Profile
José Tolentino de Mendonça, born on Madeira Island, is a theologian, poet, translator, columnist, playwright, and university professor. He graduated in Theology from the Portuguese Catholic University (1989), obtained a Master’s degree in Biblical Sciences from the Pontifical Biblical Institute (1992), and earned a PhD in Biblical Theology (2004). He served as Rector of the Pontifical Portuguese College in Rome and taught at the Portuguese Catholic University and other institutions in Brazil.
His literary work, both translated and awarded, merges spirituality and poetry. Among his most notable titles are A Construção de Jesus (2004), A noite abre meus olhos (2006), O hipopótamo de Deus (2010), Nenhum caminho será longo (2012), O Pequeno Caminho das Grandes Perguntas (2017), Elogio da Sede (2018), and Metamorfose Necessária (2022). Recognized for his intellectual and cultural activity, he has received, among others, the Pessoa Prize (2023) and the Eduardo Lourenço Prize (2025). He has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Aveiro (2023) and the Catholic University of Pernambuco (2024).
Ordained a priest in 1990, he exercised his ministry in several parishes, notably as chaplain of the Capela do Rato in Lisbon. A thinker and man of culture, he was Director of the National Secretariat for Pastoral Culture (2004–2014) and was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Culture (2011). He was elevated to Bishop (2018), appointed Titular Archbishop of Suava (2018), Cardinal Deacon of Saints Dominic and Sixtus (2019), and created Cardinal (2019) by Pope Francis. Within the Roman Curia, he has held significant roles: Director of the Vatican Apostolic Archive and Vatican Apostolic Library (2018–2022), Member of the Pontifical Council for Culture (2020–), Member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (2020–), Member of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (2022–), and Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education (2022–).
He was awarded the Grã-Cruz da Ordem Militar de Sant’Iago da Espada (2022).
