vicário

Vicário is a term used in Portuguese to refer to a vicar, namely a person who acts as a representative or deputy on behalf of a higher authority. The word vicário derives from Latin vicarius, meaning substitute or deputy, and has masculine form vicário and feminine vicária.

In ecclesiastical usage, vicário designates a clergy member who exercises authority for a bishop or the pope within a defined territory or sphere. The head of a diocese may appoint a vicário-geral as the bishop’s principal deputy; a vicário-forâneo (vicar forane) oversees a deanery; a vicário paroquial assists the parish priest. These roles and their powers vary by church law and local practice. A vicariate (vicariato) is the jurisdiction under a vicário's authority, such as a vicariate within a diocese or a missionary territory known as a vicariate apostolic, led by a vicar apostolic who governs in the pope’s name.

Outside the ecclesiastical field, vicário is less commonly used in modern Portuguese, but the root meaning survives in the general sense of deputy or substitute. The term also appears in historical or legal-administrative contexts to denote a substitute official, and as a surname or toponym in Portuguese-speaking regions.