Frei Frei is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2008 when it was incorporated into Kristiansund Municipality. It was located between the Kvernesfjorden and Freifjo ...

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

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

friar.
Biografia - Comissário para o apoio à Transição em Timor Leste
'' accessed 2 January 2017. 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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

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

Oporto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

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

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; pt, Universidade de Lisboa, ) is a public research university in Lisbon, and the largest university in Portugal. It was founded in 2013, from the merger of two previous public universities located in Lisbon, th ...

, and a degree in

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

(1965) from the Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome, where he received a scholarship from the

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

. 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 firefighters association), later chairing (1981–83) the ''Serviço Nacional de Bombeiros'' (that country's national fire service). In 1983 he was elected chairman of the board of directors of the

Montepio Geral Montepio (), formerly Montepio Geral, is a Portuguese mutual savings organization, better known for its banking activity. Banco Montepio was established in 1844 and is headquartered in Lisbon. The Montepio group is headed by the Montepio Gera ...

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 ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

and

lotteries A lottery 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 some degree of ...

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 ( , , ; 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 ...

; 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 "social partners", namely: employers ( employers' organisations), employees (trade ...

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 and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n occupation to the independence of

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...

. Parallel to these activities, Melícias has been a professor of canon law, teaching legal philosophy who has taught at Lisbon'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 ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old ...

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 univers ...

. 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 ( pt, Ordem do Mérito) 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, w ...

in 1993.

References

* 'Vítor Melícias' . Infopédia . Retrieved March 12, 2015 . {{DEFAULTSORT:Melicias, Vitor 1938 births Living people Portuguese Friars Minor Portuguese Roman Catholic priests Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit (Portugal)