Américo Henriques (1923—2006) was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Catholic Church 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 ...

. He served as the second and final

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the Diocese of Nova Lisboa, before its promotion and renaming as the Archdiocese of Huambo.

Biography

Born on 6 October 1923 in Portugal, Américo Henriques was ordained a priest on 19 July 1947 in the

Diocese of Lamego The Diocese of Lamego ( la, Dioecesis Lamacensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Portugal. History Lamego became Catholic when the Visigothic king Reccared I converted to Catholicism. According to local tradition, the city of Lamego received th ...

. On 3 July 1966, he was elevated to the prelature as an auxiliary bishop of Lamego. He was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

to the

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Maximilien de Furstenberg, who was later elevated to cardinal. He held that position for less than a year before becoming

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

of the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

. On 3 February 1966, Henriques was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Lamego following the retirement of Bishop João da Silva Campos Neves, who had served for more than 20 years. On that same date, he was appointed

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of the

Titular See A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

Tisili Tisili is a former city and diocese of in Roman Africa; it is now a Catholic titular see in modern Tunisia, with its precise location not being defined. History Tisili was important enough in the Roman province of Africa proconsularis to become ...

, and was ordained to the position on 11 October 1966. He served in that position for a little more than a year, before being appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Nova Lisboa in what is now

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

on 2 February 1971. He was the second and last bishop of that diocese, as it was promoted and renamed the Archdiocese of Huambo following his retirement on 13 April 1976. He died on 14 August 2006 at the age of 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henriques, Americo 1923 births 2006 deaths Portuguese Roman Catholic bishops in Africa Bishops of Lamego 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Angola Roman Catholic bishops of Huambo Portuguese expatriates in Angola