Who is Mgr João Scognamiglio Clá Dias?
On 15 August 1939, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary Most Holy into Heaven, João Scognamiglio Clá Dias was born in São Paulo, the son of Antonio Clá Díaz, a Spaniard, and Annitta Scognamiglio Clá Díaz, an Italian. He was baptised on 15 June the following year at the São José do Ipiranga Church, near his home.
From his earliest childhood, Providence endowed him with the gift of contemplation, as well as a great facility for perceiving God’s action through all creatures. Thus, during certain nights when he was suffering from insomnia, he used to sit on the windowsill of his bedroom and admire the stars for a long time. That marvellous, slow procession of sparkles, seen by his childlike imagination as the movement of the stars themselves, made a deep impression on him.
Encounter with the Blessed Sacrament
When he was five years old, when he entered the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows, belonging to the Augustinian Fathers in the neighbourhood of Ipiranga, he saw the Blessed Sacrament exposed for the first time, just as the priest was preparing to give the blessing. Inexplicably attracted by that white Host – about whose mystery he had not yet been instructed – as well as by that atmosphere of sacredness and recollection, he soon concluded that he was in the presence of God!
The sensation of extraordinary grandeur and majesty, but at the same time the effect of Jesus’ infinite goodness, constituted for him an invitation to be good and the starting point of a Eucharistic devotion that, over the years, would only grow and sublimate.
During his studies, which he attended successively at the José Bonifácio School Group, the Independência Centre Gymnasium and the Presidente Roosevelt State College, Bishop João always distinguished himself as the first student in his class, showing a special aptitude for mathematics and the arts.
However, it was the Catechism lessons and the narratives of Sacred History that delighted him and filled him with faith. Confirmation, which took place on 26 January 1948, as well as his First Holy Communion on 31 October of the same year, further expanded the true passion he had always had for everything to do with the supernatural life and religion.
At the beginning of his teenage years, when he clashed with the moral decadence and vulgarity already prevailing in society at that time, he regretted that there was no one to combat them with the necessary vigour. In his boyish heart, he ardently desired to somehow revert the beautiful sidereal harmony he had contemplated in childhood to the social life of his mates, but with an added religious note.
It was the breath of the Holy Spirit enthusing him to serve others within the sacred walls of the Holy Church.
Under the influence of these graces, this commitment to supporting his peers soon became more explicit as he grew younger: hence his inclination towards medicine, psychology and the arts, as well as his dream of founding an association of young people to prevent them from going astray, connect them with God and support them on the path to perfection. It pained him to see how many people allowed themselves to be enslaved by selfishness and acted only for their own interests…
However, a certainty, born of faith, said to him inside: ‘There must be a man in the world who is completely good and selfless! He is on my path and one day I will meet him. That’s why, at night, she would kneel at the foot of her bed and, weeping, she would pray thirty Hail Marys, asking to meet this man as soon as possible, whose silhouette, by Heaven’s singular favour, she could already see, although not clearly.
The meeting with Dr Plinio
It was then, on 7 July 1956, the first day of the novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, that Bishop João met Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, the man who enlightened his path, summoning him to full integrity as a son of the Holy Church, to fight with Her, in Her and for Her, for the good order of society. What he was looking for, he found, and for that he was happy! He was almost 17 at the time.
For his part, Dr Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira – a Catholic leader who marked the 20th century from end to end with the brilliance of his faith and fearless militancy in favour of the ideals of the Holy Church – had conceived since he was a boy the constitution of a Religious Order of Cavalry aimed at working with public opinion to reform it. In 1928, having joined the Catholic Movement as a Marian congregant, he had gathered a nucleus of friends there, but he lacked a right-hand man who, sharing his ideas, could fully realise his plans.
Years later, in a letter to Mgr John, he wrote this, recalling the hardships of that period of isolation: ‘Remember that supplication that was sung in the Marian Congregation: ’Da pacem, Domine, in diebus nostris, quia non est allius qui pugnat pro nobis nisi Tu, Deus noster – Give peace, Lord, to our days, because there is no one who fights for us except you, our God. How many times have I prayed along these lines!
