Serafim Fernandes de Araújo (; 13 August 1924 – 8 October 2019) was a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Belo Horizonte from 1986 to 2004. He was made 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 ...

of the

Catholic Church 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 ...

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 ...

in 1998.

Biography

Araújo was born in Minas Novas, in the northeast of the Brazilian state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

, and grew up in nearby

Itamarandiba Itamarandiba () is a Brazilian municipality located in the north-center of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population was 34,936 living in a total area of 2,736 km2. Location The city belongs to the statistical mesoregion of Jequitinhonha ...

. He studied at the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

of Diamantina from the age of twelve, graduating in humanities in 1942 and philosophy in 1944, later continuing his studies from 1949 until 1951 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 ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he earned licentiates in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

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

. He was ordained on 12 March 1949 in the

Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran The Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (officially the ''Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica, Metropolitan and Primatial Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of A ...

in Rome. Upon returning to Brazil in 1951, he worked in pastoral ministry in Gouveia until 1957 and later in

Curvelo Curvelo is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is located in the geodesic centre of Minas Gerais, 170 km north of the capital, Belo Horizonte, and connected to the capital by highways MG 135 and B ...

until 1959. Between 1951 and 1959, Araújo was also chaplain to the 3rd Military Battalion of the Minas Gerais military police, professor of canon law at the provincial seminary of Diamantina, director of religious education for the Archdiocese of Diamantina, as well as a teacher in several local schools. On 19 January 1959, Araújo was appointed 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. ...

of the Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

, with the

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

Verinopolis Verinopolis or Berinopolis () was a city and bishopric in ancient Galatia, central Anatolia (modern Turkey). History The city is known only from its bishopric and as an administrative unit, from the 7th to the late 13th centuries. Its location ...

, receiving

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on 7 May of that year. He served as rector of 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 ...

from 1960 until 1981, and participated in the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

between 1962 and 1965. His ministry was focused on education and social communications – for several years, he was in charge of a daily radio programme entitled "" ('The Word of God'), broadcast by Rádio América, as well as of a Sunday television programme. Araújo participated in the general conferences 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 ...

held in

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

in 1979 and

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

in 1992; he served as one of three co-presidents for the latter conference. He was named the

coadjutor archbishop The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

of Belo Horizonte on 22 November 1982 by

, succeeding João Resende Costa as archbishop on 5 February 1986. From 1991 to 1995, he served a four-year term as Vice-President 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 ...

. Araújo was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistor ...

of 21 February 1998, and assigned the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

of San Luigi Maria Grignion de Montfort. He retired as Archbishop of Belo Horizonte on 28 January 2004 and was succeeded by

Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo (born 26 April 1954) is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of São Salvador da Bahia from 1998 till 2004, when he became archbishop of Belo Horizonte. In 2010 he also became bishop fo ...

. Araújo died on 8 October 2019 in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

due to complications from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Araujo, Serafim Fernandes 1924 births Participants in the Second Vatican Council 2019 deaths Brazilian cardinals 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Roman Catholic archbishops of Belo Horizonte Roman Catholic bishops of Belo Horizonte Brazilian expatriates in Italy

Biography

See also

References

External links