Brazilian priest Joao Scognamiglio Clà Dia, founder of the community of Heralds of the Gospel, died at the age of 85 on Friday, November 1. He resigned on June 12, 2017 from his position as general president of the Heralds of the Gospel.
Founded in 1999 in the context of the new evangelization, and officially approved by the Pontifical Council for the Laity under the pontificate of John Paul II in 2001, the Heralds of the Gospel have given themselves the mission of spreading Marian worship, in particularly the devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. But they are also an emanation of the Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP), a Brazilian right-wing and traditionalist movement founded in 1960 in São Paulo by the Catholic writer Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, which was characterized by its intense struggle against communism and “Catholic progressivism”. Bishop Clá Dias was a former member of TFP from which he resigned after Oliveira’s death in 1995.
Distributed in 78 countries, its 3,000 members are particularly recognizable by their outfit, composed of a crossed tunic stamped with a large red and white Gothic cross, surrounded by an iron chain from which a large rosary hangs, and boots of black leather. They bring together a secular association under pontifical law and, since 2009, two societies of apostolic life, one clerical, the other feminine. They also have a seminary and a theological institute, the Arautos TV channel, radio stations, a press agency and websites. In Rome, they are in charge of the church of San Benedetto in Piscinula, in the Trastevere district.
Vatican investigation after controversial exorcisms
The association was the subject of a Vatican investigation, launched in 2017 after the revelation of exorcism sessions carried out according to a heterodox ritual, during which the officiants allegedly spoke with the devil. These exorcisms were denounced by the Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli, who in 2018 became editorial director of the dicastery for communication at the Vatican.
The apostolic visit had called into question among the Heralds of the Gospel “ deficiencies in the style of government, the life of council members, vocational ministry, the formation of novices, the administration of property “. Following this investigation, in 2019, Pope Francis placed the governance of the community under the authority of a pontifical commissioner in the person of Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis, the former archbishop of Aparecida.
