Sebastião Leme da Silveira Cintra (January 20, 1882 – October 17, 1942) was a Brazilian

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, the ...

of the

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. He served as Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro from 1930 until his death, and was elevated to the

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in 1930.

Biography

Early life and ministry

Born in Espírito Santo do Pinhal, Sebastião da Silveira Cintra studied at the

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, ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

and the

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before being

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood on October 28, 1904. He then did

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work in the Archdiocese of São Paulo, including serving as a seminary

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and the director of the archdiocesan

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''A Gazeta do Povo''. He was a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

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from 1904 to 1910, and

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of São Paulo from 1909 to 1911.

Bishop

On March 24, 1911, Cintra was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of

São Sebastião do 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 b ...

and

Titular Bishop of Orthosias in Phoenicia Orthosias in Phoenicia ( grc, Ὀρθωσία) was a town in the Roman province of Phoenicia Prima, and a bishopric that was a suffragan of Tyre. History and geography The city is mentioned for the first time in 1 Maccabees, 15:37, as a Phœnicia ...

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

on the following June 24 from

Joaquim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti Joaquim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti (January 17, 1850 – April 18, 1930) was a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro from 1897 to 1930. He was made a cardinal in 1905, the first cardinal b ...

, with Archbishop

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and Bishop Juan Terrero y Escalada serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

, in Rome. Cintra was later named

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Recife metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state capi ...

on April 29, 1916; he also assumed leadership of the

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when it was united with Olinda two years later in 1918. On March 15, 1921, he became

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, 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: * Coadj ...

of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro and Titular Archbishop of ''Pharsalus''. The appointment of a Coadjutor Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro had been rendered necessary by the failing health of the local Ordinary, Cardinal Arcoverde, Brazil's first Cardinal. As Coadjutor, Cintra, who had been consecrated to the Episcopate by Arcoverde and who had served as his auxiliary Bishop, now aided Arcoverde in the government of the See of Rio de Janeiro. Cintra also consecrated

Carlos Duarte Costa Carlos Duarte Costa (July 21, 1888 – March 26, 1961) was a Brazilian Catholic bishop who became the founder of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church, an independent Catholic church, and its international communion, which long after his ...

(later excommunicated and Patriarch of

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) as Bishop of Botucatu on December 8, 1924.

Cardinal

Cintra eventually succeeded Cardinal Arcoverde as Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro upon the latter's death on April 18, 1930.

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

created him

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of '' Santi Alessio e Bonifacio'' in the

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of July 3 of that same year. Also in 1930, in November, he intervened in the revolution through which

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...

assumed power:TIME Magazine
Milestones
October 26, 1942 The Cardinal was credited with saving the life of the incumbent

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. The revolutionary forces surrounded

Guanabara Palace The Guanabara Palace ( pt, Palácio Guanabara, formerly known as ''Paço Isabel'') is located on Pinheiro Machado Street (formerly Guanabara Street), in the Laranjeiras neighborhood (''bairro''), in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro, capital of th ...

and were set to invade it, but the Cardinal succeeded in gaining admission to the Palace to negotiate the withdrawal of the deposed President, thus avoiding bloodshed. Before entering the President's office in Guanabara Palace, he said to the cabinet: "Time does not permit vacillation. The exaltation and animation of the people is great and I urge the President to retire to a fort or barracks. I have been insisting on this for nine hours and now it is almost too late".TIME Magazine
"Where is the President?"
November 3, 1930 Cintra then successfully persuaded Luís to

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after a half-hour-long conversation. Among the many events to which he served as

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was the dedication of Christ the Redeemer on September 14, 1931. Cintra was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the conclave of 1939, which elected

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

. In 1941, he founded the

Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro ( pt, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, PUC-Rio) is a Jesuit, Catholic, pontifical university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the joint responsibility of the Catholic ...

, that later was granted the title of "Pontifical Catholic University".

Death

On October 17, 1942, Cardinal Cintra died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at age 60 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 b ...

and is buried at the Shrine of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, located in the city.

References

External links

Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silveira Cintra, Sebastiao Da 1882 births 1942 deaths Brazilian cardinals 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro people Roman Catholic archbishops of Olinda e Recife Roman Catholic bishops of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro Roman Catholic archbishops of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro