Trailblazing Brazilian Journalist and News Anchor Dies at 97

Journalist and presenter Cid Moreira, one of the most well-known voices in Brazil, passed away on October 3. He was 97.

Moreira was hospitalized in Petrópolis, in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, where he lived. What started as pneumonia at home progressed to chronic kidney failure, according to the medical report from Hospital Santa Teresa.

Moreira first had contact with the Bible as a child. As a boy, he would read the book in the backyard of his house. As a result of his closeness to the Word of God, in the 1990s Moreira recorded the book of Psalms in audio. From then on, he periodically participated in projects connected to recording the Bible.

He got to know the Adventist Church through lawyer Agostinho Casarin Jr. and became increasingly drawn to the church’s beliefs. One of Moreira’s contributions was to record an audio version of Ellen White’s book Steps to Christ at the request of Cleo Fortes. After this experience, Moreira came to love and understand the Bible even more.

He also recorded the work Textos Bíblicos Extraordinários (Extraordinary Biblical Texts) with Celso Freitas and Sérgio Azevedo. Part of the project, which includes songs by Adventist musicians, was sponsored by Milton Afonso, patron of Adventist communication. Moreira eventually recorded the entire Bible in audio. The initiative took six years to produce, with more than 135 hours of recording.

Box containing volumes of a series with biblical texts and music presented by Adventist groups, choirs, and soloists. [Photo: South American Division News]

Cid Moreira and Siloé Almeida on one of the many visits they made together to media outlets. [Photo: South American Division News]

Adventist businessman Sérgio Azevedo (left) and journalist and broadcaster Cyro César (right) during one of many encounters with Cid Moreira. [Photo: South American Division News]

Contributions and Principles

In Brazil, Moreira had been active as a journalist since 1947. He became widely known as the main anchor on Rede Globo’s primetime news program Jornal Nacional between 1969 and 1996. His grave, resonating voice soon became a trademark in the industry.

According to pastor and journalist Silóe Almeida, one Moreira’s friends, Moreira was an icon of Brazilian journalism and also of biblical texts in audio. He was also an example of longevity, as he took very good care of his health.

Moreira was invited to participate in the Christmas Campaign, a project of the Seventh-day Adventist Church that began in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, at the invitation of Sérgio and Marli Azevedo. That initiative also helped Moreira get to know journalist Almeida, and they became good friends. They visited each other often, and in Moreira’s last month in the hospital, Almeida called him on the phone twice a day and visited him frequently.

Those who knew him said Moreira was a man of principle and had the Word of God as his rule of faith and practice. “Whenever he was invited to a new production, he tried to find out if the text he was going to narrate was in accordance with the Bible,” a friend said. “And if it wasn’t, he wouldn’t move forward.”

Azevedo, an Adventist publicist and businessman who was also a close friend of the icon of Brazilian journalism, developed several initiatives with Moreira through the years, especially in connection to the Bible. “It was gratifying to work, record, and carry out various projects with Moreira,” Azevedo said. “A great supporter of Bible reading, he helped thousands of people to know more about the teachings of the Word. May God comfort his family, and may his legacy continue to influence people to get closer to Christ.”

The original version of this story was posted on the South American Division Portuguese-language news site.