Rev Dr Pablo de Lima
Lecturer in Sacred Scripture
Biography
Pablo de Lima was born in Venezuela, from Portuguese Parents. He is a priest of the Diocese of Viana do Castelo, Portugal. He obtained the BA+MA in Theology in Braga, PT; he completed the course for the MA in Spiritual and Vocational Counseling in Salamanca, SP; he obtained the Canonic License in Biblical Sciences at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome+Jerusalem, and the PhD at the Faculty of Divinity of the University of Cambridge (St Edmund’s College). He was diocesan director of Youth Ministry and National Director of Youth Ministry of the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference. He was President of The Catholic Institute of Viana do Castelo and Director of the Theological Institute of Viana do Castelo. He is lecturer of Old Testament at St Patrick’s Pontifical University and at the Portuguese Catholic University in Braga. He is also a Parish Priest.
Professional Affiliations & Memberships
2011-2026: Founding Member of the Associação Bíblica Portuguesa.
2021-2026: Member of the Society for Old Testament Study.
2020-2026: Member of the Society of Biblical Literature.
Academic & Professional Service
October 2026 (forthcoming): “ The Psalms in the Hebrew Bible and the People of Israel.”, Yearly Congress of the Associação Bíblica Portuguesa, Braga.
March 2026: “ ‘There is a time to seek’ (Qoh 3.6). בקש and דרש using Structuralist and Cognitivist Linguistic Tools.”, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge.
February 2026: “Announcing God’s word in digital age and AI times”, Inter-Diocesan Liturgical Congress, Viana do Castelo, PT.
November 2025: “Prefigurations of Mary in the Old Testament Writings” and “Mary in the Apocryphal Literature”. Lectures at the International Course of Mariology, Fátima, PT.
May 2025: “Art and Theology in Dialogue at the Exhibition The Body is Food”. Porto, PT.
2023-2025: Translator of the biblical books of Deuteronomy (Hebrew), Esther (Hebrew-Greek), Judith (Greek), and Tobit (Greek) for the Portuguese Catholic Bishops Conference’s Bible (“Bíblia da Conferência Episcopal Portuguesa”).
https://agencia.ecclesia.pt/po...
November 2024: “A cognitive linguistic reading of the semantic field of “seeking” (בקש and דרש) in the Hebrew Bible”, Annual International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, San Diego, USA.
May 2024: “Lexicography and Cognitive Linguistics of the Hebrew Bible. A case-study”, Oxbridge Biblical Studies Conference 2024, Oriel College, Oxford.
April 2022: “For a ‘green’ Society and Church”, Formation of leaderships and teachers, Island of Flores, PT.
December 2021: “ ‘Are the trees people, that you should besiege them?’ (Deut 20:19). Scriptures and Ecology”, Formation of leaderships and teachers, Braga, PT.
May 2019: “The face of fragility in the Scriptures and in Jesus’ life”. Cycle of Studies at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Braga, PT.
March 2018: “As Se7e Últimas Palavras” (The Christ’s Last Seven Words within the concert of Haydn’s oratory), Basílica dos Congregados-Braga, PT, and TV-Program.
March 2018: “A estrada da Esperança no Antigo Testamento” (The path of Hope in the Old Testament), Biblical Conference, Barcelos, PT.
November 2017: “Uma palavra de esperança sobre a morte (One word of hope abouth the death)”, Auditorum Vita, Braga, PT
July 2024: Guest participant at the Woolf Institute and Muslim World League Encounter days.
May 2024: Guest of honour of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, in his official visit to Lisbon, PT.
March 2023: Coordinator and Lecturer of the Ecumenical and Inter-religious Biblical Pilgrimage in Israel-Palestine for students of the University of Cambridge. Also organizer and lecturer of previous Biblical Courses (Week) in Israel-Palestine (2016-2022), Turkey (2022), and Greece (2021).
January 2023: Inter-Faith meeting at the Central Mosque of Lisbon and Buddhist Monastery Sumedharama.
August 2022: Organizer of the Ecumenical Meeting with the Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Palace of Fanar, Istanbul, Turkey.
November 2020: XXIV Week of Theological Studies. “HEAL THE WORLD. Ecologia, Sustentabilidade e Humanismo”. In Collaboration with the School of Health of the Politechnical Institute = Escola Superior de Saúde do Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, PT.
https://noticiasdeviana.pt/xxi...
January 2020: Inter-Faith meeting at the Synagogue of Belmonte, Portugal.
November 2019: XXIII Week of Theological Studies, “Como o vinho do Porto...” (Like Porto wine... Aging and new generations”. In Collaboration with the School of Health of the Polytechnical Institute of Viana do Castelo, PT.
https://agencia.ecclesia.pt/po...
March-April 2019: “Biblical Exegesis and Pedagogy of Religious Teaching”. Formation for Basic and Middle School Teachers, Viana do Castelo. In collaboration with the National Service for Teachers – CEP (Bishop’s Conference).
http://www.educris.com/v3/44-d...
November 2018: XXII Week of Theological Studies, “Saúde, Humor e bem-estar spiritual…” (Healh, Humour, and Spiritual Wellbeing. A very serious issue :) )”. In Collaboration with the School of Health of the Polytechnical Institute = Escola Superior de Saúde do Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, PT.
https://agencia.ecclesia.pt/po...
Other Projects
Podcaster on issues of society and religion “Os Três Suspeitos do Costume” https://www.youtube.com/@Suspe... and https://open.spotify.com/show/...
Participation in the Portuguese version of online international projects: www.Ibreviary.com
https://passo-a-rezar.net. (Click-to-Pray)
Research Interests
- Sacred Scripture; Hebrew Bible; Wisdom Literature; Psalms;
- Lexicography; Linguistics; Cognitive Linguistics;
- History, Arts, and Literature, particularly in their interactions with the Bible.
- Inter-faith Dialogue (especially Judaism-Christianity) and Ecumenism.
- Bible and Spirituality.
Research
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