Bishop of Osasco
Bishop João Bosco Barbosa de Sousa, O.F.M., Bishop of Osasco, was born on December 8, 1952, in the city of Guaratinguetá, in the Archdiocese of Aparecida, in the State of São Paulo. He entered the Order of Friars Minor on January 20, 1971, and made his religious profession on October 4, 1975, completing his studies in philosophy and theology at the Franciscan Philosophical and Theological Institute at Petrópolis. He also attended a course in social communications in Germany. He was ordained a priest on January 7, 1978. He then served as parochial vicar of Santo Antônio do Pari parish (1978-1982) and parish priest of São Francisco de Assis parish (1983-1987 and 1995-1997), both in the Archdiocese of São Paulo; production director of the SONOVISO do Brasil agency, which produces formational and religious audiovisual material, in the Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro (1988-1994); provincial councillor (1998-2000); parish priest of São Pedro Apóstolo in Pato Branco and president of the CELINAUTA Radio and Television Foundation in the Archdiocese of Palmas-Francisco Beltrão (1998-2003); and parish priest of São Francisco de Assis in the Archdiocese of São Paulo (2004-2006). On January 3, 2007, he was appointed Bishop of União da Vitória. He received episcopal ordination on March 25, 2007, at São Paulo, with Cláudio Aury Affonso Hummes as principal consecrator and Luís Flávio Cappio and Antônio Celso Queiroz as co-consecrators. On April 16, 2014, he was appointed Bishop of Osasco, and he was installed on July 20, 2014. He has served as president of the Episcopal Conference of the State of Paraná and as a member of the permanent council of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil.