Roger Etchegaray
His Eminence Roger Etchegaray | |
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President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace | |
Cardinal Roger Etchegaray in Sarajevo, 2012. | |
See | Porto-Santa Rufina |
Appointed | 8 April 1984 |
Term ended | 24 June 1998 |
Predecessor | Agostino Casaroli |
Other posts | |
Orders | |
Ordination |
13 July 1947 by Jean Saint-Pierre |
Consecration |
27 May 1969 by François Marty |
Created cardinal |
30 June 1979 by Pope John Paul II |
Rank |
Cardinal-Bishop (previously Cardinal-Priest) |
Personal details | |
Birth name | Roger Marie Élie Etchegaray |
Born |
Espelette, France | 25 September 1922
Denomination | Catholic Church |
Previous post |
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Roger Marie Élie Etchegaray (French pronunciation: [ʁɔʒe ɛtʃɛɡaʁaj]; born 25 September, 1922, in Espelette/Ezpeleta, Pyrénées-Atlantiques) is a French cardinal of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church.
Etchegaray served as the archbishop of Marseille from 1970 to 1985 before entering the Roman Curia, where he served as President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (1984–1998) and President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum (1984–1995). He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1979.
On 24 December 2009 he was seriously injured in an unsuccessful attack on Pope Benedict XVI while processing into Mass at St Peter's Basilica. Etchegaray was hospitalized with broken bones.
Biography
Early life and ordination
Etchegaray, of Basque stock, was born in the Northern Basque Country to Jean-Batiste and Aurélie Etchegaray. The eldest of three children, he has two younger siblings, Jean and Maïté; their father worked as an agricultural mechanic.
He attended the minor seminary in Ustaritz and the major seminary in Bayonne before studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, from where he obtained a Licentiate of Sacred Theology and a Doctorate of Canon Law. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Jean Saint-Pierre on 13 July 1947.
Priest and Bishop
He then did pastoral work in the Diocese of Bayonne, also serving as secretary to Bishop Léon-Albert Terrier, secretary general of the diocesan works of Catholic Action, and vicar general. He then served as deputy director (1961–1966) and later secretary general (1966–1970) of the French Episcopal Conference.
On 29 March 1969, Etchegaray was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Paris and Titular Bishop of Gemellae in Numidia by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 27 May from Cardinal François Marty, with Cardinal Paul Gouyon and Bishop Władysław Rubin serving as co-consecrators, at Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Archbishop and Cardinal
Styles of Roger Etchegaray | |
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| |
Reference style | His Eminence |
Spoken style | Your Eminence |
Informal style | Cardinal |
See | Porto-Santa Rufina (suburbicarian) |
Etchegaray was the Archbishop of Marseille from 1970–1985, and was made Cardinal-Priest of San Leone I by Pope John Paul II in the consistory of 30 June 1979. Cardinal Etchegaray was the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace from 1984–1998, and the President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum from 1984–1995. He first visited Baghdad in 1985 when he helped to arrange an exchange of prisoners of war between Iran and Iraq while they were at war. In 1998, he visited Baghdad to determine if a papal visit was feasible. On 24 June 1998, he was appointed Cardinal Bishop of Porto-Santa Rufina, and was elected Vice-Dean following the election of Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
Etchegaray is the longest-serving cardinal not to participate in a papal conclave. On 26 November 2008 he overtook Giacomo Antonelli, longtime secretary of state to Pope Pius IX, who was a cardinal for 29 years during the 31-year-long pontificate of Pius IX. The comparison is inexact, because Antonelli was eligible to participate in a conclave until his death. Etchegaray on the other hand, lost his eligibility on his 80th birthday when he had been a cardinal for a little more than 23 years. Also, during Antonelli's cardinalate, no conclaves occurred, while in Etchegaray's cardinalate, the conclaves occurred when he was no longer eligible to participate.
Etchegaray serves as Cardinal-Bishop of Porto-Santa Rufina and served as the Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals from 30 April 2005 until 10 June 2017, when he was relieved from the duties of his position at his own request.
