JOAQUIM ALBERTO RODRIGUES (priest)
FATHER Joaquim Alberto Rodrigues was born in September 24, 1939 in Cedral, SP (state of São Paulo, Brazil). On February 23, 1951, he entered a Stigmatine Seminary. After completing his studies, he professed perpetual vows on 1962, and was ordained a Stigmatine Priest on December 18, 1965.
After his Priestly Ordination, he fulfilled a large variety of assignments, such as: parish pastor; parish vicar; director of the Stigmatine provincial youth; leader and participant of Stigmatine parish missions; director of vocations; confessor and spiritual director for the Stigmatine professed and students.
On these several ministries, he served in various Stigmatine communities, such as: St. Edwiges and St. Benedict Parishes in Campinas, Marília, São Paulo City, São Caetano do Sul, Barretos, and Rio Claro, (SP); Ituiutaba, in the state of Minas Gerais (MG); Curitiba and Santo Antônio do Sudoeste in the state of Paraná (PR).
More recently he was also Novice Master during the year of 2020, in the Stigmatine Retreat House and Conference Center (Fazenda Santana), SP; and afterwards he was assigned Parish Vicar to the Stigmatine Parish of St. Benedict, in Campinas, SP.
Besides his duties in the Stigmatine Province of the Holy Cross, he was also spiritual counselor of married couples, and always ready to attend the diocese he was serving needs. Among them, he was professor in the Diocesan Seminary of Caetité, BA.
It was remarkable his exuberant personality, along with his promptness to serve. He was also always a tireless worker, and missionary in favor of any pastoral ministry in the Province, uniting it to his cheerful temperament.
On the morning of Holy Thursday, 2024, he suffered a stroke that started undermining his health, so that, on May 19th, Pentecost Sunday, he returned to our Father's home.
With gratitude for his consecration to our religious family, let us pray for his eternal rest, as he well deserves it.