He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Luigi Traglia on 20 December 1952, and then taught dogmatic theology at the Luanda seminary and served as chief editor of the Catholic newspaper O apostolado until 1956, whence he became preacher of the metropolitan cathedral.
Ia ditahbiskan menjadi imam oleh Uskup Agung Luigi Traglia pada 20 Desember 1952, dan kemudian mengajar teologi dogmatik di seminari Luanda dan menjabat sebagai kepala penyunting surat kabar Katolik O apostolado sampai 1956, saat ia menjadi pengkotbah katedral metropolitan.