An interview with Father Anísio Tavares, the new Director of the Collegio Maggiore in Rome.
With the start of the 2025-2026 academic year, Father Anísio Tavares CSsR assumed the role of director of the Collegio Maggiore in Rome. This community is composed of Redemptorists who have come to the Eternal City to pursue licentiate and doctoral degrees at various Roman universities. There are currently 22 confreres from various provinces of the Congregation.
Scala News asked Father Anisio for an interview to introduce to our confreres and partners in the mission both the new director of the Collegio Maggiore and the important formative community of our Congregation, the Collegio Maggiore in Rome.
Can you tell us about the origins of your vocation and the experiences that influenced your journey towards the priesthood?
I am the son of José Tavares and Helena Alves Tavares, born on May 19, 1981, in Avaré, São Paulo, Brazil. I am the youngest of six siblings: two boys and three girls. My priestly vocation has deep roots, dating back to childhood. My family instilled in me a simple yet intense religiosity, based on rosaries, novenas, and participation in parish celebrations.
An event that marked my life dates back to when I was six years old: during the Corpus Christi Mass in the parish church of São Benedito, as we were leaving for the procession, the song “Te amarei, Senhor” resounded from the tower. It was at that moment that I felt the call to the priestly life ignited in my heart.
In 1994, my family moved from the rural area to the city. There, I completed my basic education in 1995 and began working as a kitchen and washing machine repairman. Urban life also offered me rich ecclesial experience: I participated in youth groups at the Parish of Nossa Senhora das Dores – Santo Expedito Community, was a catechist, played guitar at Masses and celebrations, and had a brief five-month of involvements. During that time, I also served as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, caring for the sick at São José Parish.
Despite these experiences, the call to the priesthood grew ever stronger. I began a serious process of discernment, asking myself what it meant for my life. It was a woman in the community, Dona Yolanda, who introduced me to the Redemptorist Missionaries. From that moment, my missionary vocation began to take shape and grow. I resumed my studies and graduated from high school between 2001 and 2002. I then decided to contact the Redemptorists of Aparecida. After vocational guidance, I quit my job and entered the Preparatory Program in February 2003.
What were the fundamental stages of your religious formation and the roles you covered in the Congregation?
On February 2, 2008, I professed my vows in the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. I was ordained a deacon on March 24, 2012, and a priest on August 11 of the same year. After completing my theological studies, I was appointed director of the Santo Alfonso Minor Seminary in Aparecida, SP. Except for 2015 and 2017, when I was at the Collegio Maggiore, I have always served as a formator: from 2018 to 2020 in the Juniorate in São Paulo, and from 2021 to 2024 in the Postulancy in Belo Horizonte. These years have been an opportunity for me to deepen and mature in my Redemptorist vocation.
From 2019 to 2023, I was part of the provincial government, precisely during the period of preparation for the Congregation’s reconfiguration process. Also in 2019, I was appointed vice-postulator for the Cause of Beatification and Canonization of Fr. Vitor Coelho de Almeida, known as the Apostle of Aparecida.
This year I completed my academic studies at the Jesuit Faculty of Philosophy and Theology (FAJE) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, earning a doctorate in Moral Theology. Upon arriving in Rome, I took up the position of Director of the Collegio Maggiore Sant’Alfonso and Assistant Professor at the Alphonsian Academy.
How did you experience your appointment as Director of the Collegio Maggiore?
The Collegio Maggiore was not entirely unfamiliar to me: I had already been part of this community during my studies for the Licentiate in Moral Theology at the Alphonsian Academy between 2015 and 2017, even serving for a time as vice-director. However, after nearly ten years, the current situation presents new opportunities and challenges. When I officially assumed office on October 1, 2025, I felt the weight of responsibility, but also great joy at the opportunity to contribute, alongside my confreres, to this important mission of study and formation.
What is the reality that characterizes the Collegio Maggiore today ?
The Collegio Maggiore Sant’Alfonso is a dynamic community, composed of confreres studying at various universities and faculties in Rome, each with a different pace of life than traditional academic life. Our primary mission is to provide a community environment that allows for the full experience of all aspects of Redemptorist life. Despite constant arrivals and departures, we form a missionary body that seeks to deepen and live out our Redemptorist identity.
