In 1991 he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Nova Caesaris and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Burundi.
[3] Passagiato was accused by the Portuguese catholic clergy of taking "deplorable" and "inhumane" decisions regarding the affairs of the Holy See in Portugal.
The suggestion of Bishop dos Santos, made to Pope, was resisted, in the beginning, by the appointee and shortly before his appointment was made official two priests from Aveiro appealed to Passigato's piety due to the poor heart condition of Bishop dos Santos who himself feared not being capable of heading a bigger diocese.
[3] Bishop dos Santos would die 3 years after his appointment to Porto due to heart attack.
Passigato refused such plead and had Lavrador appointed as bishop in 2015; shortly afterward his father died in April 2016 and his mother in January 2017.