Patriarch of Lisbon


The Patriarch of Lisbon, also called the Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon once he has been made cardinal, is the ordinary bishop of the Archdiocese of Lisbon. He is one of the few patriarchs in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, along with the Patriarchs of Venice, the East Indies, and Jerusalem.
The diocese of Lisbon was created in the 4th century, but it lay vacant after 716 when the city was captured by the Moors; the diocese was restored when the city was captured by king Afonso I of Portugal during the Second Crusade in 1147. In 1393, Lisbon was raised to the dignity of a metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Boniface IX with the papal bull In eminentissimae dignitatis. In 1716, at the request of King John V, Pope Clement XI issued the bull In Supremo Apostolatus Solio granting the rank of Patriarch to the King's Chaplain, who had since been made Archbishop of West Lisbon.
The bull Inter praecipuas apostolici ministerii, issued by Pope Clement XII in 1737, established that whoever was appointed Patriarch of Lisbon was to be elevated to the rank of cardinal at the next consistory. Lisbon was the only episcopal see to enjoy this distinction, while other patriarchs are made cardinals by custom only. However, Pope Francis did not follow this tradition: the current Patriarch had not yet been made a Cardinal despite two consistories having passed since his appointment as Patriarch, in September 2023 and December 2024.

Insignia of the Metropolitan Patriarch of Lisbon

The See of Lisbon has been granted extraordinary ceremonial privileges. The Patriarchs of Lisbon were entitled to unique rights of vesture and ceremony that imitated the grandeur of the papal court: notably, the cassocks of his cathedral canons were scarlet, and his chapter has three orders like those of the College of Cardinals.
Among the unique privileges granted to the Patriarch of Lisbon were the right to wear the fanon, subcinctorium and falda, vestments otherwise reserved for the Pope. A unique mitre, similar to the papal tiara, was conceded at the same time. The Patriarch was also allowed to use a sedia gestatoria along with two flabella for processions — the practice of receiving Holy Communion at the throne in solemn Masses was not conceded to the Patriarch of Lisbon, however.
Also notably, the Patriarch of Lisbon can use a papal tiara over his coat of arms; this custom has fallen out of use since the 1970s.

List of Patriarchs of Lisbon

  1. Tomás de Almeida
  2. José (I) Manoel da Câmara
  3. Francisco (I) de Saldanha da Gama
  4. Fernando de Sousa da Silva
  5. José (II) Francisco Miguel António de Mendonça
  6. António de São José de Castro
  7. Carlos da Cunha e Menezes
  8. Patrício da Silva
  9. Francisco (II) de São Luís (Francisco Justiniano) Saraiva
  10. Guilherme Henriques de Carvalho
  11. Manuel (I) Bento Rodrigues da Silva
  12. Inácio do Nascimento de Morais Cardoso
  13. José (III) Sebastião de Almeida Neto
  14. António (I) Mendes Belo
  15. Manuel (II) Gonçalves Cerejeira
  16. António (II) Ribeiro
  17. José (IV) da Cruz Policarpo
  18. Manuel (III) José Macário do Nascimento Clemente
  19. Rui (I) Manuel Sousa Valério.