Bishop of Paranaguá
Paulo Alves Romão is Bishop of Paranaguá, Paraná, Brazil. Bishop Paulo was born in Barra do Jacarezinho, Paraná, on 6 April 1964. Formed in Philosophy at the João Paulo II Ecclesiastical Faculty and in Theology at the Higher Institute of Theology of the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, he was ordained a priest on 28 June 1997. He also obtained master's and doctoral degrees in Systematic Theology from PUC-Rio. Before being ordained a bishop, Bishop Paulo held the following roles: spiritual director of São José Archdiocesan Seminary from 1997 to 1999; professor at the Higher Institute of Theology of the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro and professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro from 1998 to 2016; diocesan responsible for the Communion and Liberation Movement from 2001 to 2016; director of the Department of Religious Education of the Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro from 2002 to 2016; professor at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences from 2004 to 2005; responsible for the Education Pastoral Ministry of the Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro from 2009 to 2016; parish priest of Bom Pastor Parish from 2011 to 2016; and spiritual director of Rainha dos Apóstolos Propaedeutic Seminary in 2016. On 7 December 2016, Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro. His episcopal ordination took place on 28 January 2017 in the Metropolitan Cathedral of São Sebastião, where he had also been ordained a priest 20 years earlier. He chose as his episcopal motto "Vivere Christus" ("Viver pra mim é Cristo"). In CNBB Regional Leste 1, Bishop Paulo is referent for the Pastoral Ministry of Catholic Schools, University Pastoral Ministry, and the New Communities.