Early life and family The youngest of five children, de Mendonça was born on the island of
Madeira,
Portugal on 15 December 1965. In 1992, he was awarded a master's degree in biblical sciences at the
Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. In 2004, he earned a doctorate in biblical theology at the
Portuguese Catholic University (UCP). On 4 August 2021, de Mendonça took his vows as a member of the
Third Order of Saint Dominic at a ceremony held at the São Domingos convent in Lisbon and presided over Mass following the ceremony in which he received the white habit. In his capacity as a member in the secular order, he does not possess any obligations towards the official Dominican hierarchy, but he commits to the charism of the Dominicans and to live in accordance with their vows. He made his initial rite of admission to and received the habit from Father José Nunes, the prior provincial for the Portuguese Dominicans. De Mendonça's assignments following his ordination included academic appointments as a lecturer at the diocesan seminary of Funchal, the rector of the
Pontifical Portuguese College in Rome, and a lecturer at the Portuguese Catholic University. He was visiting professor the Catholic University of Pernambuco (Unicap), Brazil, the
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and the Jesuit School of Philosophy and Theology of
Belo Horizonte (Faje). During the academic year 2011–12, he was a Straus Fellow at New York University, joining an international team of researchers working on the theme "Religion and Public Reason".
At the service of culture De Mendonça was the first director of the National Secretariat of the Pastoral of Culture from 2004 to 2014, an institution created by the Portuguese Episcopal Conference to promote dialogue between the Church and the broader cultural milieu of the country. After attending a meeting with
Pope Benedict XVI bringing together a large number of artists in 2009, he said that the Pope's gesture of hospitality was appreciated. Benedict pointed out that "within the Church, within the Christian space, they have their home, a sort of homeland". In 2011 Benedict XVI appointed him a consultor of the
Pontifical Council for Culture.
Pope Francis reappointed him to this position in 2016. In 2018 Pope Francis invited de Mendonça to preach the Lenten Retreat of the
Roman Curia. Besides the Bible, his comments referenced many writers, such as
Fernando Pessoa,
Roland Barthes,
Clarice Lispector,
Françoise Dolto,
Etty Hillesum and
Blaise Pascal. He commented: "Sometimes writers are important spiritual masters." In January 2020, de Mendonça was part of the scientific commission for the 700th anniversary of
Dante Alighieri's death (1265-1321) organized by the
Pontifical Council for Culture. In February 2020,
Pope Francis appointed de Mendonça as a member of the
Pontifical Council for Culture, chaired by Cardinal
Gianfranco Ravasi. De Mendonça had been a consultor between 2011 and 2018. On 13 June 2020, de Mendonça is laureate of
Prémio Europeu Helena Vaz da Silva because of "the ability he shows in spreading beauty and poetry as part of the intangible cultural heritage of
Europe and the world". Under the leadership of Cardinal Tolentino de Mendonça, as part of the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Modern Art Collection of the
Vatican Museums, the Dicastery of Culture and Education is the main organiser of a meeting between Pope Francis and some two hundred representatives of the cultural world, artists, writers, composers, musicians, actors, architects, etc. from all over the world. This event, the first since 2009, when José Tolentino de Mendonça took part, takes place on 23 June 2023 in the Sistine Chapel. The participants include
Ken Loach,
Anish Kapoor,
Andres Serrano and many others. Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça is the commissioner of the Vatican pavilion at the 60th
Venice Biennale (20.04.2024-24.11.2024). The pavilion is being held in La Giudecca women's prison, which is still in operation. Eighty inmates are serving long sentences there, and some of them have agreed to guide visitors on their way to La Giudecca. Pope Francis, the first pope to visit the Venice Biennale, visits the pavilion on 28 April. De Mendonça has published numerous collections of essays, spiritual writings, poems and sermons under the name José Tolentino Mendonça. This work addresses the major themes of the Christian canon by placing them in dialogue with life. The relationship between Christianity and culture is at the heart of his writings. As a theologian and religious thinker, he has sought to discover spiritual life in places which have not always been looked at, and he has striven to encourage the Church to be more relevant and more engaged there. His books have been great successes in Portugal and are increasingly translated and published abroad. He has received numerous literary prizes and awards.
Bishop and cardinal At the end of June 2018, Pope Francis named de Mendonça Vatican archivist and
Librarian of the Holy Roman Church as of 1 September and appointed him titular archbishop of
Suava. On 28 July, Archbishop
Manuel Clemente, Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon,
consecrated him a bishop assisted by Cardinal
António Marto, Bishop of Leiria-Fátima, and
Teodoro de Faria, Bishop Emeritus of Funchal who had ordained him a priest in July 1990. , 28 July 2018, the date of his episcopal consecration On 5 October 2019, Pope Francis made him a
Cardinal-Deacon and assigned him the church of
Santi Domenico e Sisto in
Rome. He was made a member of the
Pontifical Council for Culture on 21 February 2020. On 17 November 2020, Pope Francis appointed de Mendonça a member of the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples presided over by Cardinal
Luis Antonio Tagle. On 30 April 2022, Pope Francis appointed de Mendonça a member of the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presided over by Cardinal
Marcello Semeraro. On 13 July 2022, the Pope appointed 13 new members to the
Dicastery for Bishops, including 3 women. Cardinal Tolentino de Mendonça is one of the 11 other members of this dicastery, whose prefect is Cardinal
Marc Ouellet. 22. July 2018 On 26 September 2022, Pope Francis named him prefect of the
Dicastery for Culture and Education. On 7 September 2023, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Tolentino de Mendonça a member of the
Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, of which Cardinal
Arthur Roche is the Prefect. On 1 June 2024, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Tolentino de Mendonça a member of the
Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, of which Cardinal
Víctor Manuel Fernández is the Prefect. Prior to the death of Pope Francis, de Mendonça had been referred to as potentially
papabile—a possible future candidate for the papacy. He participated as a
cardinal elector in the
2025 papal conclave, which ultimately elected Robert Francis Prevost as
Pope Leo XIV. ==Writings==