My devotion to Our Lady

I think I must have inherited this devotion from my family because I loved Mary from an early age. I made my first communion on the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. As a teenager, I joined the Marian Congregation in 1946 and have always remained faithful to it. After finishing my studies in accounting in Londrina (Brazil) in 1951, I was able to devote myself more to this Marian association, and at the age of 21, I was elected president of the Marian Congregation, which then had more than 200 members.

In view of the commemoration of the 100^th anniversary of the declaration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, I led the preparation of a gathering of the members of the Congregation and the Children of Mary for the whole northern part of Paraná (one of the 26 states of Brazil). In memory of this event, we installed a statue of the Immaculate Virgin not far from the future Cathedral of Londrina.

At the spiritual retreat of our Marian Congregation in 1954, I felt called to the priesthood, and entered the seminary a year later. I was ordained in 1961, and in 1973, on the last day of May—a month dedicated to Mary—Pope Paul VI sent me a letter announcing that I was appointed as the first bishop of the Diocese of Umuarama-PR.

José Maria Maimone, SAC.

Emeritus Bishop of Umuarama (PR-Brazil)

Exclusive interview by Thácio Siqueira for A Moment with Mary