José Tolentino de Mendonça

Dom José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça ComSE, ComIH (born 15 December 1965), more commonly known simply as José Tolentino (de) Mendonça is a Portuguese prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. A theologian and university professor, he is also regarded as one of the most original voices of modern Portuguese literature and a Catholic intellectual. His work includes poetry, essays and plays.

His Eminence

José Tolentino de Mendonça

ComSE ComIH
Librarian and Archivist of the Holy Roman Church
Cardinal De Mendonça on 6 October 2019
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
Appointed1 September 2018
PredecessorJean-Louis Bruguès
Other postsCardinal-Deacon of Santi Domenico e Sisto (2019-)
Orders
Ordination28 July 1990
by Teodoro de Faria
Consecration28 July 2018
by Manuel III, Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon
Created cardinal5 October 2019
by Pope Francis
RankCardinal-Deacon
Personal details
Birth nameJosé Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça
Born (1965-12-15) 15 December 1965
Machico, Madeira, Portugal
NationalityPortuguese
DenominationCatholic
OccupationWriter, academic, administrator
Previous postTitular Archbishop of Suava (2018-19)
Alma mater
MottoConsiderate lilia agri - Mt 6,28
Coat of arms

An archbishop since July 2018, he has been Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church since 1 September 2018. Pope Francis created him cardinal on 5 October 2019.

Biography

Family

The youngest of five children, de Mendonça was born on the island of Madeira, Portugal on 15 December 1965. He spent his earliest years in Angola, in several coastal towns where his father was a fisherman. He left Africa at the age of nine when Portugal withdrew from its African colonies.[1]

Priest and Academic

In 1989, he graduated with the equivalent of a bachelor's degree in theology from the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP). He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Funchal, Madeira, on 28 July 1990.[2] That same year he published his first book of poems, Os Dias Contados.[1] In 1992, he was awarded a master's degree in biblical sciences at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. In 2004, he earned a doctorate in biblical theology at the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP).[2]

He has fulfilled pastoral assignments, first of all at the parish of Nossa Senhora do Livramento in Funchal from 1992 to 1995, then as chaplain at the UCP for 5 years. He next served the parish of Santa Isabel in Lisbon and then became rector of the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Bonanza, better known as Capela do Rato, in 2010.[3][4]

De Mendonça's assignments following his ordination included academic appointments as a lecturer at the diocesan seminary of Funchal, the rector of the Pontifical Portuguese College in Rome, and a lecturer at the Portuguese Catholic University. He was visiting professor the Catholic University of Pernambuco (Unicap), Brazil, the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and the Jesuit School of Philosophy and Theology of Belo Horizonte (Faje).[2] In Lisbon, he joined the UCP faculty as an assistant (1996-1999), assistant professor (2005-2015), and associate professor. The UCP appointed him Vice-Rector in 2012 and Dean of the Faculty of Theology in 2018.[5] During the academic year 2011-12, he was a Straus Fellow at New York University, joining an international team of researchers working on the theme "Religion and Public Reason".[3][6]

At the service of culture

De Mendonça was the first director of the National Secretariat of the Pastoral of Culture from 2004 to 2014, an institution created by the Portuguese Episcopal Conference to promote dialogue between the Church and the broader cultural milieu of the country.[7]

After attending a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI bringing together a large number of artists in 2009, he said that the Pope's gesture of hospitality was appreciated. Benedict pointed out that "within the Church, within the Christian space, they have their home, a sort of homeland".[8] In 2011 Benedict XVI appointed him a consultor of the Pontifical Council for Culture.[9] Pope Francis reappointed him to this position in 2016.

In 2018 Pope Francis invited de Mendonça to preach the Lenten Retreat of the Roman Curia.[10][11] Besides the Bible, his comments referenced many writers, such as Fernando Pessoa, Roland Barthes, Clarice Lispector, Françoise Dolto, Etty Hillesum and Blaise Pascal. He commented: "Sometimes writers are important spiritual masters."[1] He also mentioned that he tells his biblical students that "a biblical scholar or a priest must see many movies, listen to a lot of music and get in touch with the arts world". These sermons were published under the title Elogio da Sede with a preface by Pope Francis.[12]

In January 2020, de Mendonça was part of the scientific commission for the 700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri's death (1265-1321) organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture.[13]

