José Tolentino Mendonça (Madeira, Portugal, 1965) is one of the most original voices of contemporary Portugal. Specialist in biblical studies (he is a doctor in biblical theology by the Pontifical Biblical Institute of Rome), he has approached with rigor and creativity the themes and texts of the Christian canon in dialogue with the great questions of the present. He is a professor at the Portuguese Catholic University, where he currently holds the position of vice chancellor. He directs the Didaskalia magazine edited by the Faculty of Theology of the same university. Since 2011 he has been a consultant to the Pontifical Council for Culture in the Vatican. Besides being an essayist, he is the author of a poetic work that enjoys great recognition in Portuguese literature.