Irineu Sílvio Wilges (3 October 1936 – 17 November 2022) was a Brazilian

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate. Wilges was born in

Pinheiral Pinheiral () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 25,364 (2020) and its area is . History The city was named after the São José do Pinheiro coffee plantation, owned by the very rich planter and ...

and was ordained to the priesthood in 1962. On 14 June 2000,

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 ...

appointed him as the bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Cachoeira do Sul The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cachoeira do Sul () is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Santa Maria in southern Brazil. Its cathedral episcopal see is Catedral da Nossa Senhora da Conceição, dedicated to Our Lady of Concept ...

, Brazil. He was consecrated on 12 August 2000 by cardinal

Aloísio Lorscheider Aloísio Leo Arlindo Lorscheider, O.F.M. (8 October 1924 – 23 December 2007) was a Brazilian Catholic cardinal during the 1970s and 1980s. He was known as an advocate of liberation theology in the 1970s and was seen by some observers as a s ...

and served as the bishop until his retirement in 2011.

References

1936 births 2022 deaths Brazilian Roman Catholic bishops 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II People from Rio de Janeiro (state) {{Brazil-RC-bishop-stub