The event, which took place in Alesp’s Juscelino Kubitschek Plenary, commemorated Dom Odilo’s 75th birthday, celebrated in September this year, and the cardinal’s 22 years of dedication to the archdiocese of São Paulo.
Cardinal Dom Odilo Scherer Photo: Alesp
Newsroom (15/11/2024 15:04, Gaudium Press) In a solemn session held on November 7, the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo awarded the Collar of Honor for Merit to Cardinal Dom Odilo Pedro Scherer, Metropolitan Archbishop of São Paulo. The Collar of Honor for Legislative Merit is the highest honor bestowed by the São Paulo Legislative Assembly.
Attended by the country’s political and religious authorities, the ceremony, which took place in Alesp’s Juscelino Kubitschek Plenary, commemorated Dom Odilo’s 75th birthday, celebrated in September this year, and the cardinal’s 22 years of dedication to the archdiocese of São Paulo.
Deputy Gil Diniz (PL) – who presented the proposal together with parliamentarians Rogério Santos (MDB) and Paulo Fiorilo (PT) – stressed that “we are Catholic and baptized deputies who honor the life of our Cardinal and we have the grace to pay tribute to him tonight in this plenary”. He added: “It’s a much more than deserved tribute, for all the work the cardinal does, especially with the poorest. The pastoral work of what is one of the largest archdioceses in the world is not a simple task”.
For his part, deputy Paulo Fiorilo pointed out that he, “Gil, deputy Rogério, and other deputies of this house, who profess the faith, who have the Catholic religion as a reference, have in Dom Odilo a very important reference. For this reason, Dom Odilo, I would like to express my deep admiration for your witness of faith and dedication to the Archdiocese of São Paulo.”
“The Assembly today is the scene of a solemnity that reveals the benefits achieved when there is cooperation between Politics and Faith, always in search of the common good,” said Deputy Rogério Santos.
Cardinal Scherer thanked the tribute as a recognition of the Church’s mission. “I welcome this tribute given the merits of those I represent. And I am here representing the Church of the state of São Paulo as a whole and, in a very special way, the Archdiocese of São Paulo. […] I’ve been in São Paulo for almost 23 years at the service of the archdiocese and the people of the state of São Paulo. That’s why I can say that, although I was born in Rio Grande do Sul, today I feel fully a São Paulo native,” said Dom Odilo.
Compiled by Dominic Joseph
