Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, will arrive in Malta on Saturday 24th March, on the invitation of the Council of Religious Major Superiors to meet with Maltese and Gozitan religious priests and nuns. This encounter will take place on Monday, 26th March at 5pm at the Augustinian Sisters, Fleur-de-Lys.
The first meeting between the Cardinal and the religious priests and nuns will be held on the day of his arrival, 24th March at 6.30pm. A concelebrated mass, animated by the St Monica Choir, will be held at the Church of St Theresa, B’Kara.
On Sunday, 25th March, Cardinal Braz de Aviz will pay a visit to Gozo. He will accompany Gozitan religious priests and nuns in a moment of prayer at the Ta’Pinu Sanctuary at 10.00 a.m. The Cardinal will then preside over a meeting during which he will address them, followed by lunch.
On Sunday afternoon, on his return to Malta, the Cardinal will meet with cloistered nuns for the celebration of holy mass at 5.30pm at St Clare’s Monastery in St Julians. All those religious who are undergoing formation as well as their spiritual directors are invited to meet the Cardinal at 7.30pm at the Millennium Chapel.
On Monday 26th March, Cardinal Braz de Aviz will pay a courtesy visit to the President of Malta, Dr George Abela, at San Anton Palace at 10am. Another meeting will be held between the Cardinal, the Bishops and the Council of Religious Major Superiors at Mount St Joseph, Targa Gap, at 11.45am. Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz will return to Rome on Tuesday, 27th March.
Cardinal Braz de Aviz was born in Brazil in 1947 and was ordained as a priest in November 1972. In January 2011 he was appointed as Prefect of the Congregation for Consecrated Life and Institutes of Apostolic Life by Pope Benedict XVI. He was made a Cardinal during the recent Concistory held on 18th February 2012. Among other posts, he has served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Vitória (1994 – 1998), Bishop of the Diocese of Ponta Grossa (1998 – 2002), Archbishop of Maringá (2002 – 2004) and Archbishop of Brasília (2004 – 2011).