Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro
The Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was established as a territorial prelature on July 19, 1575. It was elevated to the status of a diocese on November 16, 1676. It was later elevated to a metropolitan archdiocese on April 27, 1892. On May 6, 2003, the territorial abbey of Nossa Senhora do Monserrate do Rio de Janeiro lost its territorial rank and was added to the archdiocese. Cardinal Orani João Tempesta O. Cist. has been its Archbishop since 2009. Cardinal Eusébio Scheid S.C.I. is Archbishop Emeritus.
Bishops
Ordinaries
;Territorial Prelates- Bartolomeu Simões Pereira
- João da Costa
- Bartholomeu Lagarto
- Mateus da Costa Aborim
- Máximo Pereira O.S.B.
- Lourenço de Mendonça
- Pedro Homem Albernaz
- Antonio de Mariz Loureiro
- Manuel de Sousa e Almada
- Francisco da Silveira Dias
- Manuel Pessoa de Figueiredo
- Manoel Pereira O.P.
- José de Barros Alarcão
- Francisco de São Jerõnimo de Andrade S.C.I.
- Antônio de Guadalupe O.F.M.
- João da Cruz Salgado de Castilho O.C.D.
- Antônio de Nossa Senhora do Desterro Malheiro O.S.B.
- José Joaquim Justiniano Mascarenhas Castello Branco. Then Father Castello Branco had been selected by the King of Portugal and nominated to the Holy See to be coadjutor bishop of Rio de Janeiro, with the right of succession, due to the failing health of bishop Antonio de Nossa Senhora do Desterro Malheiro OSB, on 17 August 1773. Bishop Malheiro died on 5 December 1773 before the Holy See confirmed the nomination of Father Castello Branco as coadjutor bishop. On 20 December 1773, still unaware of the demise of the diocesan Bishop, the Pope granted the confirmation to the nomination of Castello Branco as coadjutor bishop of Rio de Janeiro, and appointed him titular bishop of Tipasa in Mauretania, with the right of succession to the see of Rio de Janeiro. Because of the prior death of the diocesan Bishop, Castello Branco immediately succeeded to the See of Rio de Janeiro upon the confirmation of his appointment as coadjutor Bishop. Accordingly, his appointment as titular bishop became without effect and he at once acquired the jurisdiction of bishop of Rio de Janeiro, in accordance with the norms of canon law then in force, on 20 December 1773. Because he was still only a priest, he was consecrated as Bishop on 30 January 1774.
- José Caetano da Silva Coutinho He was also elected for life as a Senator of the Empire of Brazil in 1826, and, chosen by his peers, served as the President of the Senate from 1827 to 1832.
- Manoel de Monte Rodrigues de Araújo, later Count of Irajá Created Count of Irajá in the Peerage of the Empire of Brazil in 1845.
- Pedro Maria de Lacerda, later Count of Santa Fé Created Count of Santa Fé in the Peerage of the Empire of Brazil in 1888.
- José Pereira da Silva Barros, Count of Santo Agostinho Bishop José Pereira da Silva Barros had been created Count of Santo Agostinho in the Peerage of the Empire of Brazil in 1888, before he was named Bishop of Rio de Janeiro, while serving as Bishop of Olinda and Recife. He was appointed Titular Archbishop after his resignation from the See of Rio de Janeiro.
Since Pope Pius X appointed the second Metropolitan Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Joaquim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti, a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church in 1905, all subsequent Archbishops were either elevated to the Cardinalate during their service in the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, or were transferred to that Metropolitan See when already members of the College of Cardinals.
- João Fernando Santiago Esberrard
- Cardinal Joaquim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti
- Cardinal Sebastião Leme da Silveira Cintra
- Cardinal Jaime de Barros Câmara.
- Cardinal Eugênio de Araújo Sales.
- Cardinal Eusébio Scheid S.C.I..
- Cardinal Orani João Tempesta O. Cist..