Diplomatic roles
Cuba
Cardinal Etchegaray made his first trip to Cuba in 1989, and spent nine days there, between Christmas and the New Year’s Day. Cardinal Etchegaray’s Cuban tour was capped by an meeting with Fidel Castro during Christmas week. The meeting underscored an easing of tensions between Church and state in the officially atheist country, where practicing Christians and Jews have been objects of government repression for almost 30 years.[1]
Catholic–Orthodox relations
The cross of Saint Andrew the apostle was presented to the Bishop of Patras Nicodemus by a Catholic delegation led by Etchegaray. All the relics, which consist of the small finger, the skull (part of the top of the cranium of Saint Andrew), and the cross on which he was martyred, have been kept in the Church of St. Andrew at Patras in a special shrine and are revered in a special ceremony every 30 November, his feast day.
In 2006, the Catholic Church, again through Cardinal Etchegaray, gave the Greek Orthodox Church another relic of St. Andrew.[2]
U.S. invasion of Iraq
The Vatican opposed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and sent Cardinal Etchegaray as an envoy to persuade Iraqi authorities to cooperate with the United Nations in order to avoid war.[3][4]
Honours
- Knight Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour.[5]
- Commander in the National Order of Merit.
- Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary.
- Knight Grand Cross in the National Order of Merit.
Health
Injuries sustained during papal attack
On 24 December 2009, Cardinal Etchegaray was knocked down along with Pope Benedict XVI when 25-year-old Susanna Maiolo jumped over a barrier and grappled with the Pope as he processed through St Peter's Basilica for Christmas Eve mass. The Pontiff appeared to be unhurt, but Etchegaray suffered a broken leg and a broken hip.[6][7][8] He had been standing a few metres away from the Pope and was knocked down in the scuffle.[9] The Vatican said Maiolo was "psychologically unstable" and had lunged at the Pope previously.[10]
In 2015, Cardinal Etchegaray fell in St. Peter's Basilica during Mass and broke his leg for the second time.[11]
Return to his native France
Etchegaray returned to Bayonne, France, in January 2017, to live with his sister Maité (d. 13 February 2018) in a retirement home in Cambo-les-Bains near the village where he was born Espelette. Catholic New Agency journalist Andrea Gagliarducci described Cardinal Etchegary's retirement from Rome as "the end of an era."[12] He had farewell meetings with Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, before he left.[12] Pope Francis accepted his resignation as Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals on 10 June 2017.[13]
References
- ↑ Gagliarducci, Andrea (18 December 2014). "Cuba, US: how the Holy See was behind the scene for 50 years". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ↑ Relic of St. Andrew Given to Greek Orthodox Church. Zenit News Agency (via Zenit.org). Published: 27 February 2006.
- ↑ "Iraqi president meets Papal envoy Etchegaray". Irish Times. 15 February 2003. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ↑ "Declaration by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray Following his Meeting with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein". Holy See Press Office. 15 February 2003. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ↑ "Le cardinal Etchegaray, grand-croix de la Légion d'Honneur" (in French). 27 April 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ↑ Gammell, Caroline (25 December 2009). "Pope Benedict XVI knocked over during Christmas Eve Mass: Pope Benedict XVI was knocked down by a woman who jumped over security barriers at the start of Christmas Eve Mass". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
- ↑ Gardham, Duncan (25 December 2009). "Psychiatric patient identified as woman who attacked the Pope: The woman who assaulted the Pope was identified as Susanna Maiolo, 25, a Swiss-Italian national". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
- ↑ McKenna, Josephine (25 December 2009). "Vatican security criticised after Christmas Eve Mass attack on Pope". The Times. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
- ↑ "Pope knocked down by woman at Christmas Mass". BBC News. 25 December 2009. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
- ↑ "Pope calls for peace amid concern over his security". Reuters. 25 December 2009. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
- ↑ "French cardinal breaks his leg in St Peter's Basilica for a second time". Catholic Herald. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- 1 2 Gagliarducci, Andrea (26 January 2017). "Cardinal Etchegaray's retirement means the end of an era". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ↑ "Rinunce e Nomine, 10.06.2017" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
External links
- "Etchegaray Card. Roger". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
- Catholic-Hierarchy.org
Catholic Church titles | ||
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Preceded by Georges Jacquot |
Archbishop of Marseille 22 December 1970 – 13 April 1985 |
Succeeded by Robert Coffy |
Preceded by Bernardin Gantin |
President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum 8 April 1984 – 2 December 1995 |
Succeeded by Paul Josef Cordes |
President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace 8 April 1984 – 24 June 1998 |
Succeeded by Nguyen Van Thuan | |
Preceded by Angelo Sodano |
Sub-Dean of the College of Cardinals 2005–10 June 2017 |
Succeeded by Giovanni Battista Re |