Portuguese Catholic Scouting Association Founding Anniversary Date in the current year: May 27, 2026

Portugal was one of the first countries in the world to adopt Scouting after its introduction by Robert Baden-Powell. The first Scouting organizations in Portugal were founded in 1911, and the oldest existing organization, the Scout Association of Portugal (Associação dos Escoteiros de Portugal, AEP), was founded in 1913. However, Portugal’s oldest Scouting association is not the largest one; that would be the Portuguese Catholic Scouting Association (Corpo Nacional de Escutas – Escutismo Católico Português, CNE).

The CNE’s history can be traced back to the 1922 International Eucharistic Congress in Rome, which included a parade of 20,000 members of the Italian Catholic Scout Association (Associazione Scouts Cattolici Italiani). Among those in attendance was Manuel Vieira de Matos, the Archbishop of Braga, who was so impressed by the parade that he decided to start a Catholic Scouting association in Portugal.

Upon returning to Portugal, Matos and his secretary, Dr. Avelino Gonçalves, gathered eleven like-minded Braga residents to discuss creating a Catholic Scout group. They met on May 24, 1923, and three days later, the local authorities officially approved the statuteof the Portuguese Catholic Scouts Corps (Corpo de Escuteiros Católicos Portugueses). Thus, May 27 is regarded as the anniversary of the CNE’s founding.

The Portuguese Catholic Scouts Corps became a founding member of the Scouting Federation of Portugal (Federação Escutista de Portugal) in 1928. The following year, it joined the World Organization of the Scout Movement, and in 1934, it received its current name. Since 1995, CNE has also been a member of the Community of Lusophone Scouting (Comunidade do Escutismo Lusófono).

Throughout its history, the CNE has faced challenges, yet it remains the largest Scouting association in Portugal. It has nearly 70,000 members of both genders and over 1,000 local, parish-based groups throughout Portugal and its autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira. For comparison, Portugal’s second-largest and oldest Scouting organization, AEP, has approximately 13,000 members of both genders.

According to CNE’s official website, its mission is to contribute to the education of young people through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law. This system helps build a better world where people are fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society. Its educational program aligns with the aims, principles, and methods conceived by Scouting’s founder, Robert Baden-Powell, as well as the World Organization of the Scout Movement’s statute. The program encompasses six areas of personal development: physical, emotional, character, spiritual, intellectual, and social.