Alexandre José Maria dos Santos

Alexandre José Maria dos Santos (18 March 1924 – 29 September 2021) was a Mozambican Roman Catholic cardinal. He was the first native cardinal of Mozambique.


Alexandre José Maria dos Santos

Archbishop Emeritus of Maputo
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
ArchdioceseMaputo
SeeMaputo
Appointed18 September 1976[1]
Retired22 February 2003
PredecessorCustódio Alvim Pereira
SuccessorFrancisco Chimoio
Other post(s)Cardinal-Priest of San Frumenzio ai Prati Fiscali (1988–2021)
Previous post(s)Archbishop of Laurençco Marques (1974–76)[2]
Orders
Ordination25 June 1953
by Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira
Consecration9 March 1975
by Agnelo Rossi
Created cardinal28 June 1988
by Pope John Paul II
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born
Alexandre José Maria dos Santos

(1924-03-18)18 March 1924
Died29 September 2021(2021-09-29) (aged 97)
Maputo, Mozambique
MottoServir e não ser servido ("To serve, not to be served")
Coat of armsAlexandre José Maria dos Santos's coat of arms
The Coat of arms of Alexandre Jose Maria dos Santos, who was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

Ecclesiastical career

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Dos Santos was born in Zavala, Mozambique. He studied in Nyasaland and Lisbon before being ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1953, becoming the first black Mozambican to receive the distinction.[3] In 1973 he became the first African to run a seminary in Mozambique.[4] He was archbishop of Maputo, between 1975 and 2003. On 26 June 1988, he was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II, and given the titular church of San Frumenzio ai Prati Fiscali.[5] He was instrumental in the peace process surrounding the end of the Mozambican Civil War.[3] He did not participate in the conclaves of 2005 and 2013, because he was over the age limit by then.

References

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  1. ^ As the Archbishop of Maputo after it was renamed.
  2. ^ The Archdiocese became the Maputo archdiocese but it held as a different position.
  3. ^ a b Darch, Colin (2018). Historical Dictionary of Mozambique. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-5381-1135-2. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  4. ^ Morier-Genoud, Éric (2019). Catholicism and the Making of Politics in Central Mozambique, 1940-1986. Boydell & Brewer. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-58046-941-8. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  5. ^ Cardinal Title S. Frumenzio ai Prati Fiscali GCatholic.org
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Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Archbishop of Maputo
23 December 1974 – 22 February 2003
Succeeded by
Titular church created Cardinal Priest of San Frumenzio ai Prati Fiscali
28 June 1988 – 29 September 2021
Succeeded by