Antônio Ferreira Viçoso
| The Venerable and Right Reverend Antônio Ferreira Viçoso, C.M. | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Mariana | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Province | Rio de Janeiro |
| Diocese | Mariana |
| Appointed | 15 July 1843 |
| Installed | 5 May 1844 |
| Term ended | 7 July 1875 |
| Predecessor | Carlos Pereira Freire de Moura |
| Successor | Antônio Maria Corrêa de Sá e Benevides |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 7 March 1818 |
| Consecration |
5 May 1844 by Manoel de Monte Rodrigues de Araújo |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Antônio José Ferreira Viçoso |
| Born |
13 May 1787 Peniche, Province of Leiria, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Died |
7 July 1875 (aged 88) Mariana, Minas Gerais, Empire of Brazil |
| Buried |
Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption (Nossa Senhora da Assunção) Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
| Alma mater | Vincentian Seminary of Rilhafoles |
| Motto | Fides, spes et caritas (Faith, hope and charity) |
| Coat of arms |
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Antônio José Ferreira Viçoso, C.M., (13 May 1787 - 7 July 1875) was a Portuguese Vincentian missionary bishop who served for many years in Brazil. There he worked to establish the institutions of the Catholic Church on a solid basis, opposing efforts by the government to control the workings of the Church, and to serve the needs of the poor of his diocese. In the face of strong opposition, he ordained the first black slave in the history of the Church to become a Catholic priest.
The cause for his beatification has been accepted for investigation by the Holy See, which has formally declared him to be a person of heroic virtue. Due to this, he is honored as Venerable by the Catholic Church.
Life
Early life
Viçoso was born on 13 May 1787 in the City of Peniche, then in the Province of Leiria in the Kingdom of Portugal. At the age of nine, he was entrusted by his father to the Carmelite friars for his primary education. Six years later, in 1802, he felt drawn to service in the Church and entered the diocesan seminary in Santarém. He studied there for the next seven years, after which he returned to his home.<ref name=CM /[1]
During his time with his family, Viçoso examined his future course in life and finally felt a call to enter the Congregation of the Mission of St. Vincent de Paul, popularly known as the Vincentians or Lazarists. He enrolled in their seminary in the Rilhafoles sector of Lisbon on 11 July 1811 to prepare himself for Holy Orders. He was ordained to the priesthood on 7 March 1818,<ref name=CH /[2] after which he was sent to teach philosophy at the Vincentian seminary in Évora.
Missionary and bishop
In 1819, Viçoso was assigned to establish his congregation in Brazil, then part of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Arriving the following year with a companion, Leandro Rebelo Peixoto e Castro, C.M., they settled in the Province of Minas Gerais. There they founded the Colégio do Caraça, followed by one in Jacuecanga, and later in Angra dos Reis. He also assisted in a number of parishes throughout the province. He spent nearly twenty years in these ministries, until he was appointed in 1837 as the first Superior of the new Vincentian Province of Brazil.<ref name=AM /[3]
Viçoso was nominated for the office of Bishop of Mariana on 15 July 1843, which was confirmed by Pope Gregory XVI on the following 22 January. He was then consecrated a bishop to serve in the office by Manoel de Monte Rodrigues de Araújo, the Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, on 5 May 1844, [4] at the monastery church of the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat in Rio de Janeiro.[5]
Once in office, Viçoso's first focus was the reform of the seminary of the diocese, which had been founded in 1750, to bring it into line with the mandates of the Council of Trent on the formation of the clergy. To accomplish this, he entrusted its operation to his Vincentian colleagues, in keeping with one of the goals of their congregation. An ultramontane, he sought to establish the independence of the Catholic Church from the efforts of the imperial court of Brazil to dominate it.[6]
Viçoso was the first bishop to accept a black slave as a candidate for the Catholic priesthood. When he was called upon in 1849 to consider the desire of Francisco de Paula Victor to pursue this calling, he chose to break all precedent and overrule church law in accepting him into the diocesan seminary. In the process, he risked jeopardizing the position of the Catholic Church in a society in which slavery was still legal and a crucial part of the Brazilian economy. He himself ordained Victor, who has now been beatified by the Catholic Church.[7]
Viçoso died in his residence on 7 July 1875.[4]
Veneration
In 1916, a successor of Viçoso as bishop, Silvério Gomes Pimenta, was convinced of his saintliness and opened a diocesan tribunal to investigate and research the life of his predecessor for possible beatification. He himself wrote a biography of the earlier bishop. Pimenta's death in 1922 put a halt to the cause. It was not re-opened until a later bishop, Oscar de Oliveira, received permission from the Holy See to do so in 1985. The necessary documents were prepared within a year, and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints accepted the cause for further investigation.[5]
The Vatican tribunal investing the life of Viçoso submitted a final report, concluding that he had in fact shown the requisite heroic level of virtue in his life to consider for beatification. This report was approved by Pope Francis on 8 July 2014, thereby granting him the title of Venerable. The verification of a miracle remains needed at this time for the Holy See to make a determination if he may be beatified.[6]
References
- ↑ Palú, Lauro, C.M., Padre (28 April 2002). "I santi della famiglia vincenziana: Servi di Dio: Ven. Antônio Ferreira Viçoso, C.M.". Congregazione della Missione.(Italian)
- ↑ "Bishop Antônio Ferreira Viçoso, C.M.". Catholic Hierarchy.
- ↑ "Tribunal Eclesiástico realizará última sessão do processo de Beatificação de dom Viçoso". Arquidiocese de Mariana. 12 May 2010.(Portuguese)
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- ↑ "Blessed Father Victor, Diocese da Campanha-MG". 14 November 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.