CELAM) in Aparecida. Then he was chosen as assistant general undersecretary of the CNBB, in Brasília.
He was named bishop by Pope Benedict XVI, on December 16, 2009, and ordained on February 27, 2010, at the National Sanctuary of Aparecida, by Msgr. Geraldo Lyrio Rocha.
Msgr. Marcos Marian Piatek, C.Ss.R. – Bishop of Coari (AM)
Born on October 10, 1954, in Tuchów, Poland, Msgr. Marek Marian Piatek is a Redemptorist bishop based in Brazil.
He carried out his philosophical-theological studies at the Theological Institute of the Redemptorists of the Province of Warsaw, in the city of Tuchów. After his priestly ordination, he wanted to work as a Redemptorist missionary in Brazil, and in 1986 he arrived in Bahia to be part of the Redemptorist Mission of Bahia, living in Salvador. During his stay in Salvador for 25 years, he devoted himself to various ministries.
He received his MA and Ph.D. in Moral Theology at the Lateran University in Rome, Italy.
His Episcopal Ordination took place on August 12, 2011, in Salvador, at the hands of Msgr. Murilo Krieger.
Msgr. Henrique Aparecido de Lima, C.Ss.R. – Bishop of Dourados (MS)
Msgr. Henrique Aparecido de Lima, C.Ss.R. Bishop of the Diocese of Dourados (MS), was born on July 28, 1964, in the city of Toledo (PR).
In his youth, he joined the Seminary of Santo Afonso, of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, in Aparecida (SP). In May 1999, he took solemn vows and was ordained a priest on November 21 of the same year.
In his career in the priesthood, he served in the Redemptorist parish of Ponta Porã (MS) and parish priest of Aquidauana, in the same state.
In 2007, he was elected vicar of the province and, in 2014, he took over as Provincial of the Redemptorists of Campo Grande.
Dom Henrique was ordained and sworn in on January 30, 2016, by Msgr. Darci José Nicioli, C.Ss.R, in a celebration organized by the Diocese of Dourados.
Msgr. Vicente de Paula Ferreira, C.Ss.R. – Bishop of Livramento de Nossa Senhora (BA)
Born on October 27, 1970, in the city of Araraí (ES), Msgr. Vicente de Paula Ferreira, C.Ss.R. became a member of the Redemptorist Congregation in the Province of Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
He was ordained a priest in 1996. In the Redemptorist Congregation, he dedicated himself to the Province of Rio, Minas, and Espírito Santo. He was a vocation promoter, trainer, and parish vicar, participated in important missionary work, and, for almost a decade, exercised the ministry of Provincial of the Congregation.
The Bishop of Livramento de Nossa Senhora (BA) was elected president of the Episcopal Commission Pastoral Missionary Action of the East Region II of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) on June 5, 2019, during the Annual Assembly of CONSER East 2, for the four-year period 2019-2023.
The episcopal ordination of Dom Vicente was celebrated on May 27, 2017, in Belo Horizonte, by the hands of Msgr. Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo .
Msgr. Zenildo Luiz Pereira da Silva, C.Ss.R. – Bishop of Borba (AM)
Msgr. Zenildo Luiz Pereira, C.Ss.R. was born in Linhares (ES), on June 6, 1968. At the age of five, he moved with his family to Cacoal (RO).
Professed at the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer on December 27, 1997.
He studied at the Santo Afonso Redemptorist Seminary in Aparecida (SP). He studied Philosophy and Theology at the Center for the Study of Human Behavior, in Manaus, from 1994 to 2000. He received priestly ordination on August 11, 2001. He completed a postgraduate course in People Management at Centro Literatus, in Manaus.
Msgr. Zenildo’s Episcopal Ordination took place on April 2, 2016, in Manaus (AM), at the hands of Dom Luiz Soares Vieira.
On November 18, 2022, Pope Francis raised the prelature to the status of a Diocese, and Msgr. Zenildo became the first bishop of the Diocese of Borba.
Msgr. Joércio Gonçalves Pereira, C.Ss.R. – Bishop Emeritus of Coari (AM)
The Bishop Emeritus of Coari (AM) , Dom Joércio Gonçalves Pereira, C.Ss.R. was born in Virginia (MG), on September 3, 1953.
He studied Philosophy at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Philosophy, in Lorena (SP), Theology, at ITESP, in São Paulo (SP), and Spirituality in Rome.
He carried out various services in the Redemptorist Province of São Paulo, in cities such as Campinas (SP), Tietê (SP), and Aparecida (SP).
In 2005 he was named coadjutor prelate of Coari (AM). He received episcopal ordination from the hands of Dom Aloísio Lorscheider, on February 25, 2006, at the National Sanctuary of Aparecida (SP).
Two years later, he succeeded Msgr. Gutemberg Freire Régis, as prelate bishop of Coari. In this capacity, he remained until July 2009, when he resigned and became Bishop Emeritus.
(a12.com/ Scala News)
