Raymundo Damasceno Assis (; born 15 February 1937) is a Brazilian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Auxiliary Bishop of

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

from 1986 to 2004 and Archbishop of

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 ...

from 2004 to 2016.

Biography

Early life and ordination

Damasceno Assis was born 15 February 1937 in Capela Nova. In 1948, he entered the Juvenato São José of the Marist Brothers, in the city of

Mendes Mendes ( grc-gre, Μένδης, ''gen''.: ), the Greek name of the ancient Egyptian city of Djedet, also known in ancient Egypt as Per-Banebdjedet ("The Domain of the Ram Lord of Djedet") and Anpet, is known today as Tell El-Ruba ( ar, تل ال ...

where he completed his basic elementary education; then he discerned that his vocation was for the priesthood and returned home to

Conselheiro Lafaiete Conselheiro Lafaiete is a city of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It was known as Queluz until 1934, when it was renamed by decree, as a tribute to Counselor Lafayette Rodrigues Pereira It is situated 96 km south from Belo Horizonte, cap ...

, archdiocese of Mariana, where the family had moved. In 1955, he entered the Minor Seminary of the archdiocese of Mariana, where he did his secondary studies; and then the Major Seminary, where he studied philosophy. In 1960, Archbishop Oscar de Oliveira, of Mariana, sent him to the newly established archdiocese of Brasília, as a help to that new local church, inaugurated on 21 April of that same year. In 1961, Brasília's archbishop, sent him to Rome to study theology at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

, where he obtained a licentiate; he resided at Colegio Pio Brasileiro during those years, the Second Vatican Council was occurring. In 1965, he was sent to Germany, where he concluded his formation at the Superior Institute of

Catechesis Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

in Münich. He returned to Brazil in 1968. He did post graduate studies in the philosophy of science at the

University of Brasília The University of Brasília ( pt, Universidade de Brasília, UnB) is a federal public university in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. It was founded in 1960 and has since consistently been named among the top five Brazilian universities and the ...

and at the

Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais The Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais ( pt, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, PUC-MG) is a private and non-profit Brazilian Catholic university in Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais. In 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013 and ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

a priest on 19 March 1968, in Conselheiro Lafaiete, by José Newton de Almeida Baptista, archbishop of Brasília. In the archdiocese of Brasília, he served as coordinator of catechesis; pastor of the parish of Santíssimo Sacramento. He also served as

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

and was co-founder and professor of the Major Seminary Nossa Senhora de Fatima and at the same time professor in the Department of Philosophy of the University of Brasília.

Bishop

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 ...

Nova Petra A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

and auxiliary bishop of Brasília on 18 June 1986. He was named metropolitan Archbishop of Aparecida 28 January 2004. In 2007 he was elected to a four-year term as president of the Episcopal Council of Latin America (CELAM).

Cardinal

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 ...

created him

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 Immacolata al Tiburtino 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 20 November 2010. In 2011 he was elected to a four-year term as president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (Confêrencia Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil). He 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

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. ...

. Pope Francis accepted his retirement on 16 November 2016 and named

Orlando Brandes Orlando Brandes (born 13 April 1946) is a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church who was appointed Archbishop of Aparecida in 2017. He was Bishop of Joinville from 1994 to 2006 and Archbishop of Londrina from 2006 to 2016. Early life Brand ...

to succeed him.

References

External links

*
Biography at Salvador Miranda's site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Damasceno Asis, Raymundo Living people 1937 births Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil Brazilian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI People from Minas Gerais Roman Catholic archbishops of Aparecida Roman Catholic bishops of Brasília