The Angolan Catholic Archbishop observed that “despite the weight of age, and the silence imposed by his body, which no longer allowed him to take his usual energetic walks, he never ceased to flash a joyful smile or ask that life-filled question: ‘How are you, my son?’ or ‘How are you, my daughter?’”
Archbishop Zeca further said, “With an utmost disposition of the soul, he proclaimed that the name of the Lord is a mighty tower. This Episcopal motto characterized him in every aspect of his life. Nothing could make him falter, nothing discouraged him, nothing defeated him in the face of the sad and painful situations of his people, his country, and even his church.”
“Our Cardinal has already left us. He is leaving us physically. This Mass in the presence of his body, should prompt us to reflect on the legacy of this son of the Church and of Angola in our lives, in the life of our Christian communities, and in the future of our country,” the Angolan member of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) said.
He continued, “Cardinal do Nascimento, who now leaves us, Lord, with a truly prosperous Angola, was rooted in sincere love and dignified respect, aware of the priority of the common good and confident in the happiness of all Angolans and humanity as a whole.”
“Building a better Angola is a task for all of us, a task that belongs to each one of us: building true peace, true reconciliation, and making it unquestionably a commitment before this Prince of the Church, whom we now bury in the Cathedral of Luanda and at the feet of Mary,” the Angolan Catholic Church leader said during the October 8 Funeral Mass.
Born in Angola’s Province of Malanje on 1 March 1925, Cardinal do Nascimento was ordained a Priest in December 1952. After serving as Local Ordinary of the Catholic Diocese of Malanje since his Episcopal Consecration, he was transferred to Angola’s Archdiocese of Lubango in February 1977, and elevated to Archbishop. He was created Cardinal during the February 1983 Consistory.
In February 1986, the Angolan Cardinal was transferred to the Archdiocese of Luanda, where he served till his retirement.
In his homily during the October 8 funeral Mass, Archbishop Zeca said, “Let us ask ourselves, with what spirit of commitment do we embrace and live the authenticity of the Christian faith in Luanda and throughout the country, as spiritual disorientation is an unequivocal cause of many irreparable evils?”
He recalled the late Cardinal’s teachings as having been a blend of faith and patriotism, and said, “Among the loves of His Eminence, we often heard him say: ‘Love Our Lord Jesus Christ, love the Virgin Mary, love Angola, love your homeland. Respect the dignity of all men.’”
The Catholic Archbishop recognized the late Cardinal's virtues of spiritual devotion and discipline, saying, “Deeply in love with Christ, Dom Alexandre embodied a disciplined discipleship. He was a man of rigorous discipline in matters of God and in dealing with his brothers.”