For Our Lady to give me peace in my days, because there was no one to fight for me except God noster, and therefore Our Lady. She later gave me John, a great fighter for me!’
Following God’s path
Dr Plinio became the moulder of Monsignor João’s mentality and also strengthened him in the perseverance of the decisions embraced by his attractive influences. It was because of the logic of his marvellous expositions, the clarity of his thinking, as well as the pleasant scent of his innocence, that Bishop João decided to abandon everything and everyone in order to better serve God, under his guidance and advice. Forty years were spent together with that man living with the supernatural, nobility of soul, elevation of spirit, zeal for the Church and for society, within a complete veneration for any and all hierarchies; in particular, an almost adoration for the Papacy.
Between 1957 and 1960, as the first fruits of the apostolic work he was to do, Mgr John joined the Marian Congregations, was admitted to the Third Order of Carmel and consecrated himself as a slave of love to the Blessed Virgin according to the method of St Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort.
Military service
In 1958, he was called up for military service in the newly created 7th Guards Company of the 25th Infantry Battalion in São Paulo. There he stood out for his discipline, commanding voice and military ability, which earned him the Marechal Hermes da Fonseca Medal, ‘Most Distinguished Square’, among the 208 conscripts who joined that year. In addition, he was awarded an ‘Honourable Mention’ diploma, ‘for having displayed good behaviour during his time in the ranks of the Army, working for the name of the Unit and achieving through his efforts the high reputation that this 7th Guards Company enjoys’.
Monsignor João and Mrs Lucilia
Dr Plinio’s beautiful mother, Mrs Lucilia Ribeiro dos Santos Corrêa de Oliveira, was for Bishop João, in his own words, ‘the guardian angel’ who helped him to understand more deeply the infinite mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He, for his part, played an authentic role of son to her during the last years of her life, before her death in 1968.
From 1975 onwards, the figure of Mgr John took on greater irradiation alongside Dr Plinio: he became the mentor of thousands of young people from various nations, helping them and strengthening them in the faith, in an attitude of true ‘concern for all the Churches’ (II Cor 11:28). He pulled some out of the clutches of the devil, others he encouraged to seek perfection… He inaugurated new methods of apostolate through programmes in schools and even approaches in the streets and public places. He opened numerous houses of formation in different countries, where the life of prayer, study and religious ceremonies were combined with the missionary apostolate, always with a very strong note of discipline and combativeness, inherited from his period of military service.
Having imbibed the gift of wisdom so characteristic of Dr Plinio’s spirituality, Bishop João became a perfect disciple, capable of carrying on the work begun by his master, model, regent and guide. His natural and supernatural qualities, his excellent performance, boldness and fidelity led Dr Plinio to consider him an ‘arch-son’, going so far as to call him, in various circumstances, the ‘staff of my old age’, a ‘golden helper’, a ‘blessed instrument’ and even an ‘alter-ego’ – another me. On one occasion, Dr Plinio wrote: ‘Justice dictates that I say: no one has given me as many and as great joys as you.’
Dr Plinio’s death
When Dr Plinio died on 3 October 1995, Bishop João faced the physical absence of that fundamental figure in his life. In 1999, he decided to found the International Private Association of Faithful Heralds of the Gospel, which received the approval of Pope John Paul II on 22 February 2001, making it the first pontifical association of the third millennium. Under the blessings of the Chair of Peter, the association soon expanded to 78 nations and came to encompass a broad and brilliant reality, mostly made up of young people. Marian missions in parishes, the Oratory Apostolate of Mary Queen of Hearts, visits to families, prisons and hospitals, direct mail services to millions of people, the Future and Life Project in schools, Heralds TV and the Gaudium Press news agency, and the Mercy Aid Fund are some of the activities carried out by the Heralds in the most varied fields of society.
The women’s branch
Thanks to the apostolate carried out by Mgr John, a large group of young women who wanted to give themselves to God according to the charism of the Heralds of the Gospel also flourished. They received their definitive structure on 25 December 2005, with the foundation of the Regina Virginum Apostolic Life Society, approved a few years later, on 26 April 2009, by Pope Benedict XVI.
