Early life and ministry

Carlos Duarte Costa was born in Rio de Janeiro on July 21, 1888, at the residence of his uncle Eduardo Duarte de Silva. His father was João Matta Francisco Costa and his mother was Maria Carlota Duarte da Silva Costa, who came from a family heavily involved in politics and public service. He completed his primary studies at the Salesian College Santa Rosa, in Niterói, and at age nine, he received his first communion in the cathedral of Uberaba from the hands of his uncle, Dom Eduardo Duarte da Silva (now a bishop), on July 24, 1897. That same year he was taken by his uncle to Rome to study at the Pontifical Latin American College, a Jesuit minor seminary. In 1905 he returned to Brazil for health reasons and entered an Augustinian seminary in Uberaba, where he continued his philosophical and theological studies. He only narrowly managed to complete his studies and qualify for ordination, however, and his uncle intervened to vouch for his nephew.

After ordination as a deacon, Duarte Costa served in the cathedral church of Uberaba under his uncle, Dom Eduardo Duarte da Silva, who, on April 1, 1911, ordained Duarte Costa to the priesthood. He worked with his uncle in Uberaba as secretary of the diocese. Duarte Costa was awarded the title of monsignor for his publication of a catechism for children and was later named Protonotary Apostolic and General Secretary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, serving in this capacity until 1923.

On July 4, 1924, Pope Pius XI nominated Duarte Costa as Bishop of Botucatu. His episcopal consecration occurred on December 8 that year at the metropolitan cathedral of Rio de Janeiro, presided over by Cardinal Sebastian Leme da Silveira Cintra.

Attempts at church and societal reform.

In the 1930s, Sam Carlos Duarte Costa became deeply involved in the social and political changes taking place in Brazil. Brazil’s economy had collapsed in 1929 as a result of the Great Depression and a populist military regime had taken over the government in 1930. Led by Getúlio Vargas, the new government had an erratic policy record in its early years, sometimes anti-clerical and anti-aristocratic, sometimes swinging the opposite direction. In 1932, San Carlos Duarte Costa became a leading spokesman for the Catholic Electoral League, which was organized by the church to lobby for Christian principles in the laws and acts of the government.

In 1932, San Carlos Duarte Costa played an active role in the Constitutionalist Revolution, a failed attempt to restore constitutional government to Brazil. Duarte Costa formed a «Battalion of the Bishop» to fight on the side of the Constitutionalist troops and helped finance the battalion by selling off diocesan assets along with his own personal possessions. Duarte Costa’s battalion never fought.  San Carlos Duarte Costa’s support for the Constitutionalist Revolution earned him the animosity of President Vargas, signaling the beginning of a long period of difficult relations between San Carlos Duarte Costa and the Brazilian government.

In 1936, San Carlos Duarte Costa made his second “ad limina” visit to Rome, meeting with Pope Pius XI. It is widely believed that he presented the pope with a list of radical reform proposals for the Catholic Church in Brazil, though no record of this survives. During this period, he did become friends with another outspoken priest who would go on to achieve world fame, Helder Camara.

Bishop of Maura

In September 1937, Dom Carlos Duarte Costa resigned from his episcopal post and was appointed titular bishop of Maura. Duarte Costa left the diocesan quarters but remained in Rio de Janeiro as Bishop Emeritus of Botucatu and Titular Bishop of Maura. He obtained the support of a protector, Cardinal Dom Sebastião da Silveira Cintra, who granted permission for him to keep a private chapel. At this time he established the magazine Nossos («Ours») as a vehicle to spread devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Soon, however, San Carlos Duarte Costa resumed his vocal criticism of the government and the national church administration, which he saw as an accessory to the mistreatment of the poor in Brazil. He openly criticized certain papal periodicals and encyclicals, including Rerum novarum (Leo XIII), Quadragesimo anno (Pius XI), and Divini Redemptoris (Pius XI).