Frei Frei may refer to: People * Frei family, a Chilean family formed by the descendants of Swiss Eduardo Frei Schlinz and Chilean Victoria Montalva Martínez * Frei (surname), a surname * Frei Otto, German architect Places Brazil * Frei Gaspar, a ...

Vítor José Melícias Lopes (born 25 July 1938) is a Portuguese

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friar.
Biografia - Comissário para o apoio à Transição em Timor Leste
'' accessed 2 January 2017.

Biography

Ordained a

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 ...

in 1962,Vítor Melícias
in ''Infopédia''.

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

: Porto Editora, 2003–2017. Accessed 3 January 2017. Melícias holds a law degree from the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...

, and a degree in

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

(1965) from the

Pontifical University Antonianum The Antonianum, also known as the Pontifical University of Saint Anthony (, ), and as Pontifical Athenaeum Antonianum, is a Franciscan pontifical university in Rome named in honour of Anthony of Padua. It is located in the Rione Esquiline Hill, Es ...

in Rome, where he received a scholarship from the

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One of the wealthiest charitable founda ...

. Melícias was a member of Lisbon's municipal council from 1979 to 1983. He has also served on the boards of numerous charitable organizations and other associations. From 1974 till 1980 he was president of ''Liga dos Bombeiros Portugueses'' (the Portuguese

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

s association), later chairing (1981–1983) the ''Serviço Nacional de Bombeiros'' (that country's national fire service). In 1983 he was elected chairman of the board of directors of the

Banco Montepio Banco Montepio (), formerly Montepio Geral, legally incorporated as Caixa Económica Montepio Geral, Caixa Económica Bancária, S.A. is a Portuguese mutual savings organization, better known for its banking activity. Banco Montepio was estab ...

credit union, where he remained until 1988; he still holds a post as chairman of Montepio's general meeting board.Montepio Mutual Association
accessed 2 January 1917. At the same time he directed '' Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa''—the nonprofit organization which operates all licensed

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

and

lotteries A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...

in Portugal—a position he held until 1992. Also in 1991 he became president of the ''União das Misericórdias Portuguesas,'' and two years later was elected honorary president of the ''Confederação Internacional das Misericórdias'', based in

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 ...

; both groups are Catholic charities. After becoming a full member of the

European Economic and Social Committee The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a consultative body of the European Union (EU) established in 1958. It is an advisory assembly composed of representatives from employers' organization, employers' associations, workers' unio ...

in 1998, the following year he was appointed a national commissioner to support the political transition from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n occupation to the independence of

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

. Parallel to these activities, Melícias has been a professor of canon law, teaching legal philosophy who has taught at

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

's ''Seminário da Luz'', at Lisbon's ''Instituto Superior de Estudos Eclesiásticos'' (Institute of Ecclesiastical Studies, ISEE), at the ''Instituto Superior de Teologia'' (

Évora Évora ( , ), officially the Very Noble and Ever Loyal City of Évora (), is a city and a municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of . It is the historic capital of the Alentejo reg ...

Theological Institute) and at the

Catholic University of Portugal The Catholic University of Portugal ( Portuguese: ''Universidade Católica Portuguesa'', pronounced nivɨɾsiˈðad(ɨ) kɐˈtɔlikɐ puɾtuˈɣezɐ, also referred to as Católica or UCP for short, is a concordat university (non-state-run unive ...

. He has also taught ethics and management courses at the private ''Instituto Superior das Novas Profissões'' (Higher Institute for New Professions). Melícias was awarded the Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit (Portugal) The Order of Merit () is a Portuguese Honorific Order of civil merit intended to award those responsible for meritorious acts or services performed in the exercise of any functions, both in the public and the private sphere, which reveal self-sacr ...

in 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melicias, Vitor 1938 births Living people People from Torres Vedras Portuguese Friars Minor Portuguese Roman Catholic priests Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit (Portugal)