The Mission of Fr. Cicero, msc

Heart of the Gospel in Curitiba

In the bustling, urban landscape of Curitiba, Brazil, Fr. Cicero Sabino Mendes, MSC (53), brings the tender heartbeat of the “Spirituality of the Heart” into streets and homes often overlooked by society.

A native of Pernambuco in northern Brazil, Fr. Cicero,msc comes from a devout, missionary family, including a sister in the Daughters of Charity serving in Ecuador. Now celebrating eighteen years of priesthood—including three years as parish priest of Our Lady Help of Christians—he stands as both Minister of the Word (“food for the soul”) and Minister to the needy (“food for the body”).

This is the story of prophetic mission and Catholic Social Action alive in the heart of urban Curitiba—a ministry grounded in JPIC (Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation) and Gospel values.

Spiritual Fitness and Service. Fr. Cicero says: “I feel good and happy as a Missionary of God’s Heart. Being a pastor means caring for ourselves, too – I do biking, and have regular exercise, and nurture my spiritual needs as well. Celebrating the sacraments and teaching catechesis is spiritual nourishment. Serving the temporal needs of other people – feeding bodies – is sacred too.”

Under his guidance, the parish runs several sustained social works:
· Saturday Lunch Boxes and Monthly Food Basket Distributions for those who have no home.
· An Open House regularly offers clothing and other provisions. For three years, long-time volunteers Magda Giovanna de Souza and Maria Vanda Martins have helped distribute essential needs—an offering that brings joy to both giver and receiver.
· A faith-filled support network from the parishioners and volunteers, according to their abilities, providing what they can: time, goods, encouragement, and prayer.

With 31 migrant families, “We accompany them in whatever they need—so they can take the next step in life. Some come back and help others in return, but many do not.”

Near the parish, Fr. Cicero serves as the spiritual guide at a 75-bed rehabilitation centre, run by the Carmelite Sisters and partly funded by the government. The facility, overseen by Sisters Luz Albina Jansasoy, Graciela, and Yunemi, treats individuals struggling with substance abuse. Bringing the Gospel of compassion into a place of significant human vulnerability, exemplifying the Spirit of solidarity in Catholic social teaching on caring for the marginalised, and reflecting Jesus’ ministry to the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18).

Prophetic Action in a Modern City and journeying to the disadvantaged is not built on grand programs, but on the unfolding love that has been witnessed in small gestures:
· Sharing meals with the homeless becomes an encounter with Christ (Matthew 25).
· Accompanying migrants transforms reception into kinship.
· Ministering within a rehab centre brings spiritual healing to bodies that have forgotten how to pray.
· Empowering volunteers becomes a realisation of community.

In the heart of Curitiba, Fr. Cicero lives a prophetic ministry. He reminds us that faithful ministry must simultaneously address spiritual hunger and social brokenness. In this lies the transformative power of the Gospel and the embodied spirituality of the Sacred Heart.

May his witness inspire others worldwide to advocate for peace with justice—even in cities marked by complexity. In living prophetic JPIC, may we—even unknowingly—lead others to the Sacred Heart, where hope and healing become visible.