Dom José Alves Correia da Silva (15 January 1872 – 4 December 1957) was a Portuguese priest. He was Bishop of Leiria from 1920 until his death in 1957. He is best remembered for his part in the story of

Our Lady of Fátima Our Lady of Fátima (, ; formally known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Fátima) is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus, based on the Marian apparitions reported in 1917 by three shepherd children at the Cova da Iria in Fátima, Portu ...

, and not least for his dealings with Sister Lúcia Santos in connection with the Three Secrets of Fátima.

Life

José Alves Correia da Silva was born at São Pedro de Fins. After training for the priesthood he was ordained a priest on 5 August 1894, at the age of twenty-two, and began his service to the church at Oporto.Bishop José Alves Correia da Silva †
at catholic-hierarchy.org, accessed 4 October 2013 On 15 May 1920, he was appointed Bishop of

Leiria Leiria () is a city and municipality in the Central Region, Portugal, Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, after Coimbra, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat o ...

, on 25 July was consecrated by Bishop António Barbosa Leão, Bishop of Oporto, and on 5 August was formally installed. He continued in this role for thirty-seven years, until his death. In 1917, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared several times to three children of Silva's diocese and to have entrusted them with three secrets, in connection with which there was later much confusion. On 13 October 1930, Dom José announced in a pastoral letter that he was giving official approval to the authenticity of the apparitions. He wrote In 1941, Dom José asked the only survivor of the three children, who was now a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

, to clarify the secrets, to assist with the publication of a new edition of a book about her cousin

Jacinta Jacinta is a feminine given name of Spanish language, Spanish and Greek language, Greek origin meaning hyacinth. It is the feminine form of Jacinto (Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese), Jácint (Hungarian language, Hungarian) and Jacek, Ja ...

, another of the three children, who had died in 1920. At his request, Sister Lúcia wrote a document, detailing two of the secrets, which was passed to higher authorities. In 1943 he asked Lucia to reveal the third secret, and she declined, on the grounds that she was "not yet convinced that God had clearly authorized her to act". In October 1943, when she was seriously ill and there were fears for her life, Dom José pressed her again, ordering her to put the third secret in writing.Zimdars-Swartz (1991), pp. 203–209 Lúcia obeyed, but sealed her statement into an envelope which was not to be opened until 1960 or until after her death, if earlier. Dom José Alves Correia da Silva died on 4 December 1957.

Memorials

A statue of Dom José by Joaquim Correia was later erected in the main square at Fátima, near another by Correia of

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

. A street in the town has also been named "Avenida Dom José Alves Correia da Silva" in his memory and contains the town's bus station.Regis St. Louis, Robert Landon, ''Lonely Planet Portugal'' (2007), p. 289

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Jose Alves Correia da 1872 births 1957 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Portugal