Why does São Paulo have four Catholic dioceses within one city? Discover the 1989 Vatican decision, its context, and lasting pastoral differences.
I am almost certain that the city of São Paulo, Brazil, represents a unique case in the ecclesiastical geography of the Catholic world. At the very least, I am not aware of any other city like it. Within a single city or municipality, there are four dioceses: the Archdiocese of São Paulo, the Diocese of Santo Amaro, the Diocese of Campo Limpo, and the Diocese of São Miguel Paulista. More often, the opposite is true—one diocese typically encompasses many cities. For example, in southern Brazil, the Diocese of Frederico Westphalen includes more than thirty municipalities.
So what happened in São Paulo? Why does one city contain four particular Dioceses? The answer lies in a decision made by the Holy See in 1989. At the time, Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns, of happy memory, was Archbishop of São Paulo. He was assisted by ten auxiliary bishops, and the Theology of Liberation enjoyed strong institutional support. In response, the Vatican chose to divide the archdiocese by elevating three ecclesiastical regions into separate dioceses and appointing more conservative bishops to govern them. The outcome was effective: the influence of the Theology of Liberation declined significantly.
An interesting—and even somewhat humorous—episode is the conversation Cardinal Arns later recounted with Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Arns traveled to Rome to request that his archdiocese not be divided. He tells the story this way: “Holy Father, please do not allow my archdiocese to be divided.” According to Cardinal Arns, the Pope agreed and assured him that the division would not happen. Encouraged, Cardinal Arns then asked the Pope to call the dicastery immediately to confirm the decision. Pope John Paul II replied, “The Pope does not make phone calls; they would not believe it was the Pope calling.” How different this seems today, after the pontificate of Pope Francis, who so often picked up the phone himself. Who would have imagined such a change back in the 1980s?
Today, the city of São Paulo has approximately 12 million inhabitants and remains divided into four dioceses. It was once a single ecclesiastical jurisdiction—the Archdiocese of São Paulo—as described above. I do not expect the canonical restructuring of 1989 to be reversed. Still, it is striking that, for example, in the Diocese of Santo Amaro most priests regularly wear clerical dress, while this practice is far less common in the Archdiocese of São Paulo. Another notable difference is that the Archdiocese has permanent deacons, while the Diocese of Santo Amaro does not. All of this takes place within the same city, among neighbors who share the same culture, history, and population.
By Edson Luiz Sampel
Professor of Canon Law – Superior Institute of Canon Law of Londrina, Brazil
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