Cardinal Orani João Tempesta, O. Cist., Metropolitan Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), was born on 23 June 1950 in São José do Rio Pardo, in the Diocese of São João da Boa Vista.

After finishing high school in São José do Rio Pardo, he entered the Cistercian Monastery of São Bernardo in 1967. He studied philosophy at the São Bento Monastery in São Paulo and theology at the Pius IX Salesian Theological Institute in São Paulo.

He made his religious profession in the Cistercian Order on 2 February 1969 and was ordained a priest on 7 December 1974.

In 1984 he became prior of his monastery, while also holding the offices of parish priest of São Roque, São José do Rio Pardo, coordinator of communications and diocesan pastoral work, and professor at the seminary of Coração de Maria in São João da Boa Vista. In September 1996, when the monastery of São Bernardo became an abbey, he was elected its first abbot.

On 26 February 1997, he was appointed Bishop of São José do Rio Preto and was consecrated Bishop on 25 April of the same year. In Sul 1 of the Regional National Conference of the Bishops of Brazil, he served as Director of Pastoral Communications.

On 13 October 2004 he was appointed Archbishop of Belém do Pará, and in 2007 he participated as Director in the V Conferência Geral do Episcopado da América Latina e do Caribe.

He was Vice President of the Norte 2 Region of the Brazilian Episcopal Conference, President of the National Commission for Culture, Education and Social Communications, and a full member of the Permanent Council, the Pastoral Council and the Economic Council of the Brazilian Episcopal Conference.

On 27 February 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Metropolitan Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). In this capacity, he welcomed Pope Francis to Rio in July 2013 for the celebration of World Youth Day.

Appointed by Pope Francis, he participated in the III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (October 2014) on “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization.”

He was created and proclaimed Cardinal by Pope Francis in the Consistory of 22 February 2014, and was assigned the titular church Santa Maria Madre della Provvidenza a Monte Verde.

Member of:

• Dicasteries: for Evangelization; for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments;
• Pontifical Commission for Latin America.