José Tolentino de Mendonça is a theologian, university professor, and one of the most original voices in modern Portuguese. Born in the island of Madeira in 1965, today he is Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, an administrative unit of the Roman Curia. He is Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Institute for Christian Archaeology and a Bishop since 2018. From 2018 to 2022 he was Librarian of the Holy Roman Church. He was made a Cardinal in October 2019.

"The common thread running through my story is the importance of attention to culture, dialogue, and the power of knowledge and science."

"This is a time when the desire for peace, the stubborn search for a path of peace, should be the primary concern of contemporary culture and society."

"My vision as a man of the church, as a believer, as a Christian, is ultimately a poetic vision and ends up being my way of inhabiting reality."