# Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olinda e Recife

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife (Latin: Archidioecesis Metropolitae Olindensis et Recifensis) is a Latin metropolitan archdiocese in northeast Brazil's Pernambuco state.

## Special churches

* Its cathedral archiepiscopal see is a World Heritage Site (Minor): Catedral Metropolitana São Salvador do Mundo, in Olinda
* Its Co-Cathedral is São Pedro dos Clérigos, dedicated to Saint Peter of Clerics, in Recife
* Further it has Minor Basilicas :
** Basílica Abacial do Mosteiro de São Bento de Olinda, in Olinda
** Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Carmo, in Recife
** Basílica Nossa Senhora de Penha, Pernambuco
** Basílica Sagrado Coração de Jesus, Recife
** Basílica Santuário de Nossa Senhora Auxiliadora, in Jaboatão dos Guararapes
* Historic churches
** Capela Dourada, Recife
** Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição dos Militares, Recife
** Igreja dos Santos Cosme e Damião, Igarassu
** Igreja e Convento de Santo Antônio, Igarassu

## History

* Established on 17 July 1614 as Territorial Prelature of Pernambuco, on territory split off from the then Diocese of São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos
* Promoted on 11 November 1676 and renamed after its see as Diocese of Olinda
* Lost territories repeatedly: on 1677.08.30 to establish Diocese of São Luís do Maranhão, on 1854.06.06 to establish Diocese of Ceará, on 1892.04.27 to establish Diocese of Paraiba and on 1900.07.02 to establish Diocese of Alagôas
* Promoted on 5 December 1910 as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Olinda, having lost territory to establish the Diocese of Floresta, its suffragan
* Renamed on 26 July 1918 as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Olinda e Recife, reflecting its double see
* Lost territories repeatedly again : on 1918.08.02 to establish Diocese of Garanhuns and Diocese of Nazaré, on 1948.08.07 to establish Diocese of Caruaru, and on 1962.01.13 to establish Diocese of Palmares.

## Ecclesiastical province

Its Suffragan sees are :
* Roman Catholic Diocese of Afogados da Ingazeira
* Roman Catholic Diocese of Caruaru
* Roman Catholic Diocese of Floresta, a daughter
* Roman Catholic Diocese of Garanhuns, a daughter
* Roman Catholic Diocese of Nazaré, a daughter
* Roman Catholic Diocese of Palmares, its junior daughter
* Roman Catholic Diocese of Pesqueira
* Roman Catholic Diocese of Petrolina
* Roman Catholic Diocese of Salgueiro

## Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 3,804,000 Catholics (94.5% of 4,024,000 total) on 4,058 km² in 114 parishes and 689 missions with 277 priests (122 diocesan, 155 religious), 32 deacons, 1,143 lay religious (251 brothers, 892 sisters) with 63 seminarians.

## Bishops

(all Roman Rite)

### Episcopal ordinaries
#### Suffragan Bishops of Olinda

* Estevão Brioso de Figueiredo (born Portugal) (16 Nov 1676 - 27 Sep 1683), next Bishop of Funchal (Madeira, Portugal (27 Sep 1683 – death 1689.05.20)
* João Duarte do Sacramento not possessed (1685 - death 1685)
* Matias de Figueiredo e Mello (12 May 1687 - death 18 July 1694 )
* Francisco de Lima (Lemos) (born Portugal) (22 August 1695 - death 29 April 1704), previously Bishop of São Luís do Maranhão (Brazil) (1691.12.19 – 22 August 1695)
* Manuel Alvares da Costa (born Portugal) (7 June 1706 - 20 Jan 1721), next Bishop of Angra (Portugal) (1721.01.20 – death 1733.01.10)
* José de Fialho (born Portugal) (21 Feb 1725 - 3 Sep 1738), next Metropolitan Archbishop of (São Salvador da) Bahia (Brazil) (1738.09.03 – 1741.01.02), Archbishop-Bishop of Guarda (Portugal) (1741.01.02 – 1741.03.18)
* Luiz de Santa Teresa da Cruz Salgado de Castilho (born Portugal) (3 Sep 1738 - death 17 Nov 1757)
* Francisco Xavier Aranha (17 Nov 1757 - death 5 Oct 1771), previously Titular Bishop of Thermopylæ (1754.02.11 – 1757.11.17) as Coadjutor Bishop of Olinda (1754.02.11 – 1757.11.17)
* Francisco da Assumpção e Brito (born Portugal) (8 March 1773 - 20 Dec 1773), next Metropolitan Archbishop of Goa (then Portuguese India) (1773.12.20 – retired 1783.06.23), died 1808
* Tomaz da Encarnação da Costa e Lima (18 April 1774 - died 14 Jan 1784)
* Diego de Jesus Jardim (14 Feb 1785 - 21 Feb 1794), next Bishop of Elvas (Portugal) (1794.02.21 – death 1796.05.30)
* José Joaquim da Cunha Azeredo Coutinho (12 Sep 1794 - 6 Oct 1806), next Bishop of Elvas (Portugal) (1806.10.06 – death 1821.09.12)
* José Maria de Araújo (born Portugal) (6 Oct 1806 - death 21 Sep 1809)
* Antônio de São José Bastos (15 March 1815 - death 19 July 1819)
* ? Tomaz de Noronha e Brito (1828 – 1829) (23 June 1828 - death 6 March 1829)
* ? Tomas Manoel de Noronha e Britto (born Portugal) (23 June 1828 - death 6 March 1829)
* João da Purificação Marques Perdigão (28 Feb 1831 - retired 30 April 1864), previously Bishop of Cochin (India) (1819.12.17 – 1828.06.23); died 1874
    BIOS to ELABORATE
* Francisco Cardoso Aires (20 Dec 1867 - 12 May 1870)
* Vital Maria Gonçalves de Oliveira (21 May 1871 - 4 July 1878)
* José Pereira da Silva Barros (7 Jan 1881 - 25 June 1891), appointed Bishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro
* João Fernando Santiago Esberard (Esberrard) (born Spain) (12 May 1891 - 12 Sep 1893), appointed Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro
* Manoel dos Santos Pereira (12 Sep 1893 - 25 April 1900 )
* Luís Raimundo da Silva Brito (23 Feb 1901 - 5 Dec 1910 see below)

