Alexandre Awi Mello (born 17 January 1971) ISch, is a Brazilian

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest, a member of the

Secular Institute of Schoenstatt Fathers The Secular Institute of Schoenstatt Fathers (ISch) is a Catholic religious institute founded by the German Pallottine priest Josef Kentenich, as a part of the Schoenstatt Movement. It was canonically erected on July 18, 1965. It is a secular ...

and the secretary of the

Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life is a dicastery of the Roman Curia. Pope Francis announced its creation on 15 August 2016, effective 1 September 2016. It took over the functions and responsibilities of the Pontifical Council for the Lai ...

since his appointment by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

on 31 May 2017. He was previously national director of the Schoenstatt Movement in Brazil. Awi Mello was born in Rio de Janeiro. He was ordained a priest on 7 July 2001 for the Schoenstatt Fathers. He served as a parochial vicar and Assessor of young people in the southeast and south of Brazil. He became national director of the Movement. He completed his studies in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Catholic University in Santiago de Chile. He earned a licence in theology from the Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Vallendar in 2000. He went on to earn a doctorate in

Mariology Mariology is the theological study of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mariology seeks to relate doctrine or dogma about Mary to other doctrines of the faith, such as those concerning Jesus and notions about redemption, intercession and grace. Chri ...

from the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

. He served as a professor in pastoral theology in

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and fourth largest in the southern regi ...

and at the Paul VI Institute from 2002 to 2004 and then at the Pontifical Catholic University of Parana from 2005 to 2009. From 2012 he served at the Salesian University Centre in São Bento. In 2007 he worked with the secretariate of the CELAM conference in Aparecida. He was appointed as secretary of the newly established

under its prefect, Cardinal

Kevin Farrell Kevin Joseph Farrell, Order of the Holy Sepulchre, KGCHS (born September 2, 1947) is an Irish-American prelate and Cardinal (Catholic Church), Cardinal. A former member of the Legion of Christ, he served as the seventh bishop of the Roman Cat ...

. On August 18, 2022, the 6th General Chapter of his Institute elected Fr Awi Mello as the new General Superior, with a six years term of office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mello, Alexandre Awi 1971 births Living people 21st-century Brazilian Roman Catholic priests