Manuel Clemente

Manuel was born on 16 July 1948 at Torres Vedras, Portugal, to Francisco de Nascimento Clemente and Maria Sofia Correia Lopes Macário.[1] He entered the Major Seminary of Christ the King of the Groves in 1973 and graduated from the University of Lisbon a year later with a degree in history. He also received a degree in theology in 1979 at the Catholic University of Portugal where he taught Church History beginning in 1975. He also received a Doctorate in Historical Theology with his thesis titled "On the origins of contemporary apostolate in Portugal: The "Catholic Society" (1843–1853)".[2]

Manuel was ordained a priest on 29 June 1979 by Patriarch of Lisbon, António Ribeiro at the age of 31. From then on, he attained several positions. He became the director of Center for the Study of Religious History from 2000-2007. he became the member of the Scientific Society of the Catholic University since 1993 and became Associate Academic Correspondent of the Portuguese Academy of History from 1996. Manuel also became the head of the Foundation for Science and Technology's projects: Church and social movements: Catholic organizations in Portugal in the twentieth century (1993–1995) and The Catholic movement and the presence Church in Portuguese society (1996–1998).

When Manuel was ordained, he was assigned as parochial vicar of Runa in Torres Vedras. In 1989 he was appointed canon of the Lisbon Cathedral and the vice-rector of the Major Seminary of Christ the King Of The Groves until 1997, when he was appointed as president. He was the Coordinator of the Patriarchate in 1996 and coordinator of the Preparatory Commission of the Presbytery Assembly for Jubilee 2000. He is the author of a vast work of historiography, especially titles like Portugal and the Portuguese and a single purpose published in 2009 and Portuguese Church and Society, the Republic of Liberalism.

Manuel was appointed Patriarch of Lisbon on 18 May 2013 when Pope Francis accepted the resignation of José Policarpo.[4][5] He was enthroned on 6 July 2013 at the Lisbon Cathedral and made his solemn entry to the Jerónimos Monastery the following day. In a farewell statement to the diocese of Porto, Manuel makes sure that "the heart has no distance, only depth plus".[6] Because the Patriarch of Lisbon is the Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lisbon, Manuel received the pallium in a ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica on 29 June.

The Portuguese Episcopal Conference elected him president in 2013 and re-elected him to a three-year term in 2014.[7]

Pope Clement XII, by the Bull Inter praecipuas apostolici ministerii dated 17 February 1737, established that the person appointed Patriarch of Lisbon would be elevated to the rank of cardinal in the next consistory. Pope Francis disregarded this and did not make Manuel a cardinal in 2014[8] but on 14 February 2015 in the second consistory following his appointment as patriarch.[9]

In a message left on the website of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic, President Cavaco Silva congratulated Manuel "by this proof of distinction and appreciation of His Holiness Pope Francis." The selection of the bishop of Porto for the position of Patriarchate of Lisbon represented, he wrote, "recognition of the route server of church and academic illustrious man of culture and exemplary citizen." "Portuguese society, which he knows so well, recalls his lucid interventions, moderate, and the deep sense of their social and humanistic action attributes as relevant at the time of great need facing the country," he added. The Foreign Ministry welcomed the appointment with "the warm enthusiasm that deserves the personality of the current Bishop of Porto." "D. Manuel Clemente is recognized as a man of faith, culture and social sensitivity."

On 4 January 2015, Pope Francis announced that he would make him a cardinal on 14 February.[10] At that ceremony, he was assigned the titular church of Sant'Antonio in Campo Marzio.[11]

On 13 April 2015 he was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Clergy and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.[12]

• Cardinals created by Pope Francis

• "Clemente Card. Manuel". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
• "D. Manuel Clemente (2007–2013)" (in Portuguese). Diocese de Porto. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
• "D. Manuel José Macário do Nascimento Clemente" (in Portuguese). Patriarchy of Lisbon. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2018.