#### Metropolitan Archbishops of Olinda

* Luís Raimundo da Silva Brito (see above 5 Dec 1910- 9 Dec 1915)
* Sebastião (Leme) da Silveira Cintra (29 April 1916 - 29 April 1918 see below)

#### Metropolitan Archbishops of Olinda & Recife

* Sebastião (Leme) da Silveira Cintra (see above 29 April 1918 - 15 March 1921), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro; future Cardinal
* Miguel de Lima Valverde † (10 Feb 1922 - 7 May 1951)
* Antônio de Almeida Moraes Junior † (17 Nov 1951 - 23 April 1960), appointed Archbishop of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro
* Carlos Gouveia Coelho [de; fi; it; pt] † (23 April 1960 - 7 March 1964 )
* Helder Pessoa Câmara † (12 March 1964 - 2 April 1985), world-famous liberation theology icon
* José Cardoso Sobrinho (2 April 1985 - 16 August 2009)
* Antônio Fernando Saburido [de; pl; pt] (16 August 2009 - 14 June 2023).
* Paulo Jackson Nóbrega de Sousa (14 June 2023 - ...)

### Coadjutor bishops

* Coadjutor Bishop: Francisco Xavier Aranha (1754.02.11 – 1757.11.17)
* Coadjutor Bishop: João Fernando Santiago Esberard (Esberrard) (1890.06.26 – 1891.05.12); future Archbishop
* Coadjutor Archbishop: João Irineu Joffily (1914.08.18 – 1916.05.04), did not succeed to see; appointed Bishop of Amazonas
* Coadjutor Archbishop: João Batista Portocarrero Costa (1953.07.03 – 1959.01.06), did not succeed to see

### Auxiliary bishops

* Auxiliary Bishop: José Lamartine Soares (1962.11.16 – 1985.04.02), appointed Archbishop of Maceió, Alagoas
* Auxiliary Bishop: Hilário Moser (1988.08.17 – 1992.05.27), appointed Bishop of Tubarão, Santa Catarina
* Auxiliary Bishop: João Evangelista Martins Terra, S.J. (1988.08.17 – 1994.06.15), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Brasília, Distrito Federal
* Auxiliary Bishop: Bishop Fernando Antônio Saburido, O.S.B. (2000.05.31 – 2005.05.18), appointed Bishop of Sobral, Ceara (later returned here as Archbishop)

### Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Jerónimo Thomé da Silva, appointed Bishop of Belém do Pará in 1890
* Francisco do Rêgo Maia, appointed Bishop of Niterói (Nictheroy) in 1893
* Augusto Álvaro da Silva, appointed Bishop of Floresta in 1912; future Cardinal
* Ricardo Ramos de Castro Vilela, appointed Bishop of Nazaré, Pernambuco in 1919
* João Tavares de Moura, appointed Bishop of Garanhuns, Pernambuco in 1919
* José Pereira Alves, appointed Bishop of Natal in 1922