He studied philosophy in Vitoria, Spain, between 1963 and 1965 and theology in Rome between 1965 and 1973. He earned a Canonical Licentiate degree in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical Theological Faculty ‘Teresianum' and one in Biblical Sciences at the Pontifical Biblical Institute. He earned a PhD in Biblical Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, with a thesis titled ‘A visão das origens em Génesis 2,4b-3,24' [‘A vision of the origins in Genesis 2, 4b-3,24']. He has lectured at various international universities and is presently a guest full professor at Universidade Católica Portuguesa.