Background
José Sebastião de Almeida Neto was born in Lagos, Portugal, the son of Raimundo José Neto, a veteran of the Peninsular War, and his wife Lucy Catherine de Almeida.
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José Sebastião de Almeida Neto was born in Lagos, Portugal, the son of Raimundo José Neto, a veteran of the Peninsular War, and his wife Lucy Catherine de Almeida.
He was educated at the Seminary of Faro and received the sub-diaconate on 20 September 1862 and the diaconate on 21 May 1864.
He was ordained on 1 April 1865. He was nominated as Bishop of Angola e Congo by Luís I of Portugal in July 30 of 1879, the Pope confirmed him on 22 September of that year, but was not consecrated until 18 April of the following year, in Saint Julian Church, Lisbon, by Gaetano Aloisi Masella, Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal. Aires Ornelas e Vasconcelos, Archbishop of Goa, and Jose Lino de Oliveira, Bishop-Emeritus of Angola. served as co-consecrators.
He was nominated by the King of Portugal to the Patriarchate of Lisbon on 12 July 1883, with his confirmation as patriarch occurring on 9 August.
In accordance with tradition holding that the Patriarch of Lisbon be made a cardinal, Pope Leo XIII raised him to that dignity in the consistory of March 24 of 1884. As the Patriarch of Lisbon he presided over the wedding of Prince Don Carlos with Amélie of Orléans, in the Church of Saint Dominic in Lisbon on 22 May 1886.
He participated in the conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius X.
In November 1907 Neto resigned and retired to a convent of his order. Due to religious persecution with the deployment of the first Republic he fled to Spain and as of 30 May 1913, was residing in the convent of Villarino of Ramallosa.
He died at 1:30 Department of Administration and Management on 7 December 1920 in Villarino, near Seville, Spain.
On 9 December, his body was transferred to Tui, Galicia, where it arrived at 05:00. The body was received by Bishop Manuel Lago de Tuy, several canons of the cathedral chapter and the Franciscan community of the Colegio de San Antonio. The coffin was placed on a catafalque in the middle of the cathedral.
On December 10, at 11 am, Mass of requiem was solemn sung by Don Manuel Vieira de Matos, Archbishop of Braga.
King Alfonso XIII of Spain ordered military honors for the Cardinal. After the Mass, the bishop of Tui delivered the funeral oration.
On 28 April 1928, the body was exhumed and solemnly translated to Lisbon, where he was buried on 30 April at the tomb of the patriarchs of the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora.