Ilse Everlien Berardo (born 28 December 1955) is a German

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

theologian, responsible for the German-speaking Protestant Church on

Madeira Island Madeira is a Portuguese island, and is the largest and most populous of the Madeira Archipelago. It has an area of , including Ilhéu de Agostinho, Ilhéu de São Lourenço, Ilhéu Mole (northwest). As of 2011, Madeira had a total population of ...

. She is the first woman to become pastor of the Lutheran Church in Madeira, in 500 years of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

presence on the island. She was ordained in July 2011, by the

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 ...

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

, Martin Hein.

Early life and education

Ilse Berardo was born in Einbeck,

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

to Henny Everlien and Karl Everlien, an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

. While in high school she volunteered as a Lutheran catechist in at the local parish, a role that she holds until she enrolls in

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

in order to study

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, in 1974. Berardo graduates in 1981, having presented her bachelor's thesis to the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche in Braunschweig) is a Lutheran church in the German states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. The seat of the Landesbischof (bishop) is Wolfenbüttel. ...

, in the city of

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...

Ministry

Ilse Berardo started out as a preacher of Madeira's Lutheran church in 1987 when the German-Speaking Evangelical Parish was established. At the time she had a special license issued by the bishop to officiate celebrations. While in Madeira Berardo has always been active at the local Lutheran church on a voluntary basis. The main dignitaries from the Lutheran Church in Portugal, as well as the Lutheran auxiliary bishop of

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

, came to her ordination ceremony in recognition of her religious commitment to the local German community. As a Pastor, Isle is also known for her extensive network of ecumenical contacts in Madeira Island. The intensity of these well-established relations was demonstrated when representatives of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Church, the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Church and the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church in Madeira attended her ordination. Ilse has also celebrated several ecumenical masses along with the local Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches.

500 Years of the Reformation

As pastor of the German Evangelical Church in Madeira, Ilse Berardo participated in the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, promoted through a partnership between the German Evangelical Church in Madeira and the

University of Madeira The University of Madeira (''UMa''; pt, Universidade da Madeira, ) is a Portuguese public university, created in 1988 in Funchal, Madeira. The university offers first, second cycle and Doctorate academic degrees in a wide range of fields, in a ...

''.'' These celebrations were attended by the Vicar-General of the

Diocese of Funchal The Diocese of Funchal ( la, Dioecesis Funchalensis) was created originally on 12 June 1514, by bull ''Pro excellenti præeminentia'' of Pope Leo X, following the elevation of Funchal from a village to the status of city, by King Manuel I of Po ...

, who officially represented Bishop António Carrilho. During the event, Ilse Berardo highlighted that the Reformation brought a change of mentalities that permeated various fields, particularly in education and in social rights, while stressing that "the

Christian Church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym fo ...

as a whole needs even more unity" to respond to the challenges of modern life.

2019 Madeira bus crash

Following the 2019 Madeira bus crash, Pastor Everlien Berardo was one of the first leaders of the German expat community living on the island to assist the injured once they got to the Central Hospital of Funchal. Ilse helped local authorities as interpreter and counselor. She would later participate in an ecumenical mass, together with Nuno I, Roman Catholic Bishop of Funchal, in a joint prayer for the mortal victims of the accident, organized by the Santa Cruz Municipality.

Family

Ilse married Jorge Sabino Rodrigues Berardo on June 18, 1982, therefore becoming sister-in-law to one of Portugal's richest men:

Joe Berardo José Manuel Rodrigues "Joe" Berardo GCIH, ComIH (born 4 July 1944), is a Portuguese and South African businessman, investor, and art collector. According to Portuguese magazine ''Exame'', he had an estimated net worth of €598 million in 201 ...

. She is a mother to two sons and one daughter,

Rubina Berardo Rubina Everlien Berardo (born 11 November 1982) is a Madeiran and Portuguese politician and pundit who was a Social Democratic Party (PSD) Member of the Assembly of the Republic for the constituency of Madeira between 2015 and 2019. Since Fe ...

, the latter was a member of the Portuguese Assembly of the Republic.

Honours

Cross of the Order or Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (11 February 2022) for more than 30 years of services in providing support to every German citizen who asks for its help on the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berardo, Ilse Everlien 1955 births Living people People from Funchal German theologians 20th-century German Lutheran clergy German Lutheran theologians German emigrants to Portugal Women Lutheran clergy 21st-century German Lutheran clergy