Alexandre José Maria dos Santos (18 March 1924 – 29 September 2021) was a Mozambican Roman Catholic cardinal. He was the first native cardinal of Mozambique.

Ecclesiastical career

Dos Santos was born in Zavala, Mozambique. He studied in

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...

and

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

before being ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1953, becoming the first black Mozambican to receive the distinction. In 1973 he became the first African to run a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in Mozambique. He was archbishop of

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,0 ...

, between 1975 and 2003. On 26 June 1988, he was created a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, and given the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary des ...

of San Frumenzio ai Prati Fiscali.Cardinal Title S. Frumenzio ai Prati Fiscali
GCatholic.org He was instrumental in the peace process surrounding the end of the

Mozambican Civil War The Mozambican Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Moçambicana) was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992. Like many regional African conflicts during the late twentieth century, the Mozambican Civil War possessed local dynamics but was a ...

. He did not participate in the conclaves of 2005 and 2013, because he was over the age limit by then.

References

External links

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Alexandre José Maria Cardinal dos Santos bio
1924 births 2021 deaths Mozambican cardinals 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Mozambique 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Mozambique Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Franciscan cardinals People from Inhambane Province Roman Catholic archbishops of Maputo {{Mozambique-bio-stub