In February 2020, Pope Francis appointed de Mendonça as a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture, chaired by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi. De Mendonça had been a consultor between 2011 and 2018. [14]

On June 13th, 2020, de Mendonça is laureate of Prémio Europeu Helena Vaz da Silva because of "the ability he shows in spreading beauty and poetry as part of the intangible cultural heritage of Europe and the world".[15]


De Mendonça has published numerous collections of essays, spiritual writings, poems and sermons under the name José Tolentino Mendonça. This work addresses the major themes of the Christian canon by placing them in dialogue with life. The relationship between Christianity and culture is at the heart of his writings. As a theologian and religious thinker, he has sought to discover spiritual life in places which have not always been looked at, and he has striven to encourage the Church to be more relevant and more engaged there. His books have been great successes in Portugal and are increasingly translated and published abroad. He has received numerous literary prizes and awards.[16][17][18][19]

Bishop and cardinal

At the end of June 2018, Pope Francis named de Mendonça Vatican archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church as of September 1 and appointed him titular archbishop of Suava.[2] On July 28, Archbishop Manuel Clemente, Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, consecrated him a bishop assisted by Cardinal António Marto, Bishop of Leiria-Fátima, and Teodoro de Faria, Bishop Emeritus of Funchal who had ordained him a priest in July 1990.[20]

De Mendonça, Belém, 28.07.2018

On 5 October 2019, Pope Francis made him a Cardinal Deacon and assigned him the church of Santi Domenico e Sisto in Rome.[21] He was made a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture on 21 February 2020.[22]


De Mendonça, July 2018
De Mendonça at Capela do Rato, on 22. July 2018

Writings

in Portuguese
  • ‘’Os dias contados’’ (poetry, 1990)
  • ‘’As estratégias do desejo: um discurso bíblico sobre a sexualidade’’ (essay, 1994)
  • ‘’Longe não sabia’’ (poetry, 1997)
  • ‘’A que distância deixaste o coração (poetry, 1998)
  • ‘’Se eu quiser falar com Deus (1996)
  • ‘’Baldios’’ (poetry, 1999)
  • ‘’Cântico dos Cânticos’’ (1999)
  • ‘’De Igual para Igual’’ (poetry, 2000)
  • ’’A construção de Jesus: uma leitura narrativa de Lucas 7,36-50’’ (essay, 2004)
  • ‘’A estrada branca’’ (poetry, 2005)
  • ’’Perdoar Helena’’ (play, 2005)
  • ‘’Tábuas de pedra’’ (poetry, 2006)
  • ‘’A noite abre os meus olhos’’ (poetry, 2006)
  • ‘’A leitura infinita. Bíblia e interpretação’’ (essay,2008)
  • ‘’O Viajante sem sono’’ (poetry, 2009)
  • ‘’Histórias escolhidas da Bíblia’’ (2009)
  • ‘’O tesouro escondido’’ (essay, 2011)
  • ‘’Um deus que dança’’ (essay, 2011)
  • ‘’Pai-nosso que estais na terra’’ (essay, 2011)
  • ‘’Nenhum caminho será longo’’ (essay, 2012)
  • ‘’O hipopótamo de Deus’’ (essay, 2013)
  • ‘’Os rostos de Jesus’’ (2013)
  • ‘’A papoila e o monge’’ (poetry, 2013)
  • ’’O estado do bosque’’ (poetry, 2013)
  • ‘’A mística do instante’’ (essay, 2014)
  • ‘’A leitura infinita’’ (essay, 2014)
  • ‘’Estação central’’ (poetry, 2015)
  • ‘’Que coisa são as nuvens’’ (a selection of the best stories published by the weekly Expresso, 2015)
  • ‘’Esperar contra toda a esperança’’ (essay, 2015)
  • ‘’Desporto, ética e transcendência’’ (essay, 2015)
  • ‘’A construção de Jesus’’ (essay, 2015)
  • ‘’Corrigir os que erram’’ (essay, 2016)
  • ‘’Teoria da fronteira’’ (poetry, 2017)
  • ‘’O pequeno caminho das grandes perguntas‘’ (essay, 2017)
  • ‘’Elogio da sede’’ (essays delivered at the Lenten retreat preached before the pope and the Roman Curia, 2018)[23]
  • ‘’Requiem pela Aurora de Amanhã’’ (libretto for a work composed by João Madureira marking the centenary of the end of World War I; it premiered on 20 July 2018 in the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém.)[24]
  • ‘’Nos passos de Etty Hillesum’’, with co-editor Filipe Condado (photos) , (photobiography, 2019)
  • ‘’Uma Beleza que nos Pertence (Aforismos)‘’ (essay, 2019)
  • ‘’Palavra e Vida 2020 O Evangelho comentado cada dia‘’(commentary of each daily gospel of the year, 2019)
  • ‘’O que é amar um país‘’ (essay, 2020)

