The Military Ordinariate of Brazil is a military ordinariate

Military ordinariate

A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church, of Latin or Eastern Rite, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation....

 of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

. Immediately subject to the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

, it provides pastoral care

Pastoral care

Pastoral care is the ministry of care and counseling provided by pastors, chaplains and other religious leaders to members of their church or congregation, or to persons of all faiths and none within institutional settings. This can range anywhere from home visitation to formal counseling provided...

 to Roman Catholics serving in the Brazilian Armed Forces and their families.

History

It was created as a military vicariate on 6 November 1950, with the first military vicar appointment on the same day. It was elevated to a military ordinariate on 21 July 1986. The military ordinary

Ordinary

In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...

's seat

Cathedra

A cathedra or bishop's throne is the chair or throne of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion and in Lutheran churches...

 is located at the Military Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Military Queen of Peace (Catedral Militar Santa Maria dos Militares Rainha da Paz) in the city of Brasília

Brasília

Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...

.

Military vicars

• Jaime de Barros Câmara
  Jaime de Barros Câmara
  Jaime de Barros Câmara was a Brazilian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro from 1943 to 1971, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 by Pope Pius XII....
  
   (appointed 6 November 1950 – resigned 9 November 1963)
• Jose Newton de Almeida Baptista (appointed 9 November 1963 – became military ordinary 21 July 1986)

Military ordinaries

• Jose Newton de Almeida Baptista (appointed 21 July 1986– retired 31 October 1990)
• Geraldo do Espírito Santo Ávila (appointed 31 October 1990 – died 14 November 2005)
• Osvino José Both (current incumbent, appointed 7 June 2006)