The College is part of the Sant’Alfonso Community, which also includes professors from the Alphonsian Academy, confreres from the General Curia, and the Shrine. How do you intend to collaborate with this larger community?
Collaboration between the members of the College and the broader community is essential to forming a single missionary body. We actively participate in the activities of the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the Community Council, and other initiatives. Students can count on the support of the confreres who work in various sectors of the Generalate, while other confreres from different communities contribute to our formation, for example during retreats or visits to the places of Saints Alphonsus and Clement.
What is the main mission of a College for students?
The College aims to provide a physical, human, spiritual, and fraternal structure that allows each student to fully develop their studies. Being part of the Collegio Maggiore Sant’Alfonso does not mean interrupting missionary activity but rather experiencing studies as a fundamental missionary dimension to addressing the current challenges of the Church and the Congregation.
What growth opportunities do you see for the institution and for the brothers studying in Rome?
Living in Rome, at the Collegio Maggiore, is in itself an opportunity for personal and institutional growth. Each confrere has the opportunity to broaden his vision and understanding of the Redemptorist mission in the world. The Congregation, in turn, is enriched by the exchange of experiences among its confreres. Another great opportunity is the academic and ecclesial life in Rome: participating in events and celebrations at the Vatican, or experiencing firsthand realities often studied only in textbooks, enriches the experience of being a missionary Church.
What qualities do you consider essential for young Redemptorists preparing for ministry?
In this time of Restructuring for the Mission, missionary availability is essential. Studying for a Licentiate or Doctorate means exploring issues relevant to our mission, helping to make the proclamation of Copiosa Redemptio meaningful in today’s culture. Study is not only preparation for the mission, but is mission itself. Another essential quality is merciful missionary zeal: every missionary must experience the Merciful God and proclaim this love to their brothers and sisters. Pastoral closeness, the ability to listen, and compassion for those who suffer are also important. In this Jubilee Year, we cannot forget the virtue of Hope, which “never disappoints” (Rom 5:5). The heart of the Redemptorist missionary must always be filled with evangelical hope.
How will you integrate prayer, community life, and pastoral experience into your daily formation?
Prayer life and community activities follow the program of the Sant’Alfonso Community. Events such as the annual retreat, the weekly Tuesday Mass, and monthly meetings are reserved for the College, but not exclusively. Pastoral work is carried out through chaplaincies and occasional missionary initiatives, both in Italy and abroad. However, academic mission remains the primary focus: each brother is sent by his own province to dedicate himself full-time to studies. Spirituality, community life, and missionary activities among the people enrich this journey.
What are your initial priorities in the role of Director?
The initial priority is to get to know our confreres, who come from diverse countries and cultures. This is essential to accompany them on their studies in Rome. Beyond academic support, it is crucial to nurture their human, spiritual, and vocational development. From my experience, I believe that promoting community life is crucial to addressing and overcoming the typical crises of academic life. Another priority is to value diversity, starting with the Redemptorist identity that unites us, thus enriching coexistence in the Community of Sant’Alfonso.
What will be the main challenges and how do you intend to address them?
The main internal challenge is to motivate community life, to jointly address the process of Restructuring for the Mission that involves the entire Congregation. As a College, we must spend this period of study in Rome without losing contact with our home provinces, sharing experiences for a more comprehensive vision of the mission. Externally, we are called to remain in tune with a globalized, technological, and pluralistic culture. Understanding environmental, migration, political, and economic crises is essential for interacting with today’s society. In an age rich in information and connections, we are called to be missionaries of dialogue and fraternity.
What are your hopes for the future of the College?
I hope to continue the work already begun, remaining attentive to the new needs of the present. My goal is to promote listening, dialogue, acceptance, and presence as key elements of my leadership. I look forward to a fraternal coexistence, an intellectual and vocational missionary commitment, for the present and future of the Collegio Maggiore Sant’Alfonso.
What message would you like to give to student confreres at the beginning of this new mission?
We begin a new chapter in the College’s history. We honor the tradition built thus far and address the present, with its opportunities and challenges. We walk together in the academic mission, supporting one another on this journey of learning, in view of our Redemptorist missionary work.
Thank you, Father Anísio, for sharing your journey and your vision. We hope that your service will bear fruit for the community of the Collegio Maggiore and the Congregation.
Scala News
