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Hélder Câmara Biography

Hélder Câmara

(Hélder Pessoa Câmara; Fortaleza, 1909-Recife, 1999) Brazilian Catholic Archbishop whose defense of social justice, as well as his attitude of condemnation of Latin American dictatorships, made him a symbol of the so-called "Church of the poor" and one of the most prominent figures in liberation theology, along with theologians such as Leonardo Boff or Jon Sobrino.He entered the seminary in 1923, and was ordained a priest in 1931, being transferred in 1936 to Rio de Janeiro, where he worried about the living conditions of the inhabitants of the "favelas".

Hélder Câmara

Appointed auxiliary bishop of Rio in 1952, he contributed decisively to founding the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops, in close collaboration with Monsignor Giovanni Montini (the future Pope Paul VI), then Secretary of State of the Vatican.From his position as general secretary of said organization, he promoted the creation of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM).

In 1962, the Second Vatican Council provided him with the opportunity to spread his ideas and to urge the Catholic Church to renounce luxury and protocol in favor of the poor.After being named archbishop of Olinda and Recife in 1964, his public performance and his interventions on radio and television, advocating social reform, led to the harassment of the military regime; in 1968 his residence was machine-gunned and a year later one of his closest collaborators was assassinated.

In 1970 the government launched a campaign against him, accusing him of being a traitor and playing the game of communism and preventing him from accessing the media, which were ordered to silence his name.Retired in 1984, after reaching 75 years of age, some of his speeches and sermons on social issues were published under the title Revolution in peace ( Revolution in peace , 1968).

Among his very voluminous written work it is worth mentioning The Gospel with Dom Helder, The desert is fertile, A thousand reasons to live, The conversions of a bishop, Christianity, socialism, capitalism, Who am I me ?, Spiral of violence, The rebellion of economists, Revolution of the non-violent: an initiative, The Church and the development of Latin America, To arrive on time and Poverty, abundance and solidarity. Doctor honoris causa from more than a dozen universities, he was proposed on several occasions for the Nobel Peace Prize.

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