in English
  • Hidden Treasure: The Art of Searching Within (Alba House, 2014)
  • Our Father who Art on Earth: The Lord's Prayer for Believers and Unbelievers (Paulist Press, 2013)
  • No Journey Will Be Too Long: Friendship in Christian Life (Paulist Press, 2015)
  • Religion and Culture in the Process of Global Change: Portuguese Perspectives, with co-editors Alfredo Teixeira, Alexandre Palma (Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change, Series VIII, Vol. 19, Council for Research in Values & Philosophy, 2016)
  • Jesus and the Woman: Revealing God's Mercy (Paulist Press, 2017)
  • Thirst: Our Desire for God, God's Desire for Us (Paulist Press, 2019), retreat preached before the Pope and the Roman Curia during Lent 2018

Honours and Awards

Honours

Coat of Arms
Coat of arms of Cardinal Tolentino de Mendonça
Adopted
5 October 2019
Coronet
Galero of a Cardinal of the Catholic Church
Escutcheon
Gules, an Lilium Or
Supporters
Patriarchal cross
Motto
Considerate lilia agri - Mt 6,28 (Latin for "Consider the field of lilies")
Symbolism
The lily alludes to Saint Joseph, the source of the Cardinal's given name.
Previous versions
When made an archbishop in 2018, Tolentino de Mendonça adopted a more complex coat of arms. Party per pall: the first Gules, an Elephant forcené Or; the second Or, a Lilium proper; the third Argent, an open Book proper bound Gules with the Greek letter Α on the dexter page and the Greek letter Ω on the sinister page both Gules.

Awards

Others
  • Top 100 Most Influential Portuguese of 2012 by Expresso magazine (2012)
  • In June 2019, the weekly magazine of Expresso included de Mendonça on its list of the fifty "mighty, influent, innovative, provocative and eminent people who marked our life during the past year".[37]
  • The editorial team at Expresso chose de Mendonça as their Portuguese personality of the year for 2019.[38]
  • January 2020: de Mendonça is part of the scientific commission for the 700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri's death (1265-1321) chaired by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi. An initiative organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture.[39]
  • The President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, chooses Tolentino de Mendonça to preside over the ceremony marking Portugal Day of 10 June 2020 in the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém[40] [41]
gollark: Technically, it's an interrobang, and not a ?.
gollark: https://www.strawpoll.me/16097488 ← vote on xenowyrms
gollark: It's a shame there's not an IRC-like decentralized system with message history in wide use.
gollark: Many things are.
gollark: This is what happens when control of the internet moves to a few highly centralized entities.

