Mário Clemente Neto (7 August 1940 – 8 August 2024) was a Brazilian

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

, and member of the

Congregation of the Holy Spirit The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (officially the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary; ) is a religious congregation for men in the Catholic Church. Members are often known as Holy ...

. Neto served as the

Prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Tefé The Territorial Prelature of Tefé () is a Roman Catholic territorial prelature located in the city of Tefé in the ecclesiastical province of Manaus in Brazil. History * On 23 May 1910, the Apostolic Prefecture of Tefé was founded from the Di ...

, located in the Amazonian city of

Tefé Tefé, known in early accounts as Teffé, is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas, northern Brazil. History As early as 1620 the Portuguese Carmelites could already boast of converts amo ...

, from 15 December 1982 until his retirement on 19 October 2000. Neto was born on 7 August 1940 in the rural community of Capão Escuro, located within

Itaúna Itaúna is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. It is located in the Iron Quadrangle (''Quadrilátero Ferrífero''), within the Metropolitan Belt, 80 km from Belo Horizonte in the Central-West region of Minas. It borders Itatiai ...

municipality,

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

. He entered the

on 2 February 1963 and was ordained as a Catholic priest on 14 August 1966 by Bishop

Cristiano Portela de Araújo Pena Cristiano may refer to: * Cristiano (given name), Italian and Portuguese male given name * Cristiano (surname) * Cristiano Ronaldo (born 1985), Portuguese football forward * Cristiano (footballer, born 1976), Brazilian football defender * Cristian ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Divinópolis The Roman Catholic Diocese of Divinópolis () is a diocese located in the city of Divinópolis in the ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte in Brazil. History * July 11, 1958: Established as Dio ...

. He then served as a priest and teacher in

and

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. Neto began working at a

Holy Ghost Fathers The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (officially the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary; ) is a religious congregation for men in the Catholic Church. Members are often known as Holy ...

parish in Tefé during the 1970s. The then-Prelate of Tefé

Joaquim de Lange Joaquim is the Portuguese and Catalan version of Joachim and may refer to: * Agnes Joaquim (born Ashkhen Hovakimian, 1854–1899), Singaporean Armenian who bred Singapore's first hybridised orchid hybrid, Vanda 'Miss Joaquim' * Alberto Joaquim ...

then appointed him to a position with the

territorial prelature A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

. On 19 October 1980, Neto was appointed prelate

coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

of the

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 ...

. He was ordained as Prelate of Tefé in 1982 by his predecessor, Prelate Joaquim de Lange, and served until his retirement on 19 October 2000. During this time, he also held the position of vice president of the northern region of the

Episcopal Conference of Brazil The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil ( Portuguese: ''Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil'', CNBB) is a group of the Catholic Bishops of Brazil formed under the Code of Canon Law. All diocesan bishops in Brazil belong to CNBB along ...

(CNBB). Neto died at a nursing home in

Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais Lagoa Santa (''Holy Lagoon'') is a Brazilian municipality and region in the state of Minas Gerais. It is located 37 km north-northeast from Belo Horizonte and belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte and to the microregion ...

, on 8 August 2024, at the age of 84. His funeral was held at the Divino Espírito Santo Parish in

Contagem Contagem () is a city in the center of the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. It is only from the capital, Belo Horizonte, and forms part of a metropolitan area with a population of 4.8 million. Over time, the city's geographic boundaries were lo ...

with burial at the Central Cemetery of

References

External links

Bishop Mário Clemente Neto at Catholic Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neto, Mario Clemente 1940 births 2024 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Tefé 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Brazil Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Holy Ghost Fathers Pontifical Gregorian University alumni People from Tefé People from Itaúna