Becoming embroiled in a Church scandal over the inaugural Mass in his new archdiocese is likely not what Archbishop Odelir José Magri had in mind last week.
But that is exactly what happened on Feb. 13, when images and video surfaced of a Mass in the Archdiocese of Chapecó, Brazil, in which a woman dressed in an alb and stole participated in the opening procession, took her seat near the other priests, and later took communion from the altar.
The incident has received extensive coverage in the Catholic press in Brazil and abroad, particularly on social media networks.
Who is the woman in question? What exactly happened? And what does the archdiocese have to say about it?
The Pillar explains.
First, who is Archbishop Odelir José Magri?
The 61-year-old archbishop was ordained in 1992 as a Comboni missionary. He served for four years in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and returned to Brazil in 1996, taking up positions within his congregation until he was made bishop of Sobral, Brazil in 2010. His episcopal motto is “Come to me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Just two years later, he was sent to the Diocese of Chapecó in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.
In November of 2024, Pope Francis elevated the Diocese of Chapecó to an archdiocese, maintaining Magri at its helm, but now as archbishop.
The official Mass for the creation of the archdiocese took place on February 13, and it is there that the woman in question, now identified as Vivian de Oliveira, made her controversial entrance.
Who is Vivian de Oliveira?
According to her Linkedin page, and official documents from the state of Santa Catarina, Vivian Schwanke de Oliveira is an elementary school teacher.
She appears to have been installed as a minister of the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil in September 2024, and is currently listed on the website of the province of the Upper Uruguay Region of the AECB as a member of the pastoral team.
The AECB is the 19th province of the global Anglican Communion. It is the oldest Christian Church in Brazil after the Catholic Church, having been founded in the 19th century through a treaty between then-colonial power Portugal, and the United Kingdom. The AECB allows women’s ordination, and is currently led by a woman primate, Marinez Rosa dos Santos Bassotto.
What exactly was de Oliveira doing at the Mass?
According to Archbishop Magri, de Oliveira had been attending the Mass as an “ecumenical gesture,” for which he thanked her.
Another Protestant minister was also present, although he chose to sit in the pews, among lay Catholics.
De Oliveira, on the other hand, participated in the procession and took a seat with a group of priests to the right of the altar. There were around 80 priests concelebrating the Mass.
It is unclear from the images and video of the Mass whether de Oliveira was intending to concelebrate at the Mass.
During the consecration, while all the concelebrating priests raise their hands along with the presiding bishop, she is not in the shot, so it is not clear if she attempted to participate in the consecration, which would be an essential part of an attempt to concelebrate.
She did, however, join the surrounding priests at communion, approach the altar, and self-communicate.
It is clear that Archbishop Magri was aware of de Oliveira’s presence among the other priests - he acknowledged her in his homily.
However, it is not clear that he witnessed her partaking of the Eucharist, as the bishop himself was distributing communion at the time, and had his back to the altar.
What does the Church say about these situations?
Canon 908 says that “Catholic priests are forbidden to concelebrate the Eucharist with priests or ministers of Churches or ecclesial communities which do not have full communion with the Catholic Church.”
The Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism, published by the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity, says that “in a Catholic liturgical celebration, ministers of other Churches and ecclesial Communities may have the place and liturgical honors proper to their rank and their role, if this is judged desirable.”
However, this text falls under the section dedicated to “Sharing in Non-Sacramental Liturgical Worship.” The section dedicated to sharing in sacramental liturgical worship does not make allowance for the presence of non-Catholic ministers.
What has the archdiocese said about this?
The archdiocese released a statement on its website after the Mass. The statement is vague, but says that the archbishop has informed the nunciature about the “circumstances of this isolated incident regarding the inadvertent violation of liturgical norms.”
In the statement, Archbishop Magri goes on to renew his “commitment to doctrinal orthodoxy and liturgical orthopraxis,” promising to “make efforts to avoid future mistakes.”
De Oliveira herself does not appear to have commented on the incident, and Vatican authorities have not weighed in either.
