Portuguese SCJ joins tribunal court
Pope Francis named Fr. Manuel Gomes da Costa Saturino, SCJ, a member of the Portuguese Province, as a prelate auditor of the Roman Rota.
He will make the oath of the office before the Secretary of State of the Holy See during a ceremony on January 24. Soon after, the pope will meet with the full college of judges.
The Tribunal of the Roman Rota is a Tribunal Court of the Apostolic See, usually at the appellate stage, which fosters jurisprudence in the Church and safeguards the rights of individuals. The Rota deals with trials of all kinds, but the majority of the cases are questions of declaration of nullity of marriage.
Fr. Saturino, 61, professed his first vows with the Priests of the Sacred Heart in 1975. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1983. He did his initial theological studies at the Catholic University of Lisbon and later attended the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, where he earned a Licentiate and Doctorate in Canon Law.
In the mid-to-late 1980s he served in the secretary general’s office at the general curia in Rome.
In his home province of Portugal Fr. Saturino served as superior of the Seminary of Our Lady of Fatima 1989-1992. In 1989 he began teaching canon law at the Catholic University of Lisbon; from 1996 to 2002 he was dean of the theology department at the university. He was also the first director of the Institute for Canon Law in Lisbon, a position he held until 2011.
In 1990 he was appointed to the tribunal in Lisbon. He also served as provincial secretary of the Portuguese Province (1994-1997), as a member of the province formation team, and as a spiritual director.
In between his academic and administrative assignments, Fr. Saturino was also involved in parish ministry, serving as pastor of St. José Bairro da Boavista from 2003 to 2005.
Fr. Saturino has previously served committees and commissions of the Holy See.
“I thank Fr. Saturino for everything he was among us over the years,” said Fr. Zeferino Policarpo, provincial superior of Portugal. “He was a friend and a fraternal presence to the province, filled with insightful humor, advice, dedication, intelligence and simplicity. Undoubtedly, one of the greatest contributions that he made to the province was in formation, helping many of our young religious as a spiritual director. On behalf of the entire province I express our sincere gratitude for Fr. Saturino. We wish you every success in this new and important service to the Church.”
Fr. José Ornelas Carvalho, superior general, expressed “the joy of the Congregation for the recognition of the competence and commitment of the Church that this appointment entails.”
Like Fr. Saturino, Fr. Ornelas also taught in Lisbon before being named to service in Rome.
Fr. Saturino will have ” our fraternal support and our prayer,” continued Fr. Ornelas. “I hope that, as an SCJ, he can continue with joy, professionalism and a spirit of service to the tasks that are now required of him by the Church.”
