The new Bishop of the Algarve today called for a Church “where no one feels excluded” and with a “doors wide open” approach, capable of responding to the reality of a region where people from every continent arrive and different cultures and religious beliefs coexist, in what was his first homily in the role.
The recently appointed Bishop of the Algarve spoke on Saturday morning, 19 September, at Faro Cathedral during the Mass marking his installation. Bishop Vitorino Soares said the region’s particular circumstances represented “an enormous pastoral challenge”, but also “an extraordinary missionary opportunity”.
“The Algarve has a very particular vocation, and you know this better than I do, as I am only beginning this journey. It is a land of encounter, a land open to the sea, a land where people arrive from every continent, a land where different cultures and religious beliefs live side by side,” he said.
For the bishop, everyone who visits the region should find “not only beaches and landscapes, but a living, welcoming and evangelising Church, a Church with doors wide open”, where it is possible to discover Christ “in human beings with real faces, in united and animated groups, in strong and supportive institutions”.
The vision he set out also extends to Algarve society itself, with references to “politics, the economy, entrepreneurship, education” and “health”, in a reflection also drawn by Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas.
Drawing on an idea contained in paragraph 15 of the document, he argued that progress “always springs from a heart open to others and from a will that seeks what unites us rather than what separates us”.
Later, he quoted directly from the same encyclical: “No single hand is sufficient to bear the weight of the challenges afflicting the world; and no hand is so weak that it cannot make its contribution.”
“Tensions and differences should not intimidate us, because, when guided by a shared sense of responsibility, they can become creative forces. Let us choose the clarity that illuminates and the frankness that opens up new paths,” he added.
Explaining the mission he is now beginning in the region, Bishop Vitorino Soares also stressed that the bishop “is not the owner of the flock”, while highlighting the diversity of those who live in or pass through the Algarve.
“It is Christ who knows every family in this Diocese of the Algarve, every parish, every priest, every deacon, every consecrated person, every catechist, every young person, every elderly person, every fisherman, farmer, worker, entrepreneur, migrant and tourist who lives in or passes through this blessed land. I, as bishop, am called to learn the gaze of the Good Shepherd,” he said.
The homily also made clear his intention to continue the pastoral path already being pursued by the diocese and to build on the legacy of his predecessor, Bishop Manuel Quintas.
“To Bishop Manuel Quintas, whom I have the responsibility of succeeding, I ask that he leave me his mantle of wisdom, strength and prudence, so that I may continue, with zeal and joy, the legacy he leaves us, his heart as a Shepherd and his spiritual fatherhood,” he said.
Referring to the Diocese’s Pastoral Plan for the past three-year period, he was equally unequivocal: “We will not stop.”
Following “Joyful in Hope” and “Patient in Tribulation”, the motto for this period is “Persevering in Prayer”, he recalled. The bishop also pointed to next Saturday’s Diocesan Assembly as a “space for participation, communion and mission”.
Source: Barlavento
Photo credit: Agência ECCLESIA
