The Holy Mass of Requiem and the burial of the Archbishop Emeritus of Vitória, in the State of Espírito Santo, Dom Luiz Mancilha Vilela, ss.cc., will be held this Thursday at 10:00 AM in the Cathedral of Vitória. The Eucharistic Celebration will be presided over by the current Metropolitan Archbishop, Dom Frei Dario Campos, and the burial will take place in the Crypt of the Cathedral of Vitória.

Dom Luiz died on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 23, at the age of 80, a victim of liver complications. He had been hospitalized since July 23 at the Unimed Vitória Hospital. Throughout this Wednesday, the 24th, thousands of people are passing through the cathedral in the center of the capital of Espírito Santo to say goodbye to the archbishop emeritus. Masses are being celebrated every two hours. Tomorrow, there will be masses at 6 am, 8 am and 10 am, and the Eucharistic Celebration of the Funeral Rites will be broadcast on the Padre Eustáquio Channel (Click here to follow) in partnership with the Archdiocese of Vitória.

The life story of Dom Luiz Mancilha Vilela, SSCC

Luiz Mancilha Vilela was born on May 6, 1942, in Pouso Alto, in the south of Minas Gerais. At the age of 19, he professed his temporary vows in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo. Six years later, on December 21, 1968, he was ordained a priest in Belo Horizonte by the then archbishop of the Minas Gerais capital, Dom Serafim Fernandes de Araújo.

After his ordination, Dom Luiz served as coordinator of Vocational Pastoral Care in the Province of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, provincial councilor, and superior of the Sacred Hearts Seminary in Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo.

On December 3, 1985, Pope John Paul II appointed Luiz Mancilha Vilela as bishop of Cachoeiro do Itapemerim-ES. His episcopal ordination took place on February 22, 1986, and Dom Luiz remained there for 17 years. In 2002, he went to the capital, Vitória, as auxiliary bishop, and two years later, on April 14, 2004, he was appointed archbishop of Vitória, a position he held until his retirement in November 2018.

Since then, as Archbishop Emeritus, Dom Luiz remained residing in the Archdiocese of Vitória, carrying out some religious activities. Throughout his life he wrote several works, among them: "Pray With Me", "In the Footsteps of Jesus" and "Visit to the Sanctuary of Health and Peace", where he recounts, in poetic phrases, every detail of the Church of Father Eustáquio in Belo Horizonte.