Leonardo Ulrich Steiner (born 6 November 1950) is a Brazilian prelate 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 ...

who has served as Archbishop of Manaus since 2020. A member of the Franciscans since 1976 and a bishop since 2005, he was an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Brasília from 2011 to 2019. On 27 August 2022,

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. ...

made Steiner a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

, the first from the

Amazon region The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

. Cardinal

Paulo Evaristo Arns Paulo Evaristo Arns OFM (; 14 September 1921 – 14 December 2016) was a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church, who was made a cardinal and the Archbishop of São Paulo by Pope Paul VI, and later became cardinal protopriest. His ministr ...

Archbishop of São Paulo 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 archdioc ...

, was Steiner's cousin.

Biography

Leonardo Ulrich Steiner was born on 6 November 1950 in

Forquilhinha Forquilhinha is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. In 2020, it had a population of 27,211 inhabitants. It covers an area of 184.557 km² at an altitude of 42 meters above sea level. It is the native town of cardinal Paulo Eva ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil. He took his vows as a member of the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

on 2 August 1976 and was ordained a priest on 21 January 1978 by his cousin Cardinal Arns. He studied philosophy and theology at the Franciscans of Petrópolis. He earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy and pedagogy at the Salesian Faculty of Lorraine. At the

Pontifical Athenaeum Antonianum The Antonianum, also known as the Pontifical University of Saint Anthony ( la, Pontificia Universitas Antonianum, it, Pontificia Università Antonianum), and as Pontifical Athenaeum Antonianum, is a Franciscan pontifical university in Rome named ...

in Rome he obtained a licentiate and a doctorate in philosophy. After a period as assistant pastor and parish priest, he was seminary formator until 1986 and novice master from 1986 to 1995. From 1995 to 2003 he was Professor of Philosophy and Secretary of the Antonianum. Returning to Brazil in 2003, he was assistant pastor of the Bom Jesus Parish in the

Archdiocese of Curitiba :''There is also a Diocese of Curitiba (and a Bishop of Curitiba) in the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil.'' The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Curitiba ( la, Archidioecesis Curitibensis) is a Latin rite Metropolitan archdiocese in Paraná, s ...

, as well as a lecturer at the Bom Jesus Faculty of Philosophy there. On 2 February 2005,

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 ...

appointed him bishop prelate of São Félix. He received his episcopal consecration on 16 April from Cardinal Arns. On 21 September 2011,

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 ...

named him titular bishop of Tisiduo and auxiliary bishop of Brasilia. From May 2011 to May 2019 he was Secretary General of the

Episcopal Conference of Brazil The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (Portuguese: Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil, CNBB) brings together the Catholic Bishops of Brazil, as the Code of Canon Law, "jointly exercise certain pastoral functions on behalf of the fait ...

. In the face of the Bolsonaro government's Covid denialism, Steiner avoided verbal confrontation and preferred to let the Church's actions serve as a response. He said: "Such ideological issues are very complex. But the church can't cease to manifest its positions. At the same time, we show through our work what we think that real solidarity is.... eniershave lost sensibility to their neighbor. But the work that Catholics have been doing in Manaus, taking solace and hope to the homeless, immigrants and the poor, is fantastic. That's why our voice will keep being heard." On 27 November 2019, Pope Francis appointed him archbishop of Manaus. He was installed there on 31 January 2020. In April 2022 Steiner was named president of the Special Episcopal Commission for the Amazon. He is also the vice president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon Region (CEAMA). On 27 August 2022, Pope Francis made him a

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 ...

, assigning him the title of

San Leonardo da Porto Maurizio ad Acilia The church of San Leonardo da Porto Maurizio ad Acilia is a church in Rome located at Acilia District, dedicated to Leonard of Port Maurice. Pope Francis instituted this church as a seat of the cardinal title of ''S. Leonardo da Porto Maurizio''. ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Steiner, Leonardo Ulrich Living people 1950 births People from Santa Catarina (state) Brazilian people of German descent Brazilian Roman Catholic bishops Brazilian cardinals Franciscan cardinals Brazilian Friars Minor Cardinals created by Pope Francis

Biography

See also

References

External links