Bishop of Petrolina
Bishop Antônio Carlos Cruz Santos, M.S.C., was born on 25 November 1961 in Rio de Janeiro, in the archdiocese of the same name. He carried out his studies in philosophy in the Paulo VI Diocesan Seminary in Nova Iguaçu-RJ, and in theology at the Instituto Santo Inácio in Belo Horizonte-MG. He gave his religious vows on 2 January 1988 in the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and was ordained a priest on 12 December 1992. He has held the following offices: parish vicar in Belford Roxo-RJ, Contagem-MG, Pirassununga-SP and Itajubá-MG; formator, vocational promoter and master of novices; provincial superior. He was appointed bishop of Caicó on 12 February 2014, and received episcopal ordination the following 10 May. Within the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, he is vice-president of the Nordeste 2 region, which comprises the ecclesiastical circumscriptions of the States of Alagoas, Paraíba, Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte.