Paulo Evaristo Arns

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Paulo Evaristo Cardinal Arns (born September 14, 1921 in Forquilhinha) is the emerited archbishop of São Paulo.

Paulo Evaristo Arns was born as the fifth of thirteen children of the German immigrants Gabriel and Helana Arns. Three of his sisters would later become nuns and one of his brothers a Franciscan.

From 1941 to 1943 Arns studied philosophy in Curitiba and then theology from 1944 to 1947 in Petrópolis. Then he attended Sorbonne in Paris in 1950, studying literature, Latin, Greek, and ancient history.

On December 10, 1943, at the age of 18, Arns joined the Franciscans; he was ordained a priest on November 30, 1945. On May 2, 1966, Arns was consecrated titular bishop of Respetta and then appointed to archbishop of São Paulo on October 22, 1970. In the consistory on March 5, 1973, Pope Paul VI made him a cardinal.

At the beginning of his term as archbishop sold the bishop's palace and used the money to build a social station in the favelas. Arns is known as a liberation theologian and became one of the most popular clergymen of Brazil as an opponent of the military dictatorship. He managed the project Tortura Nunca Mais (Never Again Torture) at the end of the 70's.

He retired at the age of almost 77 on April 15, 1998, after he had already sought and received the right to retire from Pope John Paul II on the his 75th birthday in 1996. He did not take part in the 2005 conclave because he had already passed the age limit of 80 years.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Honorary degrees

Universidade Brasil
Universidade Católica de Goiás

[edit] References

This article is based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.

Preceded by: Agnelo Rossi	Archbishop of São Paulo 1970–1998	Succeeded by: Cláudio Hummes

Persondata
NAME	Arns, Paulo Evaristo Cardinal
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Brazilian archbishop, cardinal and theologian
DATE OF BIRTH	December 14, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH	Forquilhinha, Brazil
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH