'' Dom'' António II Ribeiro (21 May 1928 – 24 March 1998) was a Portuguese cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and

Patriarch of Lisbon The Patriarch of Lisbon (, ), also called the Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon once he has been made cardinal, is the ordinary bishop of the Archdiocese of Lisbon. He is one of the few patriarchs in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, along wi ...

from 1971 until his death in 1998. Born at São Clemente de Basto, Celorico de Basto, son of José Ribeiro (born ca 1860) and wife Ana Gonçalves (born ca 1904), both from the same location, Ribeiro was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

of the

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

Archdiocese on 5 July 1953. Fourteen years later, on 3 July 1967, he was appointed

Auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

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 Tigillava, and ordained on 17 September. Ribeiro graduated with a degree in Theology from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

of Rome. His

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

, defended in 1959, was on ''The Doctrine of Errors in Saint Thomas Aquinas''. Transferred from Braga to Lisbon, he was appointed chaplain of one of the branches of Catholic Action (LUC/F), and lectured at the Instituto Superior de Cultura Católica, and at the Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas, of the Technical University of Lisbon. He also visited the Theological Faculties of

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Meanwhile, in 1960 he took on a weekly tv program called ''Dia do Senhor'' (''The Lord's Day''), and collaborated with several religious magazines and newspapers, beyond his own publications. On Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira's retirement as Patriarch in 1971, Ribeiro was appointed his successor and, a year later, also

Vicar Apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of the Portuguese Military. He was created Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Antonio da Padova in Via MerulanaCardinal Title S. Antonio da Padova in Via Merulana
GCatholic.org by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

, on 5 March 1973, which made him, at the age of 44, the youngest cardinal in the XXth century since Cerejeira himself, forty-four years earlier. As such, he participated in the 1978

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

and

October October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôctō'' meaning "eight") after Januar ...

Conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

s. In 1991, he was appointed as the papal envoy to the 5th Centennial Celebration of Evangelization, in

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

, Angola. Recognised as a man of compromise (and markedly less close to the '' Estado Novo'' government than Cerejeira had been), Ribeiro was nevertheless very determined in defending the rights and privileges of the Church in his country. He died of cancer in Lisbon in 1998 at age 69 and is buried in the tomb of the patriarchs in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora. He was the Principal Consecrator in 1978 of José da Cruz Policarpo, who succeeded him as Patriarch, and in 1989 of Januário Ferreira, who succeeded him as Military vicar of Portugal in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ribeiro, Antonio 1928 births 1998 deaths People from Celorico de Basto 20th-century Portuguese cardinals Archbishops of Lisbon Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Deaths from cancer in Portugal