Dom Márcio will serve the Santana region and Dom Celso Alexandre the Ipiranga region
Appointed by Pope Leo XIV, the new auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of São Paulo, Dom Márcio Antonio Vidal de Negreiros and Dom Celso Alexandretook office in a solemn mass at the Sé Cathedral, on Sunday (15). The celebration was presided over by Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, metropolitan archbishop, and concelebrated by auxiliary bishops, priests and deacons of the archdiocesan clergy, with the participation of religious and lay faithful.
During the mass, the new assistants received the provision as vicars general and episcopal in the regions where they will exercise pastoral ministry. Dom Márcio will serve the episcopal region of Santana and Dom Celso, the region of Ipiranga.
The two new auxiliary bishops are from the interior of São Paulo and have had outstanding performances in parishes in various regions of the state.
Dom Márcio Antonio Vidal de Negreiro
Dom Márcio, 68 years old, is from Dois Córregos, in the interior of São Paulo, where his parents were farmers and traders. When he was appointed bishop, on January 24th of this year, he exercised pastoral ministry as parochial vicar at Nossa Senhora Aparecida Parish, in Bragança Paulistaalso inside.
His vocational journey began in 1983, when he entered the Santo Agostinho Minor Seminary, in Bragança Paulista, where he attended high school. In 1990, he completed the canonical year of his novitiate in Bragança, professing his first religious vows in the Order of Saint Augustine in January 1991
He was ordained deacon in May 1994, in the parish of São Pedro Apostolo, in São Bernardo do Campo. THE Priestly ordination took place in November 1994in the Divino Espírito Santo parish, in his homeland.
Throughout his religious life, Friar Márcio dedicated himself intensely to ongoing formation, participating in various courses, congresses and symposiums, both in Brazil and abroad. The religious held leadership positions in the Order of Augustinians. Until he was appointed auxiliary bishop, he held the position of general secretaryl of the Organization of Augustinians of Latin America and the Caribbean (OALA).
Dom Celso Alexandre
Dom Celso Alexandre, 58 years old, is from Chavantes, and entered the Archdiocesan Seminary of São José, in Botucatu in 1991. He did his philosophical studies in Marília, graduated in Theology at the Instituto Teológico Pio XI, in São Paulo and was ordained priest in February 1999in the diocese of Lins, in the interior of São Paulo.
The then priest Celso was parish priest in six parishes in the southwest and west regions of São Paulo, most of them in the Diocese of Ourinhos, where he worked in charismatic renewal movements and cursillos of Christianity. Upon being appointed bishop, he He worked as pastor of the Cathedral and coordinator of the Pastoral in Ourinhos.
Thanks at the inauguration mass
At the inauguration mass, Dom Odilo expressed gratitude to God for the appointments: “I would like to thank God because, once again, he looked at our archdiocese, its needs and our gave the grace of having two new auxiliary bishops so needed in our archdiocese.”
The archbishop also thanked Pope Leo XIV, who responded to his request for the Church in São Paulo to have two more auxiliary bishops, and to the two new prelates for accepting the call, which implies responsibilities, service and donation to the people of God. Dom Odilo recalled that the archdiocese celebrates 280 years of creation. “May God be praised and may we all welcome them as a gift from God this year.”
At the end of the celebration, Dom Celso addressed the faithful for his first greeting as auxiliary bishop, thanking them for their welcome. “I am arriving from a reality that is a little different from the pastoral reality of a large metropolis like the city of São Paulo, but I want to say that I come to this mission entrusted to me with a very open heart, very happy, with firm purpose to continue serving God and the Church.”
Dom Márcio expressed joy, gratitude and hope upon beginning his work in the Santana region: “As I begin this episcopal ministry in the Archdiocese of São Paulo, I place myself before God and before you, with a heart full of joy, gratitude and hope.” He emphasized that the call to the episcopate is a gift and responsibility and does not intend to build personal projects. “I do not come to be served, but to serve and give life”he said, asking for prayers.
This Friday (20) at Nossa Senhora da Saúde Parish, Dom Celso presides over the mass that marks the beginning of his pastoral ministry in the Ipiranga region. Dom Márcio will celebrate his first mass as episcopal vicar for the Santana region this Saturday (21) at the Minor Basilica of Sant’Ana.
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