Eusébio Oscar Scheid S.C.J. (8 December 1932 – 13 January 2021) was a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro from 2001 to 2009. He was raised to the rank of

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

in 2003. He was previously Bishop of São José dos Campos from 1981 to 1991 and Archbishop of Florianópolis from 1991 to 2001.

Biography

Born in Bom Retiro,

Joaçaba Joaçaba is a city situated in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, with approximately 30,404 inhabitants. Located in 27º10'22" S and 51º30'03" W and 516.74 m above sea level, the city was colonization, colonized in the early 20th century by ...

, Brazil, to Alberto Reinaldo Scheid and Rosália Joana Scheid, he studied at the Dehonian Fathers' seminary; he earned a doctorate of Sacred Theology in

Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

and was ordained a priest in Rome on 3 July 1960. He then taught

dogmatic theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Chu ...

and

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

in Brazil. On 11 February 1981,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed him Bishop of

São José dos Campos São José dos Campos (, meaning Saint Joseph of the Fields) is a major city and the seat of the Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the same name in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. One of the leading industrial and res ...

and he was consecrated on 1 May 1981. Appointed Archbishop of

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as we ...

on 23 January 1991, he served in that post for ten years before being named Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro and Ordinary for Eastern-Rite faithful resident in Brazil on 25 July 2001. He officially took over the diocese of Rio de Janeiro on 22 September 2001. In South America, Scheid also served as President of South Region IV of the Brazilian Bishops' Conference and Counsellor of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (as of 25 November 2002).

elevated Scheid to the rank of cardinal in the consistory of 21 October 2003, granting him the title of Cardinal-Priest of

Santi Bonifacio e Alessio The Basilica dei Santi Bonifacio e(d) Alessio is a basilica, rectory church served by the Somaschans, and titular church for a cardinal-priest on the Aventine Hill in the third prefecture of central Rome, Italy. It is dedicated to Saint Bonif ...

. In the months during which the health of Pope John Paul II was failing, Scheid spoke in favor of having an African pope, which many interpreted as support for

Francis Arinze Francis Arinze (born 1 November 1932) is a Nigerian Catholic prelate who was Prefect of the Secretariat for Non-Christians (1984–2002) and Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (2002–2008). He was one of the ...

. En route to the 2005 conclave, Scheid told an interviewer that he did not think of Brazilian president President Lula as a "true Catholic", but rather "chaotic", since Lula self-identifies as Catholic but does not practice his faith. Lula responded that he was indeed a Catholic and that his relationship with God was of a very personal nature. Asked the same question, Cardinal

Cláudio Hummes Cláudio Hummes (; born Auri Alfonso Hummes; 8 August 1934 – 4 July 2022) was a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 2006 to 2010, having served as Archbishop of Fortaleza from 19 ...

said that Lula was "Catholic in his own way"; Scheid declined to comment further. Scheid retired in 2009 from the see of Rio de Janeiro. After having dealt with age-related illnesses for a few months, Scheid died in São José dos Campos on 13 January 2021. He had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during the COVID-19 pandemic in São Paulo and been admitted to the hospital on 12 January with a possible case of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Honors and awards

* Santos Dumont Medal (19 September 2002) * Honorary citizen of the

Rio de Janeiro State Rio de Janeiro () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil. It has the second largest economy of Brazil, with the largest being that of the state of São Paulo. The state, which has 8.2% of the Brazilian population, is responsible for 9.2% of ...

– conferred by the State's Legislative Assembly on 19 August 2002 * Aeronautical Medal of Honor (23 October 2002) * The Collar of Judiciary Honor – conferred by the Rio de Janeiro State Judiciary on 8 December 2002 * Pedro Ernesto Medal – conferred by the

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

City Council on 10 September 2003 * Motion of Honor from the

Niterói Niterói () is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay, facing the city of Rio de ...

City Council, in honor of his Cardinalate, on 8 October 2003 * Vote of Applause from the

Senate of Brazil The Federal Senate () is the upper house of the National Congress of Brazil. When created under the Imperial Constitution in 1824, it was based on the House of Lords of the British Parliament, but since the Proclamation of the Republic in ...

, in honor of his being made a cardinal, on 7 October 2003 * Motion of Admiration and Congratulations from the Rio de Janeiro City Council, in honor of his being made a cardinal, on 30 October 2003

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scheid, Eusebio 1932 births 2021 deaths Brazilian people of German descent Brazilian cardinals Dehonian bishops 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in São Paulo (state) 21st-century cardinals 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil Roman Catholic archbishops of Florianópolis Roman Catholic archbishops of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro Roman Catholic bishops of São José dos Campos Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II