Archbishop Júlio Endi Akamine

Archbishop Júlio Endi Akamine, S.A.C., Archbishop of Belém do Pará, Brazil, was born on 30 November 1962 in Garça (SP). In 1975 he entered the seminary of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (SAC), the Pallottines, in Londrina (PR), where he completed studies at Saint Vincent Pallotti Minor Seminary. He made his novitiate in 1979 at Rainha da Paz Seminary in Cornélio Procópio (PR). His first consecration was on 8 December 1980 in the same city. He pursued a licentiate in philosophy at the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) from 1981 to 1983, and theology at the Studium Theologicum Claretianum from 1984 to 1987 in the Archdiocese of Curitiba (PR). He was ordained a priest on 24 January 1988 in Cambé (PR). He obtained a master's degree in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from 1993 to 1995 and a doctorate at the same university from 2001 to 2005. As a Pallottine priest he served as parochial vicar, parish priest, and rector of the Pallottine major seminary in Curitiba. He was also adviser of the Organization of Seminaries and Philosophical-Theological Institutes of Brazil (OSIB) in CNBB South 2 region. Among other functions, he served as director of the Introductory Period of the Regina Apostolorum Province in Italy (2003-2004). As a Pallottine priest, his functions included: parochial vicar at Santo Antônio Parish, Cambé (PR), from 1988 to 1990; parish priest at Santo Antônio Parish, Cambé (PR), from 1990 to 1993, in the Archdiocese of Londrina; rector of the Pallottine major seminary in Curitiba (PR), from 1996 to 2001; adviser of OSIB South 2 region from 1996 to 1998; secretariat-general of SAC for formation from 1999 to 2005; local consultor of the General House community in Rome from 2001 to 2003; director of the Introductory Period of the Regina Apostolorum Province, Italy, from 2003 to 2004; provincial secretary for formation from 2005 to 2007; and spiritual director of the Pallottine Major Seminary in Curitiba (PR), from 2006 to 2007. From 1996 to 2001 and from 2005 to 2011, he was professor of theology at the Studium Theologicum in Curitiba (PR), where he taught General Sacramental Theology, Sacraments of Christian Initiation, Ecclesiology, Trinity, Introduction to Theology, and Fundamental Theology. He was provincial rector of the Pallottine Province of São Paulo Apóstolo, based in São Paulo, from 2008 to 2011. On 4 May 2011 he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of São Paulo and served as episcopal vicar of the Lapa region. His episcopal ordination was on 9 July 2011, and his motto is "Bonum Facientes Infatigabiles" - "Do not grow tired of doing good." On 28 December 2016, Pope Francis appointed him metropolitan archbishop of Sorocaba, as the fifth bishop and third archbishop. According to the communiqué of the Apostolic Nunciature in Brazil, the pontiff accepted the resignation presented by Archbishop Eduardo Benes de Sales Rodrigues for reasons of age and appointed him Archbishop of Sorocaba (SP). Archbishop Júlio served on the Episcopal Commission for Culture and Education and was the reference bishop for the Pastoral Care of Education from 2013 to 2019. He currently presides over CNBB South 1 region.