Cardinal António Augusto dos Santos Marto is a progressive Portuguese prelate whose theology and approach to Church reform closely match those of Pope Francis.

Born on May 5, 1947, in the municipality of Chaves, in the diocese of Vila Real, Portugal, António was the youngest of four siblings, two of whom died before he was born, one of them in a tragic accident. Antonio was the product of an unintended but ultimately welcomed pregnancy.

After he completed his preparatory studies in the minor seminary of Vila Real, Marto attended courses in philosophy and theology at the Catholic University of Portugal, as a student at the major seminary in Porto.

He was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on November 7, 1971, while pursuing his doctoral studies in Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. During this time, he had the opportunity to study under Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and completed his doctoral thesis in 1978, focusing on Christian hope and eschatology.

After his return from Rome, he remained in the city of Porto, as professor of theology at the Catholic University. He was also prefect of discipline at the major seminary of Porto and head of seminarians for the diocese of Vila Real.

His episcopal journey began when Pope John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Braga on November 10, 2000. He was consecrated as a bishop on February 11, 2001, appointed Bishop of Viseu in 2004 and then Bishop of Leiria-Fátima in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI. Although he shares the same surname as two of the Fatima children, he is not related.

Pope Francis elevated Bishop Marto to the cardinalate in June 2018.

As Bishop of Leiria-Fátima, Marto had the honor of hosting two popes during their visits to the Sanctuary of Fátima: Benedict XVI in 2010 and Francis in 2017, the centenary of Our Lady appearing to the three shepherd children.

From 2011 to 2014, Marto served as the delegate of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference to the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, demonstrating his involvement in broader Church affairs.

Cardinal Marto is known to be closely aligned with Pope Francis’s vision and approach to Church reforms. He has described himself as a “steadfast” partner in the Pope’s efforts to reform the Church and Roman Curia, aiming to make them “more like Jesus, who approached the people, who went out on the streets.” Pope Francis’ pilgrim Church, he added, “goes out to meet everyone, no exception, without any discrimination.”

Cardinal Marto has a progressive and distinctly non-traditional approach to liturgical matters. He has criticized what he calls the “bulimia of rites and the anorexia of the Word,” lamenting an excessive focus on rituals at the expense of engaging with Scripture. The faith, he has said, “cannot be reduced to mere doctrine, or a set of rites, or rules of good behavior,” adding that the Church “must pay regard to the youth, realizing that they look for a spiritual dimension that is more profound than what was usually imparted before.” He does not appear to have spoken publicly on Traditionis Custodes but most likely agrees with its aim to establish the novus ordo as the one form of the Roman Rite.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Marto criticized a petition by 500 Portuguese Catholics calling on the Vatican to overturn the Portuguese Episcopal Conference’s decision to administer Communion in the hand during the pandemic. Having clarified that the signatories “are entitled to their opinion,” he lamented that traditionally-minded Catholics were “questioning the very faith of their bishops.” He argued against those who insisted on receiving on the tongue, citing Jesus’ own words: “Take and eat. Take, not ‘open thy mouth.’”¹He added: “Sometimes mouths have so much filth in them…. Sometimes I see callused hands receiving the Sacred Host and I am moved. These are hands that show work, sacrifice, and dedication to their families, dedication unto others. Hands of saints, perchance, saintly hands. Why would we ever restrict [receiving Communion with due reverence] to the tongue?”

Cardinal Marto also made headlines during the pandemic for his strong stance against those who viewed the pandemic as divine punishment. He called such views “unchristian” and attributed them to “ignorance, sectarian fanaticism, or madness.”

The cardinal highly values popular religiosity, despite criticisms that it lacks theological depth or catechetical knowledge. He views it as “an expression of the inculturation of the faith in the simple people.”

Cardinal Marto has spoken out against abortion, considering it an immoral practice, and has underlined his opposition to all forms of euthanasia.

He has echoed Francis’ open border stance on migrants and refugees, criticizing the resurgence of certain types of nationalism which he said thrives on “fear and insecurity.” He also spoke out against the policy of separating families on the border between the United States and Mexico, said to have been implemented by the 2016-2020 Trump administration, classifying it as “immoral.”

Marto criticized Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano’s call on Pope Francis to resign in 2018 over Francis’ rehabilitation of the disgraced abuser Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Marto dismissed the archbishop’s public denunciation as “an ignoble organized attack” on Francis, meant to “call into question his credibility and to create division within the Church.” He urged the faithful to remember the message of Our Lady of Fátima on the importance of unity within the Church, and to commit to the “culture of care” of which the Pope spoke, to protect children and combat every form of abuse.

Pope Francis accepted Cardinal Marto’s resignation as Bishop of Leiria-Fatima in January 2022.