Dom Nuno Brás da Silva Martins (born 12 May 1963 in Vimeiro, Lourinhã), most often referred to simply as Dom Nuno Brás, is a Portuguese Catholic bishop and current bishop of Funchal, Madeira.
Academic career Nuno Brás da Silva Martins graduated in Theology from the Portuguese Catholic University in 1985. Five years later he earned his master's degree in Systematic Theology under the guidance of José IV. His thesis was titled The Christian life as an extension of the incarnation. Theology of Christian existence in the pastoral works of Cardinal Cerejeira.
He later received his doctorate in Fundamental Theology in 1999, from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, with the thesis: Christ perfect communicator. Theological reading for an interdisciplinary investigation on the communicative phenomenon. He was guided by Archbishop Rino Fisichella.
In addition to his Portuguese teaching positions, Martins also taught at the Pontifical University of Salamanca in 1996, and at the Pontifical Gregorian University between 1999 and 2005.
In 2009 he became a member of the Scientific Society of the Portuguese Catholic University.
Ecclesiastical career Martins' first significant role in the Catholic Church started in 1993, when he was appointed to the educational team of the Olivais Major Seminary of Christ the King. Between 2005 and 2011 he was Rector of the same institution.
In Rome, Bishop Martins was Rector of the Pontifical Portuguese College between 2002 and 2005. In 2006 he returned to Portugal to work in the Patriarchate administration as a member of the Pastoral Council of the archdiocese of Lisbon and Canon of the Metropolitan Chapter of the Patriarchal See.
In 2011 he was elected, by Pope Benedict XVI, as Titular Bishop of Elvas and Auxiliary Bishop of the Patriarchate of Lisbon. He also served in the Portuguese Conference of Bishops as member of the sectorial commissions for Culture, Cultural Assets and Social Communications of the Catholic Church in Portugal and for Christian Education and the Doctrine of Faith.
Martins was then appointed, in 2016, by Pope Francis as a member of the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See. This led him in 2018 to become coordinator of the Social Communications of the Commission for Evangelization and Culture, a body of the Council of Episcopal Conferences of Europe.
Bishop of Funchal On January 12, 2019, Martins was elected by Pope Francis as Bishop of Funchal, succeeding António III. When he found out about the appointment, Martins said he felt "a mixture of fear and confidence. Fear because I am aware of my limitations; confidence because I know that Jesus will always be with me and not abandon me."
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of Portugal, congratulated Bishop Martins and said that the appointment "fills all Portuguese, believers and non-believers with joy".
Martins arrived at Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport on February 15, 2019, where he was greeted by his predecessor before kissing the ground following the custom set by Pope John Paul II. He noted that his mission as Bishop was " to build a Christian community and evangelize". He also highlighted the role of Christian religious tourism in the region.
Regarding the sex abuse scandal surrounding Father Anastácio Alves, Martins told the press that he would follow the process established by the Portuguese Episcopal Conference in 2012.
Taking office On Sunday, February 17, Martins officially took office as Bishop of Funchal in a ceremony held in the Cathedral of Funchal. In his first homily he appealed to the "holiness" of the priests, called for a Church that "dares to be" and not just "appears to be", asked his Diocesan Curia to give testimonial of the Risen Christ and called for "a sincere collaboration with all entities of the Madeiran society, with respect for each one of them".
The following Catholic clergy attended his first Mass on taking office: +CountryAttendeeRankManuel IIICardinal-Patriarch of LisbonTeodoro FariaBishop Emeritus of FunchalAntónio IIIBishop Emeritus of FunchalFrancisco Senra de Faria CoelhoArchbishop of ÉvoraAntónio MontesBishop Emeritus of Bragança-MirandaJosé OrnelasBishop of SetúbalJosé TraquinaBishop of SantarémManuel QuintasBishop of FaroAntónio BragaBishop Emeritus of the AngraAntónio LucianoBishop of ViseuManuel FelícioBishop of GuardaAntónio MoiteiroBishop of AveiroJosé CordeiroBishop of Bragança-MirandaDaniel BatalhaAuxiliary Bishop of LisbonJoaquim MendesAuxiliary Bishop of LisbonRui ValérioBishop of the Portuguese Military Ordinariate of PortugalIldo FortesBishop of Mindelo-Cabo-VerdeRino PassigatoTitular Archbishop of Nova Caesaris and Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal;Alfredo CairesBishop of Mananjary
Meetings with regional and local authorities
Official meeting with the Representative of the Republic, Irineu Barreto; Official meeting with the President of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, Tranquada Gomes; Official meeting with the President of the Regional Government, Miguel Albuquerque; Official meeting with the Mayor of Funchal, Paulo Cafôfo;
"Reconnaissance" visits On the first months, shortly after taking office, Bishop Nuno, started a series of semi-formal visits around the Autonomous Regions of Madeira to better know the pastoral needs of the diocese. Such visits included:
4-day Pastoral Visit to the parishes of Porto Santo Island; Visit to the Sacred Art Museum of Funchal; Meeting with priests responsible for the parishes located in the northern municipalities of Madeira Island; Meeting with priests responsible for the parishes located in the Machico and Santa Cruz municipalities; Meetings with Catholic schools and institutions around Madeira Island;
Priest Giselo Andrade Case Following the Priest Giselo Andrade's case and his assignment to the Communications and Media Office of the diocese by his predecessor Bishop Carrilho, Bishop Martins opted to remove Father Giselo from the Permanent Secretariat of the Diocese following his cabinet reshuffle.
