Talatona – Dom Alexandre do Nascimento celebrated Sunday the 40th anniversary of his assignment as Cardinal during a solemn Eucharist held at the S. João Paulo II Parish, Luanda.
Alexandre do Nascimento was nominated by Pope John Paul II on February 2, 1983, as cardinal-presbyter.
During the Eucharistic celebration, the apostolic nuncio to Angola and Sao Tome, Archbishop Giovanni Gaspari, said Dom Alexandre do Nascimento has worked for peace and reconciliation among Angolans.
According to the prelate, during the most difficult times in the country, Cardinal Nascimento did not allow the priests and faithful to become discouraged, mobilizing them to act together.
To Archbishop Giovanni Gaspari, Cardinal do Nascimento's message was a call to the boldness of the Gospel in a time marked by countless difficulties.
"His words resonated as a strong message for the Church and for Angolan civil society", Bishop Gaspari said.
Cardinal do Nascimento promoted the local church in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council so that the Gospel might penetrate more deeply into people's lives, the Bishop said.
Bishop Giovanni Gaspari said he considers Dom Alexandre do Nascimento's life marked by apostolic passion, lived in the service of the church with a great and faithful love for the successor of Peter, the Pope.
Title of Cardinal
Being a cardinal is a title of high ecclesiastical dignity.
Historically, cardinals are the most important and closest collaborators of the Pope.The appointment of a cardinal falls exclusively on the pope.
All the cardinals of the world form a college of a particular nature called the "college of cardinals".
One of the functions of the College of Cardinals is to elect the Pope (but only those cardinals who have not yet reached the age of 80).
Having assumed the functions of Cardinal, Alexandre Cardinal do Nascimento has participated in several consistories (meeting of cardinals to assist the Pope in his decisions).
At the age of 97, Alexandre do Nascimento is currently the oldest member of the College of Cardinals.
The number of cardinals in the world today is 223.
Achievements of Dom Alexandre
The first cardinal of the Catholic Church in Angola was born on March 1, 1925, in Malanje, where he was ordained priest in 1952 and became bishop on August 31, 1975.
In 1977 Dom Alexandre do Nascimento was named Archbishop of Lubango and further assigned as Cardinal on February 2, 1983 by Pope John Paul II.
During this period he served as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Ondjiva from 1977 to 1986.
He was Archbishop of Luanda from February 16 1986 to January 23, 2001, when he resigned.
He is currently archbishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Luanda.
He was president of Caritas International for eight years.
He presided the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé (CEAST), between 1990 and 1997.
In March 2005 he lost the right to participate in the conclaves for having reached the age of 80.
The cardinal's name is linked to the creation of the Catholic University of Angola and the reopening of Rádio Ecclesia, the Catholic Radio Station of Angola.
In 2022, the Angolan government paid tribute to Dom Alexandre do Nascimento by attributing his name to a Cardio-Pulmonary Disease Hospital Complex.
Literary Field
In the literary field, Cardinal do Nascimento is the author of many works, namely Of the man without faith - His possibilities and limits - According to Francisco Suarez, On beauty and morals, How I read the Book of Ruth, The Constitutional Experience of Modern Italy (1968), Pastoral Writings I and II.
Also part of the works launched by Cardinal Alexandre do Nascimento are Pastoral Writings I and II, On the Concept of Civilization and its Incidences, Paths of Hope and Book of Rhythms.
In 2006 he released the literary work Minhas origens e aprendizagens, which portrays his childhood and youth, as well as his seminary studies.
The religious leader has decorations from the government, Santo Domingo, of Senegal, "Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus".
On January 17, 2000, he was awarded the title of Doctor "Honoris Causa" by the Classical University of Lisbon in Portugal, on the proposal of the Faculty of Law where he was a student from 1965 to 1970.
