André Vingt-Trois
Encyclopedia
André Armand Vingt-Trois (andʁe aʁmɑ̃ vɛ̃ tʁwa) (born 7 November 1942) is a French
cardinal
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He currently serves as Archbishop of Paris
, having previously served as Archbishop of Tours from 1999 to 2005. He was elevated to the cardinalate
in 2007.
to Armand and Paulette (née Vuillamy) Vingt-Trois. His name, which translates to "twenty-three" in English, would seem to be explained, according to Vingt-Trois, by an ancestor who, as a child or baby, was abandoned and found on the 23rd day of the month. Vingt-Trois completed his secondary studies
at the Lycée Henri IV
and entered the Seminary
of Saint-Sulpice
at Issy-les-Moulineaux
in 1962. He then attended the Institut Catholique de Paris
, from where he obtained his licentiate
in moral theology
. From 1964 to 1965, Vingt-Trois performed his military service
in Germany
. He was ordained
to the diaconate
by Bishop Daniel Pezeril
in October 1968 and to the priesthood
by Cardinal François Marty
on 28 June 1969.
catechetics
and the formation of the laity
. From 1974 to 1981, Vingt-Trois was vicar
at the Parisian parish of Sainte-Jeanne de Chantal. He then served as director of his alma mater
of the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice until 1988, also teaching moral and sacramental
theology
there. Vingt-Trois participated in different pastoral movements, including the Centre de préparation au mariage
and the sessions of permanent formation of the clergy
. He was later named vicar general
of Paris, and was charged with the diocesan
formation (the cathedral school
and diocesan seminary), of the means of communications (Radio Notre-Dame, Paris Notre-Dame, Centre d'Information), of the familial pastoral, of the chaplain
s of public education
, and of catechetics.
of Paris and Titular Bishop
of Thibilis by Pope John Paul II
. He received his episcopal consecration
on the following 14 October from Jean-Marie Lustiger, with Bishops Pézeril and Gabriel Vanel serving as co-consecrators
, in Notre-Dame Cathedral
. Vingt-Trois was later named Archbishop of Tours on 21 April 1999, and Archbishop of Paris
on 11 February 2005. He was installed in Paris on 5 March, and appointed Ordinary
of French Catholics of the Eastern Rites as well on 14 March. On 5 November 2007, he was elected President
of the French Episcopal Conference
for a term of three years.
created him Cardinal-Priest
of S. Luigi dei Francesi
in the consistory
of 24 November 2007. Vingt-Trois will be eligible to participate in any future papal conclave
s until he reaches the age of eighty on 7 November 2022.
As a member of the Congregation for Bishops
and the Pontifical Council for the Family
since 12 June 2008 and of the Congregation for the Clergy
since 2 February 2010,. he participates in the plenary meetings of those departments of the Roman Curia
, held as far as possible once a year.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He currently serves as Archbishop of Paris
Archbishop of Paris
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris is one of twenty-three archdioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created in the 3rd century by St. Denis and corresponded with the Civitas Parisiorum; it was elevated to an archdiocese on...
, having previously served as Archbishop of Tours from 1999 to 2005. He was elevated to the cardinalate
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
in 2007.
Early life and ordination
André Vingt-Trois was born in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to Armand and Paulette (née Vuillamy) Vingt-Trois. His name, which translates to "twenty-three" in English, would seem to be explained, according to Vingt-Trois, by an ancestor who, as a child or baby, was abandoned and found on the 23rd day of the month. Vingt-Trois completed his secondary studies
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
at the Lycée Henri IV
Lycée Henri IV
The Lycée Henri-IV is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with Louis-le-Grand it is widely regarded as one of the most demanding sixth-form colleges in France....
and entered the Seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
of Saint-Sulpice
Sulpitius the Pious
Distinguish from Sulpitius I, Bishop of Bourges, called Sulpitius Severus, often wrongly identified with Sulpicius Severus, the historian of St. Martin of Tours.Sulpitius the Pious or the Débonnaire was a 7th century bishop of Bourges...
at Issy-les-Moulineaux
Issy-les-Moulineaux
Issy-les-Moulineaux is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. On 1 January 2003, Issy-les-Moulineaux became part of the Communauté d'agglomération Arc de Seine along with the other communes of Chaville, Meudon, Vanves and Ville-d'Avray...
in 1962. He then attended the Institut Catholique de Paris
Institut Catholique de Paris
The Institut Catholique de Paris, or the Catholic University of Paris, is a private university located in Paris, France. The institute was founded in 1875, under the name Université Catholique de Paris, by Maurice Le Sage d'Hauteroche d'Hulst....
