lit a candle 7h agoMy mother called me about this, she still goes to the church in Itapipoca when she visits my aunt. 82. She said he ordained the priest who married my cousin years ago. I never knew him beyond that but she was quiet on the phone a long time.
Their story
Dom Frei Antonio Roberto Cavuto, O.F.M.Cap., was a Brazilian Capuchin Franciscan priest and Roman Catholic bishop who led the Diocese of Itapipoca in Ceara for fifteen years. Born on 19 May 1944 in Espirito Santo do Pinhal, in the interior of Sao Paulo state, he was the son of Antonio…
Dom Frei Antonio Roberto Cavuto, O.F.M.Cap., was a Brazilian Capuchin Franciscan priest and Roman Catholic bishop who led the Diocese of Itapipoca in Ceara for fifteen years. Born on 19 May 1944 in Espirito Santo do Pinhal, in the interior of Sao Paulo state, he was the son of Antonio Cavuto and Rosalia de Oliveira Cavuto. He entered the Capuchin minor seminary at Ouro Fino, Minas Gerais, in 1959, began the novitiate in 1961 and made his first religious vows in 1962.
He studied philosophy at the Capuchin convent in Itambacuri from 1962 to 1965 and theology at the Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Belo Horizonte from 1966 to 1969. On 24 January 1971 he was ordained a priest in his hometown parish church by Bishop Tomas Vaquero. The years that followed were spent almost entirely in Minas Gerais in parish work, formation and Capuchin leadership. He served as parish vicar and vice director of postulants in Uberaba, took a course in Franciscan studies in Petropolis, and later became novice master and guardian of the Convent of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeia in Belo Horizonte.
In 1977 he was elected vice provincial of the Capuchin vice province of Minas Gerais. When that community was raised to a full province in 1980, Cavuto became its first provincial minister and was re elected in 1983. He later served as guardian and parish priest in Patos de Minas, directed post novitiate formation in Belo Horizonte, and held further posts as guardian, parish priest and diocesan councillor in Uberlandia and Belo Horizonte.
On 25 May 2005 Pope Benedict XVI named him bishop of Itapipoca. Cardinal Serafim Fernandes de Araujo ordained him bishop in Belo Horizonte on 2 July 2005. He took possession of the diocese on 31 July that year, choosing as his episcopal motto the words Queremos ver Jesus (We want to see Jesus). As bishop he strengthened pastoral structures in the diocese, helped consolidate the Dom Paulo Ponte major seminary in Fortaleza, and promoted new parishes and religious houses. During his episcopate he ordained fourteen diocesan priests, five religious priests and eleven permanent deacons. He also held regional roles in the Northeast 1 region of the Brazilian Bishops Conference, including work on the semi arid commission and as reference bishop for ordained ministries and consecrated life.
Pope Francis accepted his resignation for age on 7 October 2020, and Dom Rosalvo Cordeiro de Lima succeeded him. Cavuto died on 1 October 2026 in the Belo Horizonte area at the age of 82. He had been in hospital in Nova Lima since mid August for surgery related to a colostomy and later suffered serious complications. The Diocese of Itapipoca and the Capuchin Province of Minas Gerais announced his death and gave thanks for his life and mission.
Biography adapted from Portuguese Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); Diario do Nordeste (1 October 2026); O Povo; Cancao Nova / CNBB; Catholic-Hierarchy; Wikimedia Commons portrait.
Photos
1Antonio Roberto Cavuto
by People Forever
That's a real connection even secondhand, sorry for your mum's loss too