Catholics fill the Rio Branco cathedral for the inauguration of Bishop Dom Antônio Fontinele; VIDEO

Dom Antônio was appointed by Pope Leo XIV on September 18 and is the sixth religious to assume leadership of the Catholic Church in the region since the creation of the Acre-Purus Prelacy in 1920.

Before the ceremony began, Dom Fontinele spoke about the welcome received by the faithful of Rio Branco. "It was a very particular and special moment for me, for the entire community. First, I arrived as apostolic administrator of this diocese and carried out a listening process to listen to the people who live here and coexist in this church, with the priests, with the religious, deacons, seminarians, with the laity. So, it was a moment of great closeness, welcome and mutual knowledge so that we could begin this journey of evangelization here in the Diocese of Rio Branco", he stated.

For the religious, the moment represents a response to God's call, joy and gratitude. "It is God who calls us, summons us, empowers us and sends us. So, here I am and I said yes for the good of the church, not thinking about myself, but thinking about this mission that God entrusted to me. For this, I ask for the welcome to enter the house, in this church in Rio Branco, the prayer of everyone and help me because the mission belongs to all of us", he stressed.

A Catholic for 72 years, Luiza Martins left Feijó, in the interior, in a caravan to honor the inauguration of the new bishop. The moment is more than special for her, who attended the inauguration of Dom Joaquín Pertíñez in 1999 at the Nossa Senhora de Nazaré Cathedral.

She spoke about the importance of the inauguration of the new bishop. "It's very important because without the leader we don't have a path to follow. We know that he receives orders from the Pope and that's where we have to follow the path. We have a Brazilian bishop, we've always had foreign bishops and now we have a Brazilian. It's important for us to be present because it's a strength that we bring to the church", he celebrated.

Maria Elcimar da Silva, 57 years old, is also from a parish in the interior. She said that, whenever there is a big event at the cathedral, the caravan leaves Plácido de Castro, where she lives, to watch it.

"We never miss a grand event and, above all, an inauguration like this because our bishop is our father, our pastor and direct representative of Christ, so we cannot miss such a grand and extremely important event for our Catholic faith. We who are Catholics felt a bit like an orphan when Dom Joaquín spoke of his resignation. Today with this official inauguration, our hearts are gratified again, our faith and hope feel once again with the father", he added.

A resident of Boca do Acre, in the interior of Amazonas, in the Parish of São Francisco, Rita de Cássia also participated in the inauguration of Dom Moacyr Grechi, in 1973, and Dom Joaquín Pertíñez. "God knows if I will go through another moment like this. It is important for us to be here to receive his anointing in our lives, the parish and the diocese. It is a very big milestone for the diocese of Rio Branco, I am sure that each one of us is privileged. I am very excited to know that another story is beginning", she explained.

João Nogueira de Lima Filho, 29 years old, has worked as a popcorn maker at the cathedral for 20 years. It started with his father who has worked in the business for 50 years. Smiling, João revealed that he couldn't sleep properly looking forward to the celebration. For him, the church is experiencing a new stage in its religious journey.

As he does every Sunday, the religious man set up the popcorn stand and served the customers. "We welcomed the new bishop with open doors. The number of people is inexplicable to see him and the celebration. We are here to serve everyone, I couldn't sleep well because it is very emotional for me", he pointed out.

Another faithful who could not hide his joy was Paulo Victor, 25 years old, a science teacher who has participated for 12 years in youth ministry, where the new bishop has already worked.

"We are extremely happy to have him as our bishop now in the Diocese of Rio Branco. Knowing that we, the other pastorals and the community can count on him makes us very happy because we can feel that we have a direction, a bishop, a shepherd and, like sheep, we feel heard, followed and welcomed by him", he said.