José Avelino Bettencourt

His Excellency, The Most Reverend José Avelino Bettencourt ComC, OMRI
Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea Titular Archbishop of Aemona
Installed	26 February 2018
Predecessor	Julio Murat
Other post(s)	Titular Archbishop of Aemona
Orders
Ordination	29 May 1993 by Marcel André J. Gervais
Consecration	19 March 2018 by Pope Francis
Personal details
Born	(1962-05-23) 23 May 1962 Velas, Azores, Portugal
Nationality	Portuguese-Canadian
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Residence	Tbilisi
Previous post(s)	Apostolic Nuncio to Armenia and Georgia (2028-2023) Head of Protocol of Secretariat of State of the Holy See (2012-2018)
Alma mater	University of Ottawa, St. Paul University, Pontifical Gregorian University, Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy
Motto	FIDES SPES CHARITAS (Corinthians 13:13)
Coat of arms

Styles of José Avelino Bettencourt
Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Archbishop

José Avelino Bettencourt ComC, OMRI (born 23 May 1962) is a Portuguese-Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See.

Biography

Born in Velas, Azores, on 23 May 1962, he settled at a young age in Canada with his family. Bettencourt was ordained a priest in 1993 in the Archdiocese of Ottawa and graduated with degrees in literature and theology from the University of Ottawa.

Diplomatic career

He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1999 and obtained a doctorate in canon law at Pontifical Gregorian University. He worked at the apostolic nunciature to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then moved to the Secretariat of State of the Holy See.

On 14 November 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him head of the protocol of the Secretariat of State. He was also responsible for contacts with the embassies accredited to the Holy See and to the central Vatican authority.

On 26 February 2018, Pope Francis gave him the title apostolic nuncio and appointed him Titular Archbishop of Aemona. He was named nuncio to Armenia on 1 March and to Georgia as well on 8 March. He received his episcopal ordination from Pope Francis on 19 March.

On 30 August 2023, Pope Francis appointed him as nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea

Honours and Arms

Honours

Commander of Order of Christ, Palácio Nacional de Belém, 29 April 2013

Grand Officer of Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Rome, 18 April 2015

Coat of Arms

Bettencourt was granted coat of arms by the Canadian Heraldic Authority through a Grant of Arms, on August 15, 2019.

Coat of arms of José Avelino Bettencourt

Granted 2019 Escutcheon Gules on a chevron Argent three concentric stars of eight points Sable voided Argent between two lions passant Sable. Motto FIDES • SPES • CHARITAS (hese Latin words meaning “Faith, hope, love” are taken from 1 Corinthians 13:13: “Now faith, hope and love abide; and the greatest of these is love.”) Symbolism The red symbolizes love, strength and faithful service. The chevron alludes to a carpenter’s square, the attribute of St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, of Canada, and of the Archdiocese of Ottawa, as well as Archbishop Bettencourt’s namesake, José being Portuguese for Joseph. The Holy Trinity is represented by the three iterations of the star, Jesus Christ by its cross form, and the Blessed Virgin Mary by the star itself. The lions refer to Portuguese Bettencourt coats of arms, which feature a rampant black lion on white. The two of them indicate that Archbishop Bettencourt’s parents came from different branches of the Bettencourt family

See also

• List of heads of the diplomatic missions of the Holy See