SÃO PAULO IN BRAZIL (São Paulo), archdiocese of. – In the State of São Paulo, Brazil. It is the metropolitan see of an ecclesiastical province comprising 14 suffragan dioceses, namely all the dioceses of the State: Bocucatú, Campinas, Ribeirão Preto, São Carlos do Pinhal, Taubaté, Santos, Sorocaba, Bragança, Cafelândia, Assis, Jaboticabal, Rio Preto, Lorena, and Piracicaba.
The archdiocese covers an area of 9,146 sq. km. and has a population of 2,935,000, of whom 2,641,000 are Catholics distributed among 140 parishes. There are 197 diocesan priests and 577 religious priests; 81 male religious communities and 182 female. In São Paulo there are several theological institutes for religious, a central major seminary for the province, and a preparatory seminary; the minor seminary is located in a nearby locality. In the city there are many Catholic schools for both sexes and a Catholic university (v. below). Under the jurisdiction of the archbishops of São Paulo is also the basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida, although it lies within the boundaries of the diocese of Taubaté. The patron saint is Saint Paul, feast day January 25.
As a city, São Paulo is situated at 32° 32' 42" S latitude and 46° 34' 30" W longitude, exactly beneath the Tropic of Capricorn, at an altitude of 815 meters above sea level. It is among the largest cities in the Americas, with a distinctly cosmopolitan character; it is certainly the largest industrial city in Latin America and an extremely important political, banking, and commercial center. It is a key transportation hub linking Rio de Janeiro with the south and the coast (Santos) with the far west of Brazil, as well as a civil and military air base and the seat of a military region. Its decisive growth began 20–30 years ago, coinciding with the peak of coffee production and São Paulo’s status as the leading State in the Federation. Today its population is 1,200,000; the urban perimeter continues to expand (according to 1936–37 statistics, three houses were built every hour), and the city is characterized by skyscrapers, overpasses, and feverish activity in its squares and streets.
1. HISTORY
The origins of São Paulo go back to the original Jesuit college that the provincial Manuel da Nóbrega had built by José de Anchieta and his companions on the plains called Piratininga on January 25, 1554, for the conversion and instruction of the Indians. But the primitive *redução* was from its inception the object of the greed of the Portuguese and *mamelucos*, who sought to enslave the natives, using slander and intrigue against the Jesuits and ultimately war that drove the Indians to form the powerful Tamoyo confederation, uniting several tribes and the French of Villegagnon (v. RIO DE JANEIRO), to expel the Portuguese. To avert this disaster, the heroic courage of Fathers Nóbrega and Anchieta was required; they delivered themselves as hostages to the natives to secure a peaceful settlement (1563). For the same reason, these early conflicts between the colonists and the Jesuits continued until the suppression of the Order in Portuguese domains (1759), shortly before reaching a tragic climax in the destruction of the flourishing Paraguayan *reduções* (1756). The Paulistas, however, did not venture into the interior solely to procure slaves: they organized the famous expeditions known as *bandeiras*, which explored especially the central-western Brazilian territory, where rich gold mines were discovered and the first nuclei of many present-day cities were founded, gradually pushing back the line of Tordesillas (1493), which marked the boundary with Spanish possessions. Meanwhile, the city of São Paulo, spared the attacks of pirates that plagued the coast, became an important agricultural center, capital of the province (1709), and later the seat of a diocese established by the *motu proprio* *Candor lucis aeternae* of December 6, 1745. From the prelude to independence, proclaimed near the city (September 7, 1822), São Paulo became a leading political center in the life of the nation, both during the Regency (1831–40), in the campaigns for the abolition of slavery (1888), in the proclamation of the Republic (1889), and in more recent times.
Since its erection as a diocese, São Paulo has had the following bishops: Bernardo Rodrigues Nogueira (1745–48); Antônio da Madre de Deus Galvão (1750–64); Manuel da Ressurreição (1771–89); Mateus de Abreu Pereira (1797–1824); Manuel Joaquim Gonçalves de Andrade (1827–47); Antônio Joaquim de Melo (1852–61); Sebastião Pinto do Rego (1863–68); Lino Deodato de Carvalho (1873–94); Joaquim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti (1894–97); Antônio Cândido de Alvarenga (1897–1903); José Camargo Barros (1904–06); Duarte Leopoldo e Silva (1907–08). Then, by the decree *Divina animarum* of June 7, 1908, it received metropolitan status with the division of its territory and the creation of several episcopal sees. Its archbishops have been: Duarte Leopoldo e Silva (1908–38); José Gaspar de Afonso e Silva (1939–43); Cardinal Carlos Carmelo de Vasconcelos Mota (since 1944).
The present Catholic life of the archdiocese has been splendidly manifested in the Fourth National Eucharistic Congress (1942), in social works, in the spiritual exercises of Marian Congregations, and in the Catholic University, recently founded (1945). In the development of religious life over past centuries, the Abbey of Saint Benedict and the convent of the Carmelites exerted considerable influence; today they occupy new and artistic premises. Also noteworthy are some modern and ancient churches in the city and nearby localities (Itá), the archiepiscopal curia, which houses an interesting religious museum. The architectural and sculptural work that rightly constitutes the pride of the archdiocese and the city is the grand Gothic-style cathedral, still under construction; once completed, it will be one of the most notable religious monuments in the New World.
