Licínio Rangel (5 January 1936 – 16 December 2002) was a Brazilian who was consecrated a bishop without papal authorization in 1991 and later reconciled with the Holy See. He served as a bishop of the Catholic Church for about 11 months in 2002.

Biography

Rangel was born in Campos,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, on 5 January 1936. He became a member of the

Society of Saint Pius X The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the Sec ...

. He was ordained in 1991 in

São Fidélis São Fidélis () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, an ...

, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro, even as the Vatican was threatening those involved with excommunication. He was consecrated a bishop without papal mandate on 28 July 1991 at São Fidélis in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

Bernard Tissier de Mallerais Bernard Tissier de Mallerais (born 14 September 1945) is a French Traditionalist bishop of the Society of Saint Pius X. Pope John Paul II declared that Tissier had incurred an automatic excommunication '' latae sententiae'' after he received ...

, assisted by

Alfonso de Galarreta Alfonso de Galarreta Genua, (born 14 January 1957), is a Spanish-born Argentine bishop of the Society of Saint Pius X. Bishop de Galarreta has served as the First Assistant of the Society of Saint Pius X, working under the direction of the Supe ...

and Richard Williamson, all three members of the Society of St. Pius X who were themselves consecrated bishops without papal mandate and thus excommunicated from the Catholic Church. For his participation in this unauthorized rite of consecration he was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

'' latae sententiae''. He succeeded Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer in 1991 as superior of the Priestly Society of Saint John Mary Vianney, an association of priests in the diocese of Campos, Brazil. On 15 August 2001, Rangel together with all 25 of the member priests reconciled with the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. He addressed a letter to

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 ...

in which he confirmed his full submission to and communion with Rome. Pope John Paul responded on 25 December welcoming them into full communion with the Church and withdrawing any censures imposed on them. He also created the

Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney The Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney ( la, Administratio Apostolica Personalis Sancti Ioannis Mariae Vianney) was established on 18 January 2002 by Pope John Paul II for traditionalist Catholic clergy and laity with ...

on that day, with its territory matching that of the Diocese of Campos, and granted its members the right to celebrate Mass in the form instituted by

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

as amended by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

. On 18 January 2002, Pope John Paul appointed Rangel its

apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

and titular bishop of Zarna. Rangel died in Campos of kidney cancer on 16 December 2002.

References

;Additional sources * This report anticipates the events of 18 January 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rangel, Licinio 1936 births 2002 deaths Brazilian traditionalist Catholics People temporarily excommunicated by the Catholic Church Traditionalist Catholic bishops Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney Former members of the Society of Saint Pius X People from Campos dos Goytacazes 20th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Brazil