Bishop of Teófilo Otoni
Msgr. Messias dos Reis Silveira was born on 25 December 1958 in Passos, in the diocese of Guaxupé, State of Minas Gerais. He began his studies in the minor seminary of the Redemptorist Fathers and then, as a seminarian of the diocese of Guaxupé, he studied philosophy at the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas and theology at the Study Centre of the Archdiocese of Ribeirão Preto (CEARP). He was ordained a priest on 11 August 1992 and incardinated in the diocese of Guaxupé, where he held the following positions: parish vicar in Alterosa; pedagogical director, formator and then rector of the “São José” seminary; vicar of the quasi-parish “ Sagrada Família e Santos Reis ”; rector of the “ Nossa Senhora das Dores ” presbyteral formation house; member of the presbyteral council, of the college of consultors and of the presbyteral formation council; coordinator of the diocesan presbyteral ministry; and parish priest of the “ Nossa Senhora das Dores ” Cathedral. He was elected bishop of Uruaçú on 3 January 2007 and received episcopal ordination on the following 11 March. He is currently president of the Regional Centre-West Episcopal Conference of Brazil.