Katholisch-Apostolische Kirche Europa

The Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasileira (ICAB) is the mother Church of the Catholic Apostolic Church Europe. It is an independent Catholic Church founded in 1945 by the Brazilian bishop Dom Carlos Duarte Costa, formerly Roman Catholic Bishop of Botucatu, Brazil.

1. History of the ICAB

Bishop Carlos Duarte Costa was a determined critic of the regime of Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas (1930–1945) and of the Vatican’s close relationship with that regime. He also publicly questioned the doctrine of papal infallibility and Roman Catholic positions on divorce and clerical celibacy.

In 1937 he was removed from the office of Bishop of Botucatu and appointed Titular Bishop of Maura. The ICAB soon became known as the “Church of the poor.”

Shortly after its foundation, Dom Carlos consecrated two further bishops: Salomão Barbosa Ferraz on 15 August 1945 and Luis Fernando Castillo Méndez on 3 May 1948. Together they established independent national Catholic Apostolic Churches in several Latin American countries.

2. Apostolic succession

In the ICAB, apostolic succession is preserved through the uninterrupted laying on of hands by bishops. The bishops of the ICAB stand in the line of succession of Carlos Duarte Costa, who had been consecrated in the Roman Catholic Church.

As a historical point supporting this succession, reference is made to the case of Salomão Barbosa Ferraz, who was later received into the Roman Catholic Church without a new episcopal consecration.

3. Ordinations and ecclesial journey of Archbishop Gioacchino Collica

12 April 2015 – Priestly ordination by Bishop Gianni di Marco in Sant’Benedetto/Alba Adriatica, Italy.

17 October 2015 – Episcopal consecration in the private Chapel of St Michael in Duisburg.

22 February 2016 – Registration of the “Autonome bischöfliche Prälatur Deutschland e.V.”.

1 February 2019 – Entry into the WCCAC.

20 January 2020 – Consecration sub condicione by Bishop Serge Donatien Abeng Mbarga in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

The line of succession is traced, through Serge Donatien Abeng Mbarga, to Bishop Carlos Duarte Costa.

4. The WCCAC

The WCCAC is a communion of independent Catholic Churches in the ICAB line of succession. It was founded in Guatemala in 2008. Archbishop Gioacchino Collica served as Chancellor of the WCCAC from 2019 to 2020.