See also

References
  1. Borga, Marcos (26 June 2018). "Tolentino Mendonça: O poeta que o Papa quis ouvir" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  2. "Resignations and Appointments, 26.06.2018" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  3. "José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça" (PDF). ucp.pt (in Portuguese). Archived from the original (pdf) on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  4. "Bem-Vindos à Capela do Rato". capeladorato.org (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  5. "Padre Jose Tolentino Mendonca novo director da faculdade de teologia" (in Portuguese).
  6. "2011-2012 Fellows". New York University Law School. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  7. "Em louvor de Tolentino Mendonça" (in Portuguese).
  8. "Priest-Poet Evaluates Pope's Meeting With Artists". Zenit. 27 November 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  9. "El sacerdote y poeta José Tolentino Mendonça, nombrado Consultor del Pontificio Consejo de la Cultura" (in Portuguese). Hijas de San Pablo. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  10. "Pope chooses Portuguese priest-poet to lead Lenten retreat". Crux. Catholic News Service. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  11. "Pope's Spiritual Exercises: Despite Our Being 'Incomplete' & 'Under Construction,' Jesus Offers Us Unconditional Love". Zenit. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  12. Gomes, João Francisco (22 April 2018). "Tolentino Mendonça: 'Achava que tinha sonhado que o Papa me tinha convidado para orientar o retiro'". El Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  13. "DANTE CENTENARY - SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE". www.cultura.va. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  14. "cardeal-tolentino-mendonca-passa-a-integrar-conselho-pontificio-da-cultura". www.setemargens.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  15. "Jose-Tolentino-Mendonca-vence-Premio-Europeu-Helena-Vaz-da-Silva". Expresso (in Portuguese). 13 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  16. António Lobo Antunes (10 May 2018). "Zé Tolentino". visao.sapo.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  17. Martins, Rui Jorge (9 October 2014). "Livros, poesia, encontros: José Tolentino Mendonça entre Macau, Paris e Lisboa". snpcultura.org (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  18. "José Tolentino Mendonça propõe o silêncio a Património Imaterial da Humanidade". cm-pvarzim.pt (in Portuguese). 24 February 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  19. "José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça". Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda (in Portuguese). 10 May 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  20. Gomes, João Francisco (28 July 2018). "Arcebispo Tolentino Mendonça continua a ser poeta. "Para mim não há diferença entre uma biblioteca e um jardim"". Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  21. "Concistoro Ordinario Pubblico: Assegnazione dei Titoli, 05.10.2019" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  22. "Rinunce e nomine, 21.02.2020" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  23. Correia, José Frazão (27 April 2018). "Elogio da Sede, Apresentação do Livro de José Tolentino Mendonça". Ponto SJ. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  24. Fernandes, Cristina (28 July 2018). "A guerra e a paz em novas criações musicais". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  25. "Jose Tolentino Mendonça, poeta, professor e cardeal". Porto Canal (in Portuguese). 1 September 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  26. Franco, Erica. "Medalha de mérito atribuída por unanimidade a Tolentino Mendonça". www.dnoticias.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  27. "José Tolentino Mendonça". wook.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  28. "Pen Clube atribui varios premios exaequo". publico.pt (in Portuguese). 27 October 2005. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  29. "Prémio Ines de Castro para Tolentino Mendonça". agencia.ecclesia.pt (in Portuguese). 30 January 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  30. "Prémio literário Casino da Póvoa". cm-pvarzim.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  31. "Trezes obras de poesia finalistas ao premio literario Casino da Póvoa-2015". publico.pt (in Portuguese). 9 January 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  32. "Autor Português recebe prémio literario". vidas.pt (in Portuguese). 19 November 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  33. "Jose Tolentino Mendonça". Quetzal Editores (in Portuguese). Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  34. "Jose Tolentino Mendonca vence grande premio de poesia teixeira de pascoaes". rr.sapo.pt (in Portuguese). 18 November 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  35. Martins, Rui Jorge (1 September 2018). "D. José Tolentino Mendonça recebe prémio do jornal italiano Avvenire e fala sobre 'Rostos e estilos de vida dos crentes'". Pastoral da Cultura (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  36. "Successo per la X edizione del "Premio Cassiodoro il Grande" al Politeama di Catanzaro". catanzarotv.net (in Italian). 18 December 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  37. "Os consagrados de Portugal". Expresso (in Portuguese). 30 June 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  38. "as-nossas-escolhas-de-2019". Expresso (in Portuguese). 21 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  39. "DANTE CENTENARY - SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE". www.cultura.va. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  40. Petinga, Tiago (24 July 2019). "Marcelo escolhe Tolentino Mendonça para presidir às comemorações do 10 de Junho de 2020". Expresso (in Portuguese). Lusa. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  41. "pode-ler-aqui-na-integra-a-intervencao-de-jose-tolentino-mendonca-no-dia-de-portugal". dnoticias (in Portuguese). 13 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
Additional sources
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Jean-Louis Bruguès		 Librarian of the Holy Roman Church
1 September 2018 – present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Archivist of the Vatican Secret Archive
1 September 2018 – 22 October 2019
Preceded by
Archives renamed		 Archivist of the Vatican Apostolic Archive
22 October 2019 – present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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