Geraldo Majella Agnelo (born 19 October 1933) is a Brazilian

Roman Catholic Cardinal A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

. He is Archbishop Emeritus of São Salvador da Bahia and

Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

Emeritus of Brazil.

Early life and ordination

Agnelo was born in

Juiz de Fora Juiz de Fora (, '' Outsider Judge''), also known as J.F., is a city in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, approximately from the state border with Rio de Janeiro. According to 2020 estimates the current population is about 57 ...

. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

on 29 June 1957, and holds a doctorate in liturgy from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St Anselm, Rome. Agnelo was director of the philosophical seminary,

Aparecida Aparecida is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. It is located in the fertile valley of the River Paraíba do Sul on the southern (right) bank. It is part of the Metropolitan Region o ...

. He was spiritual director and professor at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Ipiranga. He was professor of liturgical and sacramental theology at

Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from ...

Theological Institute, and

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Our Lady of the Assumption Seminary.

Bishop

On 5 May 1978, Agnelo was appointed the second Bishop of Toledo, Paraná, and was consecrated on 6 August. On 4 October 1982, he was promoted to

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 ...

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 ...

. Agnelo was President of the Brazilian Bishops' Liturgical Commission. On 16 September 1991, he was appointed Secretary of the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...

. Agnelo was named Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia on 13 January 1999.

Cardinal

In May 1999 Agnelo was nominated Vice President of the General Conference of Latin American Bishops (CELAM). He was Elected president of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops in May 2003, and was made

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of ''San Gregorio Magno alla Magliana Nuova'' (St. Gregory the Great at Magliana Nuova) by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...

of 21 February 2001. Agnelo was one of the

cardinal electors A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

, and was considered ''

papabile ''Papabile'' (, also , ; ; or "able to be pope") is an unofficial Italian term first coined by Vaticanologists and now used internationally in many languages to describe a Catholic man, in practice always a cardinal, who is thought a likely ...

'' himself at the time. Agnelo resigned as Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia on 12 January 2011, and was succeeded by

Murilo Sebastião Ramos Krieger Murilo Sebastião Ramos Krieger, SCJ (born 19 September 1943) is a retired Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church who was the Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia and Primate of Brazil from 2011 to 2020. He served as archbishop of Florianópo ...

. He was one of the

who participated in the

2013 papal conclave The 2013 papal conclave was convened to elect a pope to succeed Pope Benedict XVI following his resignation on 28 February 2013. After the 115 participating cardinal-electors gathered, they set 12 March 2013 as the beginning of the conclave. On ...

that selected

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. ...

. Curial membership (held until his 80th birthday): *

Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Spirituali Migrantium atque Itinerantium Cura) was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia. The council, established by Pope John Paul I ...

Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church The Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church () was an institution within the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that presided over the guardianship of the historical and artistic patrimony of the entire Church - that is to sa ...

Views

2005 conclave

In April 2005, he said that he was very happy at the selection of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new Pope of the Catholic Church.

Catholic-Lutheran dialogue

Agnelo has supported efforts to improve dialogue between Lutherans and Catholics.

Abortion

Cardinal Agnelo expressed concern with Brazilian politicians over a plan to legalize abortion in the country.

References

External links

*
Cardinal Agnelo bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agnelo, Geraldo Majella 1933 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil Brazilian cardinals Members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments Brazilian people of Italian descent Roman Catholic archbishops of São Salvador da Bahia People from Juiz de Fora Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Roman Catholic archbishops of Londrina Roman Catholic bishops of Toledo, Brazil Brazilian Roman Catholic archbishops