Diocese's coat of arms On March 23, 2019, the Bishop Nuno announced through the diocese's Facebook page and on a historical note on the diocese's website the adoption of the diocese's coat of arms. The coat of arms was designed by Miguel Pinto-Correia following the economist's open letter to the bishop, published in the regional newspaper, suggesting that the Diocese should adopt a coat of arms on 600th anniversary of the discovery of Madeira.
600th Anniversary of the Discovery of Madeira On Madeira Day 2019, the year that Madeira celebrated its 600th anniversary of discovery and settlement, Bishop Martins addressed in the Te Deum Mass stressed that such a historical feat was, overall, also a beneficial Christian feat of the Church that became a blessing for the entire population that later settled on the island.
In his sermon Bishop Martins publicly acknowledged that despite 600 years of Catholicism on the island, the Diocese could "not fail to acknowledge the many sins, the many failings and failures that have marked these 600 years, whether by individual Christians or by the Christian community as a whole". Implying acknowledgement of the Diocese's persecution and pressure against the Anglican and Evangelical Churches on the island.
Episcopal Conference of Portugal As a diocesan member of the Episcopal Conference of Portugal, Bishop Martins participates in the following bodies within the Conference:
Member of Commission for Christian Education and Doctrine of Faith (2017-2020); Member of Commission for Culture, Cultural Assets and Media (2017-2020);
Healthcare As Bishop of Funchal, Nuno Brás is engaged in several public healthcare programs of which the Diocese heads in partnership with the Regional Government of Madeira.
Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God Together with the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, the diocese is responsible for providing pastoral care for the patients of the Institute of the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God located in Funchal, since 1924 and inaugurated by the Blessed Juan Jesús Adradas Gonzalo.
Dragoeiro Alzheimer Unit In September 2021, the diocese, together with the parish of São Bento (Ribeira Brava) and in partnership with the Regional Government, inaugurated the Dragoeiro Alzheimer Unit. The projected head by Fr. Bernardino Trindade, took seven years to be built, and cost a million euros, of which 800 thousand were financed by European funds. The unit has the capacity to receive 63 patients (18 inpatients and 45 in the day centre) from all over Madeira.
The Regional Government aims for the unit are to become a national reference in the Alzheimer's patients continuous care.
Teaching Shortly after taking up office as Bishop of Funchal, Nuno Brás decided that, in partnership with the Theological School of Funchal, he would teach "Introduction to Christianity" and "Revelation, Faith's Foundation" as after-work courses open to anyone interested.
Vocations crisis Madeira, as the rest of Portugal, has faced a huge decrease of clergymen, between 2009 and 2014, the country has lost more than 600 priests.
Nuno I inherited from his predecessors a vocations crisis. The Diocese of Madeira faces a shortage of those wishing to consecrate their lives as clergy to the Catholic Church. Nuno I has stated that “in the 90s we were a flourishing island in quantity and quality of vocations, but suddenly, in the space of 20 years, vocations ceased to exist”.
In the bishop's opinion vocations thrive in living Christian communities, in communities which have groups of young people who are enthusiastic about the Christian life, where good catechists are present, where there's a strong parish community and priests who lead their parishes and lives by example.
COVID-19
Caritas Emergency Fund During the early months of the COVID-19 in Madeira Nuno I rapidly activated the Social Emergency Fund run by the local branch of Caritas with the aim of helping those who have "proven to have been affected, in social and economic terms” the pandemic. The fund of five hundred thousand Euros resulted from a cooperation agreement with the Regional Secretariat for Social Inclusion and Citizenship and aimed to financially support families' “food and fixed costs, medication and consultations, housing and rent and schooling”.
Religious Services The Regional Government of Madeira enacted, through State of Emergency powers, several restrictions to religious services including non communal mass celebrations. Theses restrictions were imposed together with the Diocese and later lifted in May also in consultation with the Bishop. Miguel Albuquerque, President of the Regional Government Madeira insisted in being contact with the Nuno I, so that together they could come up with a set of procedures aimed at resuming the activities of “face-to-face religious worship”, while abiding to all the prophylactic measures of distance and containment.
On the reopening of the religious services, Nuno I insisted on informing all parishioners that all risk groups stayed at home throughout the pandemic, instead of attending religious services. And a list of the restrictions regarding religious services was published on the Diocese's website.
Childbirth Masses The traditional Childbirth Masses were also subject to strict sanitary regulations by the Diocese under Nuno I rule. Having in mind the subsequent deaths related with COVID-19, after Summer, the bishop coordinated the Diocese's regulations with those of the Regional Government of Madeira and forbade the traditional after mass gatherings, meals and celebrations that occur after the religious services.
Centenary of Charles of Austria