Coadjutor bishops
- Vicente da Gamal Leao, did not succeed to see
- José Joaquim Justiniano Mascarenhas Castello Branco
- Sebastião da Silveira Cintra ; future Cardinal
Auxiliary bishops
- Antônio Augusto Dias Duarte
- Roque Costa Souza
- Joel Portella Amado
- Paulo Alves Romão
- Juarez Delorto Secco
- Paulo Celso Dias do Nascimento
- Zdzisław Stanisław Błaszczyk
- Célio da Silveira Calixto Filho
- Joaquim Silvério de Souza, as Archbishop ; appointed Archbishop of Diamantina
- Sebastião da Silveira Cintra, appointed Archbishop of Olinda ; future Cardinal
- Rosalvo Costa Rêgo, elevated to Archbishop in 1952
- Jorge Marcos de Oliveira, appointed Bishop of Santo André, Sao Paulo
- Hélder Pessoa Câmara, elevated to Archbishop in 1955; appointed Archbishop of Olinda e Recife, Pernambuco
- José Vicente Távora, appointed Bishop of Aracajú
- Othon Motta, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Campanha, Minas Gerais
- Wilson Laus Schmidt, appointed Bishop of Chapecó, Santa Catarina
- Honorato Piazera, S.C.I., appointed Bishop of Nova Iguaçu, Rio de Janeiro
- José Gonçalves da Costa, C.SS.R., appointed Bishop of Presidente Prudente, Sao Paulo
- Cândido Rubens Padín, O.S.B., appointed Bishop of Lorena, Sao Paulo
- Waldyr Calheiros Novaes , appointed Bishop of Barra do Piraí-Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro
- José Alberto Lopes de Castro Pinto, appointed Bishop of Guaxupé, Minas Gerais
- Alberto Trevisan, S.A.C.
- Mário Teixeira Gurgel, S.D.S., appointed Bishop of Itabira
- Eduardo Koaik, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Piracicaba, Sao Paulo
- Karl Josef Romer, appointed Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Family
- Carlos Alberto Etchandy Gimeno Navarro, appointed Bishop of Campos, Rio de Janeiro
- Celso José Pinto da Silva, appointed Bishop of Vitória da Conquista, Bahia
- Affonso Felippe Gregory, appointed Bishop of Imperatriz, Maranhão
- João d'Avila Moreira Lima
- José Palmeira Lessa, appointed Bishop of Propriá, Sergipe
- José Carlos de Lima Vaz, S.J., appointed Bishop of Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro
- Narbal da Costa Stencel
- Rafael Llano Cifuentes, appointed Bishop of Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro
- Augusto José Zini Filho, appointed Bishop of Limeira, Sao Paulo
- Filippo Santoro, appointed Bishop of Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro
- Wilson Tadeu Jönck, S.C.I., appointed Bishop of Tubarão, Santa Catarina
- Dimas Lara Barbosa, appointed Archbishop of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul
- Assis Lopes
- Edney Gouvêa Mattoso, appointed Bishop of Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro
- Edson de Castro Homem, appointed Bishop of Iguatú, Ceara
- Nelson Francelino Ferreira, appointed Bishop of Valença, Rio de Janeiro
- Pedro Cunha Cruz, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Campanha, Minas Gerais
- Paulo Cezar Costa, appointed Bishop of São Carlos, Sao Paulo
- Luiz Henrique da Silva Brito, appointed Bishop of Barra do Piraí-Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
- Luiz Antônio dos Santos, appointed Bishop of Fortaleza in 1860
- Eduardo Duarte e Silva, appointed Bishop of Goiás in 1891
- Carlos Duarte Costa, appointed Bishop of Botucatu in 1924
- João Batista da Mota e Albuquerque, appointed Bishop of Espírito Santo in 1957
Current Suffragan Dioceses
- Diocese of Barra do Piraí-Volta Redonda
- Diocese of Duque de Caxias
- Diocese of Itaguaí
- Diocese of Nova Iguaçu
- Diocese of Valença