Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias

Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias (born 18 April 1958) is an Angolan prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Archbishop of Luanda since 2015; he was an auxiliary bishop there from 2003 to 2005.

He was Bishop of Cabinda from 2005 to 2014, where his lack of identification with the province and its separatist movement initially made his appointment controversial and he was only installed after sixteen months.

Vieira Dias belongs to an illustrious Angolan family with strong links to the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA).

[1] He is the cousin once removed of General Hélder Vieira Dias, known as “Kopelipa,” a member of the inner circle of José Eduardo dos Santos, who was president of Angola from 1979 to 2017.

[5] Because he was not from Cabinda and because of his family links to the regime of José Eduardo dos Santos, Vieira Dias’s appointment was controversial and was met with massive protests by Cabindan Catholics.

[7] The Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé (CEAST) decried the opposition of Cabindan Catholics to Vieira Dias's nomination and warned against the politicization of the Church in Cabinda.

[9] In Vieira Dias's absence, Eugenio Dal Corso, then the bishop of Saurímo, was sent to Cabinda in July to become apostolic administrator of the diocese.

Meanwhile, the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda stated that it held CEAST responsible for the confrontation and implied that the bishops' conference was being manipulated by the Angolan government.