Monsignor João Maurício Ferreira
Passed away on 20 May 1977, at the Bom Jesus Clinic in Ponta Delgada, at the age of 62, Monsignor João Maurício de Amaral Ferreira, an illustrious priest from São Miguel.
He was born on 22 September 1914, in the parish of Mãe de Deus, in the municipality of Povoação. After completing his primary education in his hometown, he entered the Seminary of Angra for the 1927-1928 academic year. He received the Tonsure on 26 April 1936, the Minor Orders of Porter and Lector on 3 May 1936, and those of Exorcist and Acolyte on 10 May of the same year; the Major Order of Subdiaconate on 4 April 1937 and that of Deacon on 30 May of the same year. He was ordained to the priesthood on 20 June 1937, at the Cathedral of Angra, by His Excellency Bishop Guilherme Augusto Inácio da Cunha Guimarães, and celebrated his first Mass (Missa Nova) on 11 July 1937, at the Mother Church (Matriz) of Povoação.
He began his career as the parish priest for the villages of Cabouco and Atalhada in São Miguel, then served as the Ecclesiastical Dean (Ouvidor) of Vila do Porto on Santa Maria Island for two years. Subsequently, he served as the Prior of the Mother Church and Ecclesiastical Dean of his hometown, Povoação, where he carried out his priestly ministry from 1940 until 2 July 1975. He was widely recognised for his remarkable work, which was not only pastoral but also deeply social and educational. In this regard, he restored the Mother Church temple, was the primary founder of the Externato Maria Isabel do Carmo Medeiros, and was responsible for the construction of housing for the underprivileged in the town.
Furthermore, in 1938, he was appointed Assistant Vicar (Vigário Cooperador) of Vila do Porto, on Santa Maria Island, and Vicar Oeconomus (Vigário Ecónomo) of Povoação on 30 June 1940. He was elevated to the rank of Monsignor on 25 October 1963 by Pope Paul VI, upon the recommendation of the then Bishop, Manuel Afonso de Carvalho. On 18 March 1970, he was designated as the first Episcopal Vicar for the islands of São Miguel and Santa Maria, a role he held until 1974. On 2 July 1975, he was appointed Rector of the Sanctuary of Hope (Santuário da Esperança) by the same Bishop, filling the vacancy left by the passing of Monsignor José Gomes.
In tribute to his legacy, his name has been integrated into local toponymy and bestowed upon a Primary and Nursery School (Escola Básica e Jardim de Infância), as well as a vocational school in the municipality of Povoação.
On 21 May, his body was transferred from the Bom Jesus Clinic to the Sanctuary of Hope, where a funeral Mass was held at 8:30 am, followed by a concelebrated Mass at 4:00 pm. He was then transferred back to the Mother Church of Povoação at 8:30 pm that same evening. His funeral took place the following day, 22 May, proceeding from the Mother Church to the Santa Bárbara Cemetery in Povoação, following a funeral Mass.