Both the young men and the young women, living in separate communities, embrace a life of intense spirituality, including daily participation in the Eucharist, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and recitation of the Rosary and the Liturgy of the Hours. In addition to practising the evangelical counsels of obedience, chastity and poverty, they observe an ‘ordo of customs’, carefully drawn up by Mgr John himself, which can be summarised in the phrase of Our Lord Jesus Christ: ‘Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect’ (Mt 5:48).
The garment they wear symbolises the vocation to which they have been called: a brown Carmelite-inspired scapular with a large white, red and gold cross, signifying their unblemished purity, their willingness to make all the sacrifices required in the service of the Church, and the nobility of their ideal. The chain around their waist attests to their slavery of love to the Blessed Virgin, and the rosary, hanging from their right side, is their effective weapon in the fight against the world, the devil and the flesh.
The co-operators of the Heralds of the Gospel
Under the guidance and encouragement of Monsignor João, the Heralds of the Gospel co-operators emerged. They are selfless volunteers who dedicate their available time, in the midst of their family or professional obligations, to evangelisation, spreading devotion to Mary, bringing comfort to the sick and imprisoned, catechesis in parishes, liturgical animation and other works of apostolate. They wear a characteristic white cloak with a red cross.
The great family of the Heralds of the Gospel currently has approximately 10 million members on five continents.
The intellectual formation of Monsignor João Clá Dias
With a view to the intellectual, spiritual and doctrinal formation of his followers, Mgr John undertook Thomistic theological studies with great professors from the University of Salamanca and the Angelicum in Rome. Among them were Fr Victorino Rodríguez y Rodríguez OP, Fr Antonio Royo Marín OP, Fr Fernando Castaño OP, Fr Esteban Gómez OP, Fr Arturo Alonso Lobo OP, Fr Raimondo Spiazzi OP and Fr Armando Bandera OP. As well as studying law at the traditional Faculty of Largo de São Francisco in São Paulo, he also obtained a degree in humanities from the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; a master’s degree in psychology from the Catholic University of Bogotá, Colombia; a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, and a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Bolivarian University in Medellín, Colombia.
João is also a member of the International Society of St Thomas Aquinas (SITA), the Marian Academy of Aparecida and was a member of the Pontifical Academy of the Immaculate. He has been decorated in various countries for his cultural and scientific activity, receiving the Mexican Science Medal and the Anchieta Medal, considered the highest honour in the city of São Paulo.
In addition to opening numerous secondary schools in various cities in Brazil and in Portugal, Canada, Colombia, Paraguay, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mozambique, Bishop João also founded the Aristotelian-Thomist Philosophical Institute (IFAT) and the St Thomas Aquinas Theological Institute (ITTA), as well as the St Scholastica Philosophical-Theological Institute (IFTE) for the women’s branch.
However, there was no shortage of setbacks and difficulties for Mgr John, both physical, such as the illnesses he suffered and which brought him close to death on several occasions, and moral, such as the misunderstandings he had to face from some of those closest to him. But in all these situations, he was able to say with the Psalmist: ‘The Lord has delivered me from all fears’ (Ps 33:5).
God’s call to the priesthood
However, it was easy for him to discern the real paths to which God’s call, which began at the dawn of his conscience, was leading him. A mysterious restlessness invited him to go further and further, ravishing his inner self. Next to the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar – for which, from the very beginning, a special ardour had been engraved in his childish heart – his being not only entered into calm, but he always felt somehow angelised and ready for all holocausts. How could he draw even closer to Him, be one with Him, be another Himself, knowing Him and loving Him with greater fervour, and thus serve the Holy Church and society with perfection? Trying, with the help of grace, to always maintain the celibacy and chastity promised to God several decades ago, the deep desire to follow the path of the priesthood sprang up, irresistible and clear as the sun, thus culminating, as far as form was concerned, his journey of total self-giving to God and to the cause of the Holy Church. ‘I want to unite myself more with Jesus, I want to be his vehicle to absolve all those I meet in search of divine forgiveness, I want to be consumed like a host at his service for the benefit of my brothers and sisters’ (Letter, 25 April 2005).
