Alexandre Awi Mello (born 17 January 1971) ISch, is a Brazilian

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest, a member of the

Secular Institute of Schoenstatt Fathers The Secular Institute of Schoenstatt Fathers (ISch) is a Catholic religious institute founded by the German Pallottine priest Josef Kentenich, as a part of the Schoenstatt Movement. It was canonically erected on 18 July 1965. It is a secular ...

and the secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life since his appointment by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on 31 May 2017. He was previously national director of the Schoenstatt Movement in Brazil. Awi Mello was born in Rio de Janeiro. He was ordained a priest on 7 July 2001 for the Schoenstatt Fathers. He served as a parochial vicar and Assessor of young people in the southeast and south of Brazil. He became national director of the Movement. He completed his studies in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Catholic University in Santiago de Chile. He earned a licence in theology from the Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Vallendar in 2000. He went on to earn a doctorate in

Mariology Mariology is the Christian theological study of Mary, mother of Jesus. Mariology seeks to relate doctrine or dogma about Mary to other doctrines of the faith, such as those concerning Jesus and notions about redemption, intercession and g ...

from the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

. He served as a professor in pastoral theology in

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná (state), Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is 388 km (241 miles) away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and f ...

and at the Paul VI Institute from 2002 to 2004 and then at the Pontifical Catholic University of Parana from 2005 to 2009. From 2012 he served at the Salesian University Centre in São Bento. In 2007 he worked with the secretariate of the

CELAM The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (; ), better known as CELAM, is a council of the Catholic bishops in Latin America, created in 1955 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is based in Bogotá, Colombia. Early history From July 25 to A ...

conference in Aparecida. He was appointed as secretary of the newly established Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life under its prefect, Cardinal

Kevin Farrell Kevin Joseph Farrell (born 2 September 1947) is an Irish-born American Catholic prelate who has served as the prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life since 2016, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church since 2019, and presiden ...

. On August 18, 2022, the 6th General Chapter of his Institute elected Fr Awi Mello as the new General Superior, with a six years term of office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mello, Alexandre Awi 1971 births Living people 21st-century Brazilian Roman Catholic priests Schoenstatt Fathers