Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon Manuel Clemente this Thursday welcomed his successor, Rui Valerio, whom he described as “a warm-hearted and close pastor, ready to live up to what calls most for the benefit of everyone and the communities he serves.” .
For Manuel Clemente, the new patriarch, who worked for several years as a priest in the Patriarchate, “in everything he showed himself as a man of God, in the service of his people, with the Marian spirituality so characteristic of the founder of his Institute [Monfortinos]Saint Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort.
Henceforth, the Apostolic Administrator of the Patriarchate recalled, in a note published this Thursday, the words of Pope Francis addressed in May to the General Chapter of the Society of Mary (Monfortinos), in which he emphasized the “three values” that the Institute cultivates and especially timely: “friendliness, internationality and tenderness”.
“I am sure that these papal instructions, so consistent with what he told us in the unforgettable moments of the World Youth Day, will find their full fulfillment in the new Patriarch of Lisbon, whose diocese I become with prayer and great respect. “- wrote Manuel Clemente.
The outgoing Patriarch takes the opportunity to thank the clergy and laity of the Patriarchate for their cooperation, as well as for the accessibility he has found “in civil, public and private organizations, for everything that was intended to serve society as a whole.”
The Vatican announced this Thursday the appointment of Bishop Rui Valerio of the Armed and Security Forces as the new Patriarch of Lisbon, replacing Manuel Clemente, who resigned due to age restrictions.
Rui Valerio, 58, a native of Urqueira, Ourem municipality, was ordained a priest in 1991 in Fatima.
Belonging to the missionaries of Montfort, he was the first Portuguese priest of this congregation to be ordained a bishop.
Manuel Clemente, who has headed the Lisbon Patriarchate for the past 10 years, turned 75 on July 16, the expected age to submit his resignation from the post of head of the diocese.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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