Bishop of Toledo
João Carlos Seneme, C.S.S., was born on December 11, 1958, in the city of Gertrudes, in the State of São Paulo (Diocese of Piracicaba). A member of the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Stigmatines), he made his religious profession on January 23, 1982. He pursued his studies in philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas, where he also obtained a bachelor's degree in foreign languages. He was ordained a priest on December 15, 1985, and served in the following roles: parochial vicar (1985–1987); novice master in Uberaba (1988–1995); head of the International Community of Stigmatine Students in Rome (1996–2000); councilor and secretary general of the Congregation of Stigmatine Fathers in Rome (2000–2006); and provincial superior of the "Santa Cruz" Province (Southern Brazil), based in Campinas, with responsibility for missionary activities in northeastern Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. On October 17, 2007, he was appointed Titular Bishop of Albule and Auxiliary Bishop of Curitiba. He received episcopal ordination on the following December 16.