The Presidency of the Republic awarded, individually, the Medal of Official Grade of the Order of Merit to Albino Martins and his wife Cláudia Martins.
The award ceremony will take place at the Palácio de Belém, in Lisbon, at 11:30 am on April 29, the date on which the European Day of Solidarity and Cooperation between Generations is celebrated. Twelve more personalities linked to social work will be distinguished.
This award is the result of the recognition by the Presidency of the Republic for the excellent service provided in Cachopo and in the “Algarvian mountains” by this couple, linked since the time of their marriage to the Centro Paroquial de Cachopo, both marking their silver wedding anniversary this year.
The Bishop of Algarve, D. Manuel Neto Quintas congratulates "this gesture" of the President of the Republic, expressing the gratitude of the Diocese "to the Albino couple for their service, knowing that what drives them are not human decorations" and congratulates , also, all those who have collaborated with them for 25 years.
Cláudia and Albino Martins, from Vila Real de Santo António, arrived in Cachopo at a very young age, aged 19 and 27, respectively, and got married there in August 1990 and established roots.
According to the newspaper “Folha do Domingo”, “unlike many young people from the region, who left for the Algarve coast in search of new perspectives, the couple followed the opposite path and integrated themselves into a deserted and aging region, in the deep Algarve ».
According to Albino Martins, the basis for this decision was an invitation from the then bishop of the Algarve, D. Manuel Madureira Dias, who struggled with the “need for the presence of the Church in this locality”.
The fact is that, continues the newspaper of the Diocese of Algarve, "there was a lack of priests to serve a community of about 650 people, mostly elderly, and which was dispersed throughout the village of Cachopo and several hills in the parish."
But the couple's mission was not just for "organizing catechesis and dignifying the liturgy", it extended to social support work, aimed at an elderly population with a lack of care at all levels, including health.
Thus, in October 1990 the Parish Center of Cachopo was created, which, as of 2009, with the construction of the D. Manuel Madureira Dias Social Complex, assists 115 elderly people, 30 at home, 20 at the social center, 15 at the center by day and 50 in home support, these are spread over 23 hills of the Algarve mountain range, which involves 500 kilometers a day.
In 2009, the current Bishop of Algarve mandated the couple to also work in the parishes of Martim Longo and Vaqueiros, a mission that includes the respective parish centres.
Meanwhile, Albino Martins was ordained a deacon in January 2012.
It will be for all this work that the couple will now be awarded the Official Grade Medal of the Order of Merit.
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