Bishop Ronilton Souza de Araújo

Ronilton Souza de Araújo, S.C.I., was born on March 23, 1967, in Ituiutaba—located in the diocese of the same name—in the state of Minas Gerais. He pursued his studies in philosophy at the Faculdade Educacional de Brusque (Santa Catarina) and in theology at the Faculdade Dehoniana de Taubaté (São Paulo). He specialized in psychopedagogy and spirituality. He attended courses for formators in Rome, offered by the Dehonian priests and the Pontifical Salesian University. He made his religious profession on February 25, 1995, in the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonians) and was ordained a priest on December 7, 2002. He has held the following positions: formator for the postulant program at the seminary in Terra Boa (Paraná) (2005); formator at the philosophy seminary in São Luís (Maranhão); Superior of the Brazil-São Luís District (2010–2015); Provincial Superior of the Brazil-São Paulo Province (2015–2021); and parochial vicar of Santa Luzia in the Archdiocese of São Luís do Maranhão (2003–2004) and of Nossa Senhora Aparecida in Tapurah (Mato Grosso) (2021). Since 2022, he has served as parochial vicar of Santa Cruz in the Diocese of Macapá (Amapá).