Francis issued a decree attesting to the heroic virtues of the Servant of God José Antônio Maria Ibiapina, a Brazilian priest who lived in the 19th century, and who has now been made venerable.
Newsroom(01/04/2025 19:17, Gaudium Press) Bishop Aldemiro Sena of Guarabira, Paraíba, made the announcement on Rádio Integração FM and asked that all the bells in the churches of the diocese be rung at 12 noon as a gesture of recognition.
Born in Sobral, Ceará, Brazil, José Antônio Maria Ibiapina, now venerable, was born on August 5, 1806. He entered the seminary in Olinda (Pernambuco) in 1823, where he stayed for only three months due to the premature death of his mother.
When the anti-Lusitanian revolt broke out in 1824, during which his father and brother were arrested as rebels, the former executed and the latter sentenced to exile, José was forced to dedicate himself to studying law in order to be able to practice a profession and support his sisters, who continued to live in poverty.
After graduating in law, he became a teacher and then a magistrate and police chief in the town of Quixeramobim, Ceará. On May 2, 1834, he was elected to the National Parliament and was entrusted with chairing the Criminal Justice Commission.
In 1835, he presented a bill to prevent the landing of slaves from Africa in Brazilian territory. But as his attempts to improve the judicial system were unsuccessful, he resigned as a judge and, once his term was over, did not renew his candidacy for Parliament and moved to Recife to practice law alongside the poorest.
In 1850, he abandoned his legal career, retreated into solitude and returned to cultivating his original vocation and, in 1853, was ordained a priest. He was entrusted with various tasks in the diocese of Paraíba and during the cholera epidemic he gave himself unreservedly, so much so that the people called him a “pilgrim of charity”.
He founded several shelters for health care, cultural and moral education, religious and vocational training in the regions of Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte. He also organized missions and built churches, chapels, hospitals and orphanages.
At the end of 1875, he suffered progressive paralysis of his lower limbs and was forced to move around in a wheelchair. Having deteriorated irreversibly, he died on February 19, 1883.
He was recognized as venerable for his exemplary existence, for having lived an intense faith, nourished by constant prayer and the Eucharist and evidenced by his constant trust in God and his Providence in every choice of life. The reputation for holiness that accompanied him during his life continued after his death, accompanied by testimonies of grace.
The commission for the Cause of Beatification and Canonization of Father Ibiapina has also released the official image of veneration.
With information from the CNBB
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
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