Cardinal Alexandre Jose Maria dos Santos, the first Mozambique born cardinal , has died at the age of 97. He is the Catholic leader remembered for fostering peace during the civil war from 1977 to 1992 in Mozambique. Pope Francis paid tribute to the cardinal in a condolence telegram sent to Archbishop Francisco Chimoio.
Jose Maria died on the evening of September 29 in Maputo where he served as archbishop for nearly three decades. when he was born on March 18, 1924, in Zavala, at a time when the African nation was still a colony of Portugal. He was ordained a priest in the Franciscan order on June 25, 1953. He was the first indigenous priest of Mozambique in 1975, Pope St. Paul VI appointed him as the archbishop of Maputo. After several months only the country gained formal independence from Portugal.
Archbishop Dos Santos promoted various program to help the poor, refugees and victims of drought. He has established an African religious institute for Mozambican girls. He continued his services as archbishop till 2003 at his retirement at the age of 79.