Maurílio César de Lima
II. THE CULTURAL CENTER
São Paulo is also a flourishing cultural center, and its scientific, educational, and training institutions are among the most esteemed in the country.2. The Seminary
Declared a central seminary by the decisions of the Plenary Congregation of July 7, 1932, it has accommodated, since 1934, students of philosophy and theology from over twenty dioceses in central Brazil; it is subject to an episcopal commission of oversight and governed (CIC, can. 1357 § 4) by special norms of the Holy See issued March 25, 1936. The new building was inaugurated on March 19, 1934, on the historic Ipiranga hill (hence the name *Seminário Central da Imaculada Conceição do Ipiranga*). Its Faculty of Theology *Nossa Senhora da Assunção*, which began academic courses on March 7, 1950, is one of the faculties affiliated with the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. The Metropolitan Minor Seminary *Imaculado Coração de Maria*, which for over 40 years, directed by the Premonstratensians of the Abbey of Averbode (Belgium), operated in Pirapora do Bom Jesus, has also received a new magnificent seat in São Roque, inaugurated on March 25, 1949; it is entrusted to the diocesan clergy.2. The Catholic University
Decided immediately after the 4th National Eucharistic Congress of 1942 by the episcopate of the State of São Paulo, its realization was carried out by the founding body São Paulo (Fundação São Paulo), established on 10 October 1945, whose president is ex officio the metropolitan archbishop. With legislative decree no. 9632 of 22 August 1946, which approved its statutes, it was recognized as a free university and equated with state universities. In the following year, canonical erection took place, with the conferral of the title of Pontifical (decree of the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities of Studies *Mira bonorum*, 25 January 1947: AAS, 39 [1947], pp. 134-135), and the related approval of ecclesiastical statutes (11 February 1947). The archbishop of São Paulo serves as its Grand Chancellor.
It presents a somewhat singular juridical aspect due to its federative character, which respects the juridical personality and economic autonomy of the individual institutions. It is composed, in fact, of three categories of faculties or institutions: incorporated, i.e., those administered and maintained directly by the São Paulo Foundation, the founding body of the University; aggregated, those recognized by the federal government that are part of the University without being maintained by it, remaining under the ownership and direction of their respective founding societies and supporters; and complementary, any other cultural and technical institution linked to the life or purposes of the University. a) The incorporated faculties are: the Paulista Faculty of Law (founded on 10 October 1945 and recognized by governmental decree on 17 December 1948), based in São Paulo; the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences, and Letters of São Bento, in São Paulo, founded by the Benedictines on 13 June 1908 and recognized on 12 November 1940, which, previously entrusted to the University of Labor, was ceded to the São Paulo Foundation in 1946. b) The aggregated faculties are: the Female Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences, and Letters of the Sedes Sapientiae Institute, founded in 1932 by the Canonesses of St. Augustine, in São Paulo; the three faculties in Campinas: Philosophy, Sciences, and Letters (1941), Law (1952), and Economic Sciences (1941), governed and maintained by the Sociedade Campineira de Educação e Instrução (Diocese of Campinas); the Faculty of Industrial Engineering, established in São Paulo in 1946 by the Foundation of Applied Sciences; the Faculty of Economic Studies, founded in 1938 by the Lyceum of the Sacred Heart and recognized on 15 July 1948; the Faculty of Theology of Our Lady of the Assumption of the Central Seminary (v. above). c) The complementary institutions are: the School of Social Service, founded in 1936 by the Center for Social Studies and Action; the Caspar Libero School of Journalism, established in 1947 by the eponymous Foundation. d) The following also operate under the auspices of the University: the Faculty of Medicine of Sorocaba and the Faculty of Dentistry of Campinas, founded in 1949. This considerable complex confers great importance upon the young Athenaeum. A new and spacious seat was inaugurated on 22 August 1950 for the two incorporated faculties in São Paulo. The University’s coat of arms: *Sapientia - et augebitur scientia*.
St. Paul of the Alberta, Diocese of
City and diocese in the province of Alberta (Canada). The first mission at St. Paul was established by Fr. J. A. Therien, O.M.I., under the name of St-Paul-des-Métis. Therien left Edmonton for his new mission on 8 July 1896.
The diocese of St. Paul was erected by Pius XII on 17 July 1948 by separating it from the archdiocese of Edmonton, Alberta. The diocese covers an area of 45,000 km² with a Catholic population (1941) of 24,795 Latin-rite (of whom 10,599 are French-speaking and 239 English-speaking) and 938 Ukrainian-rite. Non-Catholics number 42,739. There are 29 Latin-rite diocesan priests and 19 Eastern religious (Redemptorists); they exercise the sacred ministry in 34 churches, 41 missions, and 27 stations. The diocese also has 7 hospitals, 1 school for Indigenous peoples, and 17 female institutes.