Alfred Ernest Novak, C.Ss.R. (Portuguese: Alfredo Ernesto Novak)(June 2, 1930 – December 3, 2014) was an American member of the

Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scal ...

, commonly referred to as the Redemptorists, who worked as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

in Brazil. He served as the second Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Paranaguá Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of Roman civilization * Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter ...

from 1989-2006.

Biography

Novak was born in

Dwight, Nebraska Dwight is a village in Butler County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 204 at the 2010 census. History Dwight was started in 1887 when the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad was extended to that point. The fact that a larg ...

. He was educated at the

Redemptorist The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scal ...

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Priesthood (Catholic Church), Catholic priests. They are generally ...

, St. Joseph’s College, in

Kirkwood, Missouri Kirkwood is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis located in western St. Louis County, Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 29,461. Founded in 1853, the city is named after James P. Kirkwood, chief engineer of the Pacific Railr ...

. He was admitted to the congregation at their

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

De Soto, Missouri De Soto is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 6,449 at the 2020 census and the city is part of the St. Louis metropolitan area. The Van Metre family were first to settle in 1803. The town was organized in 18 ...

, where he professed

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of r ...

as a Redemptorist. He studied for the priesthood at Immaculate Conception Seminary in

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin Oconomowoc ( ) is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The name was derived from Coo-no-mo-wauk, the Potawatomi language, Potawatomi term for 'waterfall'. The population was 18,203 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. T ...

and was ordained there on July 2, 1956. Novak was serving as a

in Brazil when, on April 19, 1979,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

named him

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Vardimissa and an

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. He was ordained a bishop by

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Paulo Evaristo Arns, O.F.M., the Archbishop of São Paulo. The principal co-consecrators were Bishops

José Ivo Lorscheiter José Ivo Lorscheiter (7 December 1927 – 5 March 2007) was a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was a bishop from 1965 to his retirement in 2004. He was a leading proponent of liberation theology and denounced abuses of human rights by ...

of Santa Maria and Aloísio Ariovaldo Amaral, C.Ss.R., of

Limeira Limeira is a city in the eastern part of the Brazilian state of São Paulo. With a population of approximately 291,869 people (2022 IBGE.) and covering an area of 581 square kilometers, it sits at an elevation of 588 meters. The city is situated 1 ...

. He served the archdiocese for ten years. On March 15, 1989, Pop John Paul named Novak as the second Bishop of Paranaguá. He served the diocese as its bishop for 17 years before

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

accepted his resignation on August 2, 2006, and he was granted the title of bishop emeritus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Novak, Alfredo Ernest 1930 births 2014 deaths People from Butler County, Nebraska American Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Brazil Redemptorist bishops 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Brazil 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Brazil American expatriates in Brazil Catholics from Nebraska Roman Catholic bishops of São Paulo Roman Catholic bishops of Paranaguá

Biography

See also

References