Marco Carvalho
Cardinal Américo Aguiar, the driving force behind the August 2023 World Youth Day in Lisboa, is heading to Seoul this week. The Portuguese prelate and current Bishop of Setúbal decided to extend his Asian itinerary to include Macau and will preside over Friday Mass at the Cathedral.
Cardinal Américo Aguiar, who spearheaded the organization of the 2023 World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, is scheduled to arrive in Macau later this week. Appointed Bishop of Setúbal in September 2023, the 52-year-old prelate will head a Portuguese-language Eucharistic celebration at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady on Friday afternoon.
Cardinal Aguiar’s Asian journey centers primarily on Seoul, the host city for the forthcoming World Youth Day, slated for August 3–8, 2027. This marks a return trip to South Korea for the former president of the WYD Lisbon 2023 Foundation, who visited the country last December. Father Daniel Ribeiro, parochial vicar at the Cathedral parish, notes that the trip serves a dual purpose: “D. Américo Aguiar is going to visit Seoul, the upcoming World Youth Day host city, and he decided to leverage this trip to the Asian continent to also visit Macau”, the Brazilian priest explains.
Father Ribeiro clarifies that the Portuguese prelate’s journey is not related to the 450th -anniversary celebrations of the Diocese of Macau and is driven, instead, by a personal wish to connect with the local Portuguese community.
While in the territory, the Bishop of Setúbal is slated to hold talks with the Bishop of Macau, D. Stephen Lee Bun-sang. These discussions are expected to touch upon a proposal voiced by Cardinal Aguiar last month via Rádio Renascença. The 52-year-old Bishop told the Catholic radio station that the Portuguese Church hopes to route a portion of the roughly one thousand young Portuguese pilgrims registered for the 2027 event through Macau. As the Cardinal stated in early August, organizers are planning a stopover in Macau as a gesture of memory and gratitude, as a way to reinforce “enduring historical ties”.
Apart from the meeting with Bishop Stephen Lee, Cardinal Aguiar’s public schedule remains tightly focused on liturgical worship: “On the 11th, we will host a Mass at 6 PM presided over by Cardinal Américo Aguiar. Aside from that, no other events are scheduled,” Father Ribeiro told “O Clarim”.
Reflecting on the visitor’s prominent public profile, the Dehonian priest—who guided one of Macau’s delegations of young Catholics to Lisbon in 2023—recalls how the prelate earned recognition across Portugal through his orchestration of the landmark international youth pilgrimage three years ago.