, from where he obtained his licentiate
Licentiate
Licentiate is the title of a person who holds an academic degree called a licence. The term may derive from the Latin licentia docendi, meaning permission to teach. The term may also derive from the Latin licentia ad practicandum, which signified someone who held a certificate of competence to...
in moral theology
Ethics in religion
Most religions have an ethical component, often derived from purported supernatural revelation or guidance. "For many people, ethics is not only tied up with religion, but is completely settled by it...
. From 1964 to 1965, Vingt-Trois performed his military service
Military service
Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the diaconate
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
by Bishop Daniel Pezeril
Daniel Pezeril
Daniel Pezeril was the Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop of Paris in the time of Cardinal François Marty. Before this he had been Curé of Saint-Séverin, a parish known for its liturgical role in the years preceding Vatican II...
in October 1968 and to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
by Cardinal François Marty
François Marty
Gabriel Auguste François Marty was a Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Paris.He was born in Vaureilles, Pachins, in France. His family were farmers. His first baptismal name was Gabriel; but he used his second one, François, to avoid confusion with a classmate who was also named Gabriel...
on 28 June 1969.
Pastoral work
During his priestly ministry, he worked especially in parochialParish (Catholic Church)
In the Roman Catholic Church, a parish is the lowest ecclesiastical geographical subdivision: from ecclesiastical province to diocese to deanery to parish.-Requirements:A parish needs two things under common law to become a parish...
catechetics
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
and the formation of the laity
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
. From 1974 to 1981, Vingt-Trois was vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
at the Parisian parish of Sainte-Jeanne de Chantal. He then served as director of his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
of the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice until 1988, also teaching moral and sacramental
Sacraments of the Catholic Church
The Sacraments of the Catholic Church are, the Roman Catholic Church teaches, "efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper...
theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
there. Vingt-Trois participated in different pastoral movements, including the Centre de préparation au mariage
Catholic marriage
Catholic marriage, also called matrimony, is a "covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring...
and the sessions of permanent formation of the clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
. He was later named vicar general
Vicar general
A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
of Paris, and was charged with the diocesan
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
formation (the cathedral school
Cathedral school
Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools...
and diocesan seminary), of the means of communications (Radio Notre-Dame, Paris Notre-Dame, Centre d'Information), of the familial pastoral, of the chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
s of public education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, and of catechetics.
Bishop
On 25 June 1988, Vingt-Trois was appointed Auxiliary BishopAuxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of Paris and Titular Bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Thibilis by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
. He received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on the following 14 October from Jean-Marie Lustiger, with Bishops Pézeril and Gabriel Vanel serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
, in Notre-Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris , also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra of...
. Vingt-Trois was later named Archbishop of Tours on 21 April 1999, and Archbishop of Paris
Archbishop of Paris
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris is one of twenty-three archdioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created in the 3rd century by St. Denis and corresponded with the Civitas Parisiorum; it was elevated to an archdiocese on...
on 11 February 2005. He was installed in Paris on 5 March, and appointed Ordinary
Ordinary
In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...
of French Catholics of the Eastern Rites as well on 14 March. On 5 November 2007, he was elected President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the French Episcopal Conference
Conférence des évêques de France
The Bishops' Conference of France is the national episcopal conference of the Roman Catholic bishops of France.-Presidents:* 1945 - 1948: Emmanuel Suhard, archbishop of Paris, cardinal* 1948 - 1964: Achille Liénart, bishop of Lille, cardinal...
for a term of three years.
Cardinal
Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
created him Cardinal-Priest
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of S. Luigi dei Francesi
San Luigi dei Francesi
The Church of St. Louis of the French is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and titular church in Rome, not far from Piazza Navona. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to St. Denis the Areopagite and St. Louis IX, king of France...
in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of 24 November 2007. Vingt-Trois will be eligible to participate in any future papal conclave
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
s until he reaches the age of eighty on 7 November 2022.
As a member of the Congregation for Bishops
Congregation for Bishops
The Congregation for Bishops is the congregation of the Roman Curia which oversees the selection of new bishops that are not in mission territories or those areas that come under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches who deal with the Eastern Catholics, pending papal...
and the Pontifical Council for the Family
Pontifical Council for the Family
The Pontifical Council for the Family is part of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church. It was established by Pope John Paul II on 9 May 1981 with his motu proprio Familia a Deo Instituta, replacing the Committee for the Family that Pope Paul VI had established in 1973...
since 12 June 2008 and of the Congregation for the Clergy
Congregation for the Clergy
The Sacred Congregation for the Clergy is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regarding priests and deacons not belonging to religious orders...
since 2 February 2010,. he participates in the plenary meetings of those departments of the Roman Curia
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
, held as far as possible once a year.