Américo Aguiar | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal Bishop of Setúbal | |
 Aguiar in 2023 | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Archdiocese | Lisbon |
| See | Setúbal |
| Appointed | 21 September 2023 |
| Installed | 26 October 2023 |
| Other post | Cardinal Priest ofSant'Antonio da Padova in Via Merulana (2023-) |
| Previous posts |
|
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 8 July 2001 by Armindo Lopes Coelho |
| Consecration | 31 March 2019 by Manuel Jose Macario do Nascimento Clemente |
| Created cardinal | 30 September 2023 byPope Francis |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar (1973-12-12)12 December 1973 (age 52) |
| Alma mater | Catholic University of Portugal |
| Motto | In manus Tuas ("Into Your hands") |
| Coat of arms | .svg) |
Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar (born 12 December 1973) is a Portuguese prelate of theCatholic Church who has been bishop ofSetúbal since 2023. He was anauxiliary bishop of thePatriarchate of Lisbon from 2019 to 2023 and headed the organization responsible for planningWorld Youth Day in August 2023.
Pope Francis made him acardinal on 30 September 2023.
Américo Aguiar was born inLeça do Balio [pt] inMatosinhos[1] in thePorto metropolitan area on 12 December 1973. He participated in electoral politics in his youth in both Matosinhos and the neighboring municipality ofMaia, working with members of the city council in both. He served on the City Council of Matosinhos from 1994 to 1997 as a member of theSocialist Party. He has called his political engagement "great fun" (divertidíssimo).[1]
After completing middle school, he entered the seminary inErmesinde and then studied at the major seminary of theDiocese of Porto and the Porto section of the Portuguese Catholic University.
He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Porto on 8 July 2001[2] byArmindo Lopes Coelho, Bishop of Porto.[3]
He served as parish priest of São Pedro de Azevedo (Campanhã) from 2001 to 2002; special secretary to the bishop of Porto,Armindo Lopes Coelho, and parish priest of the cathedral from 2002 to 2004; and vicar general of the diocese from 2004 to 2006. In 2014 he earned a master's degree in communication sciences from theCatholic University of Portugal, Lisbon.[citation needed]
He was president of the administrative board of Rádio Renascença (Lisbon) from 2017 while continuing to provide pastoral services in Porto. In 2017 he became national director of the Secretariat of Church Social Communications and head of the Episcopal Commission for Culture, Cultural Assets and Social Communications.[2] He led the diocese's Fellowship of Priests from 2011 to 2019.[4]
On 1 March 2019,Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop of Lisbon and titular bishop ofDagno.[2] He received his episcopal ordination from the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon,Manuel Clemente, at the Santissima Trindade Church in Porto on 31 March 2019.[5] He was then the youngest bishop in Portugal.[3] In January 2023, he praised the funeral Mass forPope Benedict XVI, saying it balanced Benedict's desire for simplicity with the significance of the occasion.[6]
He led the Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons of the Patriarchate of Lisbon until March 2023, when thePortuguese Episcopal Conference decided that only laypeople should serve on such bodies.[7] He heads Fundação da JMJ, the body responsible for organizingWorld Youth Day in Portugal on 1–6 August 2023.[8] In July 2023, being responsible forWorld Youth Day 2023, he stated in an interview that the purpose of the event was not "to convert young people to Christ".[9][10] The comment drew some criticism from the faithful, members of the clergy and the media.[11][12]
On 9 July 2023, Pope Francis announced plans to make him a cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 30 September.[13] Aguiar will be the second youngest cardinal. He said his appointment "has to do with youth, it has to do with Portugal, it has to do with World Youth Day" rather than himself.[14][15] That this results in two active cardinals from the see of Lisbon has been called "a genuine novelty"[16] and provoked speculation about his future in theRoman Curia.[17][18] At that consistory he was made cardinal priest ofSant'Antonio da Padova in Via Merulana.[19] At the time, he was the second youngest member of theCollege of Cardinals.
Pope Francis named him bishop of Setúbal on 21 September 2023.[20] He was installed there as the fourth bishop of Setúbal on 26 October.[21]
He participated as acardinal elector in the2025 papal conclave that electedPope Leo XIV.[22]
|
|
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | — TITULAR — Titular Bishop of Dagnum 2019 – 2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Setúbal 2023 – present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Cardinal Priest of Sant'Antonio da Padova in Via Merulana 2023 – present | Incumbent |
| Patriarchates (byorder of precedence) |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History |
| ||||||
| Language | |||||||
| Liturgical rites Liturgical days |
| ||||||
| See also | |||||||
| Province of Lisbon | |
|---|---|
| Province of Braga | |
| Province of Évora | |
| Others | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
