Departures of note

João Monteiro de Barros Filho was born on 5 November 1938 in Barretos, São Paulo. He began his career in communications in 1955, at age 17, working as a sports journalist on local radio, and went on to build a decades-long career across radio, print journalism, and television. In 1969 he founded the newspaper O Diário in his hometown. After nearly 40 years in the field, in 1992 he created the Instituto Brasileiro de Comunicação Cristã, and on 20 June 1995 he founded Rede Vida de Televisão, headquartered in São José do Rio Preto, with the support of Catholic Church leaders. The network became one of Brazil's leading Catholic broadcasters, offering Christian programming, evangelization, and coverage of Church events across the country and the world. He was also one of the idealizers of Cidade de Maria, a spirituality and formation center of the Diocese of Barretos. He died on 10 September 2026 in Barretos at age 87, prompting three days of official mourning declared by the city.