The community of Comporta gathered to remember and pay a heartfelt posthumous tribute to Father Adalberto Saraiva, who served as parish priest for 56 years. A street in the village now bears his name.
The celebrations began at the Church of Comporta with a mass presided over by Cardinal D. Américo de Aguiar, Bishop of Setúbal, where family, residents, church members, and representatives of local institutions recalled Father Adalberto's generosity and dedication.
Subsequently, events moved to the S. Pedro da Comporta Social and Parish Center, of which Father Adalberto was a founding member. His contribution to the construction and development of the Parish Center was commemorated by naming the former Rua da Escola as Rua Padre Adalberto Tacanho Saraiva.
The president of the Municipal Chamber of Alcácer do Sal, Clarisse Campos, highlighted the impact of Father Adalberto's social, cultural, and human work on the Comporta community, emphasizing the importance of his enduring legacy.
A celebratory lunch at the Parish Center followed, where moving stories were shared and the memory of the parish priest was honored. Adalberto Tacanho Saraiva was born on September 16, 1928, in S. Pedro (Manteigas), in the Serra da Estrela, and was ordained a priest in 1953.
Throughout his career, he served as chaplain at the Hospital of Reguengos de Monsaraz, at the Practical Artillery School in Vendas Novas, assistant parish priest of Viana do Alentejo, deputy Chancellor of the Diocesan Curia of Évora, and religious assistant at the Prison Establishment of Pinheiro da Cruz.
He took on the role of parish priest in Comporta in 1961, also serving as parish priest of Melides. In Comporta, his work with the Social and Parish Center was particularly notable, and he also served as president of the General Assembly of the Clube Recreativo da Herdade da Comporta.
In 2009, he was awarded the Municipal Merit Medal in the area of Social Action by the Municipal Chamber of Alcácer do Sal. He remained in Comporta as parish priest until 2017, passing away on March 6, 2021, at the age of 92.
