In Pace Christi

He was born on 24 January 1947 at Nogueira do Cravo, in the diocese of Coimbra, in Portugal, in the countryside and into a large family, five boys and three girls; only he and his younger brother were able to continue their studies and go to Coimbra Secondary School.

On finishing secondary school, José Carlos went to Lisbon. He was an intelligent and intuitive boy who dreamed of a better future and succeeded in joining the civil service. In the parish of Arroios where he lived, he undertook a journey in the faith and it was there that the Lord opened up for him new and unexpected horizons. The moment of grace came when he met a missionary in the parish who enthused young José Carlos and made him think of the missionary life.

On 1 September 1968 he arrived in Moncada, Spain, to join the group of Portuguese and Spanish novices who were starting their novitiate that year. After his first profession on 15 August 1970, he stayed another year in Moncada to complete his philosophical studies and, on 1 July 1971, he was sent to the Comboni seminary in Maia to assist in formation as prefect and to do his theological studies at Oporto (with the Capuchins, in Ameal, then frequented by other Comboni prefects in Maia). He was an active young man, lively, with a passion for life and the missionary vocation, who divided his time between accompanying the seminarians and his lessons in theology, and his missionary animation and vocations promotion work among the youth. He was sent to the scholasticate in Rome to study theology from 1 July 1973 to 30 June 1975 He asked to remain there to complete his studies, free from the pressure of work. There he made his perpetual profession on 13 May 1974, and was ordained priest on 11 March 1975. He then returned to Portugal to work for Além-Mar magazine. In Lisbon, Fr. José Carlos enrolled in the Superior School of Journalism (ISLA) and again took up his work with the magazine and missionary animation.

In December 1981 he was appointed to Kenya where he remained until 1 July 1990. He was assigned to the most isolated mission at Moyale, on the border with Ethiopia. At that time, the Combonis had two missions in that area with two communities: Moyale and Sololo, where they ran a small hospital to improve the health of the Borana population. The missionary work centred on Islamised populations and the apostolate was demanding and difficult.

In March 1988 he was appointed to Makindu in the diocese of Machakos, among the Kamba. It was an environment that had well-established Christian communities, a context that helped him to grow in his dedication to the Christian communities: sacramental life, the formation of catechumens, the accompaniment of individuals, the youth and the communities. His work was interrupted in 1990 when he was sent to Portugal as administrator of the magazines.

His missionary life began again when he was appointed to Mozambique in 1997. At Mueria, where he was assigned, he again began to combine his organisational talents with more specifically missionary attention to the journey of faith of individuals and communities. In July 2007, he was again appointed to Portugal to administer the magazines. He returned with his usual interest but this time he found it hard to fit in: things were changing faster and he felt unprepared, due also to the beginnings of health problems.

During the journey from Lisbon to Coimbra he showed the first symptoms of a heart attack which left him weakened. Though lovingly assisted by his nephew, he nevertheless had to leave the work of administration and move to the community of Vila Nova de Famalicão.

It was then that a new stage of his mission began, marked by suffering caused by a tumour which suddenly undermined his health. Despite everything, he maintained his serenity, his sense of communion with the Lord, the confreres of the community and province and his friendship with all, up to the moment he passed away on 4 September 2018.
(Fr. Manuel Augusto Lopes Ferreira, mccj).
Da Mccj Bulletin n. 278 Suppl. In Memoriam, gennaio 2019, pp.93-99.