Raymundo Damasceno Assis (; born 15 February 1937) is a Brazilian

cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

. He was Auxiliary Bishop of

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

from 1986 to 2004 and Archbishop of

Aparecida Aparecida is a Brazilian municipality in the state of São Paulo. It is located in the fertile valley of the River Paraíba do Sul on the southern (right) bank. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The popu ...

from 2004 to 2016.

Biography

Early life and ordination

Damasceno Assis was born 15 February 1937 in Capela Nova. In 1948, he entered the Juvenato São José of the Marist Brothers, in the city of

Mendes Mendes (, ''Genitive case, gen''.: ), the Greek language, Greek name of the ancient Egyptian city of Djedet, also known in ancient Egypt as Per (hieroglyph), Per-Banebdjedet ("The Domain of the Ram Lord of Djedet") and Anpet, is known today as Te ...

where he completed his basic elementary education; then he discerned that his vocation was for the priesthood and returned home to

Conselheiro Lafaiete Conselheiro Lafaiete is a city of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It was known as Queluz until 1934, when it was renamed by decree, as a tribute to Counselor Lafayette Rodrigues Pereira. It is situated 96 km south from Belo Horizonte, c ...

archdiocese of Mariana The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mariana (, ) is an archdiocese based in the city of Mariana, Minas Gerais, Mariana in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Geography The archdiocese owns the parishes in seventy nine municipalities in four m ...

, where the family had moved. In 1955, he entered the Minor Seminary of the archdiocese of Mariana, where he did his secondary studies; and then the Major Seminary, where he studied philosophy. In 1960, Archbishop Oscar de Oliveira, of Mariana, sent him to the newly established archdiocese of Brasília, as a help to that new local church, inaugurated on 21 April of that same year. In 1961, Brasília's archbishop, sent him to Rome to study theology at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

, where he obtained a licentiate; he resided at Colegio Pio Brasileiro during those years, the Second Vatican Council was occurring. In 1965, he was sent to Germany, where he concluded his formation at the Superior Institute of

Catechesis Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

in Münich. He returned to Brazil in 1968. He did post graduate studies in the philosophy of science at the

University of Brasília A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

and at the

Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais The Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (, PUC-MG) is a private and non-profit Brazilian Roman Catholic Church, Catholic university in Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais. In 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014, PUC-MG was chosen the be ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest on 19 March 1968 in Conselheiro Lafaiete by

José Newton de Almeida Baptista José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

, Archbishop of Brasília. In the Archdiocese of Brasília, he served as coordinator of catechesis and pastor of the parish of Santíssimo Sacramento. He was also

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

and co-founder and professor of the Major Seminary Nossa Senhora de Fatima and professor in the Department of Philosophy of the

Bishop

He was appointed

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 Nova Petra and auxiliary bishop of Brasília on 18 June 1986. He received his episcopal consecration on 15 September from

José Freire Falcão José Freire Falcão (; 23 October 1925 – 26 September 2021) was a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church who was archbishop of Brasília from 1984 to 2004. He was created a cardinal in 1988. Biography José Freire Falcão was born on 23 O ...

, Archbishop of Brasilia. He was general secretary of the

Episcopal Conference of Latin America 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 ...

(CELAM) from 1991 to 1995 and secretary general of the

Episcopal Conference of Brazil The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil ( Portuguese: ''Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil'', CNBB) is a group of the Catholic Bishops of Brazil formed under the Code of Canon Law. All diocesan bishops in Brazil belong to CNBB along ...

from 1995 to 1998 and from 1999 to 2003. He was named metropolitan Archbishop of Aparecida on 28 January 2004. In 2007 he was elected to a four-year term as president of the Episcopal Council of Latin America (CELAM).

Cardinal

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 resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...

made him a

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 ...

on 20 November 2010, assigning him to the rank of

cardinal bishop A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. C ...

and the title of Immacolata al Tiburtino. In 2011 he was elected to a four-year term as president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the

2013 papal conclave A papal conclave was held on 12 and 13 March 2013 to elect a new pope to succeed Benedict XVI, who had resigned on 28 February 2013. Of the 117 eligible Cardinal electors in the 2013 papal conclave, cardinal electors, all but two attended. On th ...

that elected

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 ...

. Pope Francis accepted his retirement on 16 November 2016 and named

Orlando Brandes Orlando Brandes (born 13 April 1946) is a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church who was appointed Archbishop of Aparecida in 2017. He was Bishop of Joinville from 1994 to 2006 and Archbishop of Londrina from 2006 to 2016. Early life Brand ...

to succeed him.

References

External links

*
Biography at Salvador Miranda's site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Damasceno Asis, Raymundo Living people 1937 births Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil Brazilian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI People from Minas Gerais Roman Catholic archbishops of Aparecida Roman Catholic bishops of Brasília Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II