For this reason, on 15 June 2005, with 14 other members of the Heralds of the Gospel, Bishop João was ordained a priest in the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in São Paulo. To fulfil this priestly branch of his work, he founded the Clerical Society of Apostolic Life Virgo Flos Carmeli. Approved by His Holiness Benedict XVI on 21 April 2009, it now has 161 clerics and more than 300 seminarians.
With the priestly branch, the range of Mgr John’s activities has obviously widened. Participating in his indefatigable zeal, the priest-authors have set out to conquer souls all over the world: they attend to the sick in homes and hospitals, hear confessions in parishes, preach and catechise, reintegrate families into communion with the Church… The exquisite pulchritude of gestures during the celebration, the orthodoxy of doctrine and, above all, the unblemished practice of virtue are the points where Mgr John’s rectitude and discipline are most felt. Enthused by his example, they can easily imitate him.
‘By the fruit you will know the tree’
To help ecclesial works in need, Mgr João set up the Heralds of the Gospel association in Brazil, the Mercy Aid Fund, which collects donations via direct mail.
With the same apostolic intent, he founded the magazine ‘Heralds of the Gospel’, with a circulation of almost a million copies a month in four languages, and the academic journal Lumen Veritatis. Of the more than 200 books and articles he has published on five continents, the following stand out:
‘Mother of Good Counsel’ (1992 and 1995), São Paulo-New York, also published in Italian, English and Albanian; “Dona Lucilia” (1995 and 2013), Rome-São Paulo, also published in Spanish and English; “Little Office of the Immaculate Conception Commentary” (1997 and 2010), São Paulo, in 2 volumes; ‘Fatima, Dawn of the Third Millennium’ (1998 – Best Seller), of which more than two million copies have been distributed, also published in Spanish, English, Italian, French and Polish and distributed in more than 30 countries; Collection “The Unpublished on the Gospels” (2012-2014), Rome-São Paulo, in 7 volumes, also published in Italian, Spanish and English. All of these works reveal great richness and theological depth, to the point of deserving praise from high dignitaries of the Roman Curia and the Episcopate in general.
A lover of beauty as a reflection of God, Bishop João built several churches in the polychrome Gothic style, choosing with detail the combination of colours, shapes and stained glass windows. Among them is the church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Caieiras, São Paulo, solemnly dedicated on 24 February 2008 by His Eminence Cardinal Franc Rodé. Cardinal Franc Rodé, and later erected as a Minor Basilica on 21 April 2012. The composition and musical performance of the Heralds’ numerous choirs and orchestras, the design of chalices, ostensories and other sacred objects, the creation of religious habits, the style of monasteries and the beautiful layout of books and magazines are all fruits of his incomparable artistic sense, which has become increasingly supernaturalised over the years.
Monsignor João and Benedict XVI
In 2008, just three years after his ordination, Bishop John was appointed Honorary Canon of the Papal Basilica of St Mary the Greater in Rome and Apostolic Prothonotary by Benedict XVI. On 15 August 2009, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, the same Holy Father, in recognition of his work on behalf of the Holy Church, conferred on Msgr. Cardinal Franc Rodé, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Medal, one of the highest honours granted by the Pope to those who distinguish themselves for their work on behalf of the Holy Church and the Roman Pontiff.
On that solemn occasion, His Eminence Cardinal Rodé said Cardinal Rodé said: ‘At the moment of presenting you with the decoration with which the Holy Father wished to reward your merits, the words of St Bernard at the beginning of his treatise “De laude novae militiae” come to mind: “For some time now the news has been spreading that a new kind of chivalry has appeared in the world”. These words can be applied to the present moment. Indeed, a new cavalry has been born, thanks to Your Excellency, not secular but religious, with a new ideal of holiness and a heroic commitment to the Church. ‘In this endeavour, born in your noble heart, we cannot fail to see a particular grace given to the Church, an act of Divine Providence in view of the needs of today’s world.’
