Achille Liénart
Encyclopedia
Achille Liénart was a French
Cardinal
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He served as Bishop of Lille from 1928 to 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate
in 1930.
to a bourgeoisie
family of cloth merchants, Liénart was the second of the four children of Achille Philippe Hyacinthe Liénart and Louise Delesalle. He studied at College Saint-Joseph, the Seminary
of Saint-Sulpice
in Paris
, the Institut Catholique de Paris
, Collège de Sorbonne
, and the Pontifical Biblical Institute
in Rome
. He was ordained
to the priesthood
on June 29, 1907, and then taught at the Seminary of Cambrai
until 1910, and then at Lille until 1914. During World War I
Liénart served as a chaplain
to the French Army
, and did pastoral
work in his hometown from 1919 to 1928. As a priest, he championed social reform
, trade union
ism, and the Worker Priest movement
.
On October 6, 1928, he was appointed Bishop of Lille by Pope Pius XI
. Liénart received his episcopal consecration
on the following December 8 from Bishop Charles-Albert-Joseph Lecomte of Amiens
, with Bishops Palmyre Jasoone and Maurice Feltin
serving as co-consecrators
, in Tourcoing
. He was created Cardinal Priest
of S. Sisto
by Pius XI in the consistory
of June 30, 1930. By coincidence, one of the first priest
s he ordained, on September 21, 1929 was a certain Marcel Lefebvre
,. Liénart's and Lefebvre's paths would be interwined during the following years, and it was Liénart who, as Cardinal, in 1947 would consecrate Lefebvre (who had been appointed as Vicar Apostolic of Dakar in Senegal
), to the Episcopate.
During the German occupation, Liénart initially supported Philippe Pétain
, but was greatly opposed to Nazi Germany
.
Liénart, who participated
in the 1939 papal conclave
, was elected President of the French Episcopal Conference
in 1948, representing the Catholic Church in France
, and remained in that post until 1964. An elector
in the 1958 papal conclave
, he was named the first Territorial Prelate
of Mission de France
on November 13, 1954, and later resigned from this post in 1964.
An active participant of the Second Vatican Council
(1962–1965), Liénart was a leading liberal
voice at the Council and sat on its Board of Presidency. When the Roman Curia
, composed predominantly of conservative
prelates, issued a list of nominees for the members of the Council's commissions, Liénart objected that nothing of the nominees' qualifications were included. Liénart, assisted by Cardinals Bernardus Johannes Alfrink
and Giovanni Colombo, delivered one of the closing messages of the Council on December 8, 1965. He was also one of the cardinal electors
in the 1963 papal conclave
, which selected Pope Paul VI
.
Liénart resigned as Lille's bishop on March 14, 1968, after forty years of service. After his death at age 89, he was buried in the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille
.
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 served as Bishop of Lille from 1928 to 1968, and 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 1930.
Biography
Born in LilleLille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
to a bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
family of cloth merchants, Liénart was the second of the four children of Achille Philippe Hyacinthe Liénart and Louise Delesalle. He studied at College Saint-Joseph, 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...
in Paris
Paris
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...
, 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....
, Collège de Sorbonne
Collège de Sorbonne
The Collège de Sorbonne was a theological college of the University of Paris, founded in 1257 by Robert de Sorbon, after whom it is named. With the rest of the Paris colleges, it was suppressed during the French Revolution. It was restored in 1808 but finally closed in 1882. The name Sorbonne...
, and the Pontifical Biblical Institute
Pontifical Biblical Institute
The Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, Italy is an institution of the Holy See run by the Jesuits that offers instruction at the university level...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. 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 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....
on June 29, 1907, and then taught at the Seminary of Cambrai
Cambrai
Cambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included...
until 1910, and then at Lille until 1914. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Liénart served as a 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...
to the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
, and did pastoral
Parish (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...
work in his hometown from 1919 to 1928. As a priest, he championed social reform
Reform movement
A reform movement is a kind of social movement that aims to make gradual change, or change in certain aspects of society, rather than rapid or fundamental changes...
, trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ism, and the Worker Priest movement
Worker-Priest
Worker-priest was a missionary initiative by the French Catholic Church in particular for priests to take up work in such places as car factories to experience the everyday life of the working class...
.
On October 6, 1928, he was appointed Bishop of Lille by Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
. Liénart 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 December 8 from Bishop Charles-Albert-Joseph Lecomte of Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
, with Bishops Palmyre Jasoone and Maurice Feltin
Maurice Feltin
Maurice Feltin was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 1949 to 1966, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 by Pope Pius XII.-Biography:...
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 Tourcoing
Tourcoing
Tourcoing is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Nord.Tourcoing is situated near the cities of Lille and Roubaix and the Belgian border.-Main sights:...
. He was created 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. Sisto
San Sisto Vecchio
San Sisto Vecchio is a church in Rome, devoted to St. Pope Sixtus II. It was built in the 4th century, and is recorded as the Titulus Crescentianae, thus relating the church to some Crescentia, possibly a Roman woman who founded the church. According to tradition, the church was established by Pope...
by Pius XI in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of June 30, 1930. By coincidence, one of the first priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s he ordained, on September 21, 1929 was a certain Marcel Lefebvre
Marcel Lefebvre
Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing the changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.In 1970,...
,. Liénart's and Lefebvre's paths would be interwined during the following years, and it was Liénart who, as Cardinal, in 1947 would consecrate Lefebvre (who had been appointed as Vicar Apostolic of Dakar in Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
), to the Episcopate.
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
, but was greatly opposed to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
Liénart, who participated
Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 1939
The following were the cardinal electors in the 1939 papal conclave. Arranged by region , and within each alphabetically...
in the 1939 papal conclave
Papal conclave, 1939
The Papal conclave of 1939 was convoked on the brink of World War II with the death of Pope Pius XI on 10 February that year in the Apostolic Palace. With all 62 living cardinals in attendance, the conclave to elect Pius' successor began on 1 March and ended a day later, on 2 March, after three...
, was elected President 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...
in 1948, representing the Catholic Church in France
Roman Catholicism in France
The Roman Catholic Church of France, sometimes called the "eldest daughter of the Church" owing to its early and unbroken communion with the bishop of Rome, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church...
, and remained in that post until 1964. An elector
Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 1958
The following were the cardinal electors in the 1958 papal conclave. Arranged by region , and within each alphabetically...
in the 1958 papal conclave
Papal conclave, 1958
The Papal conclave of 1958 occurred following the death of Pope Pius XII on 9 October 1958 in Castel Gandolfo, after a 19-year pontificate. The conclave to elect his successor commenced on 25 October and ended three days later, on 28 October, after eleven ballots. The cardinal electors chose Angelo...
, he was named the first Territorial Prelate
Territorial Prelate
A territorial prelate is, in Catholic usage, a prelate whose geographic jurisdiction, called territorial prelature, does not belong to any diocese and is considered a particular church....
of Mission de France
Territorial Prelature of Mission de France
The Territorial Prelature of Mission de France o Pontigny is a Roman Catholic territorial prelature located in the city of Pontigny in the Ecclesiastical province of Dijon in France.-History:...
on November 13, 1954, and later resigned from this post in 1964.
An active participant of the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
(1962–1965), Liénart was a leading liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
voice at the Council and sat on its Board of Presidency. When 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...
, composed predominantly of conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
prelates, issued a list of nominees for the members of the Council's commissions, Liénart objected that nothing of the nominees' qualifications were included. Liénart, assisted by Cardinals Bernardus Johannes Alfrink
Bernardus Johannes Alfrink
Bernardus Johannes Alfrink was a Dutch Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Utrecht from 1955 to 1975, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1960.-Biography:...
and Giovanni Colombo, delivered one of the closing messages of the Council on December 8, 1965. He was also one of the cardinal electors
Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 1963
The following were the cardinal electors in the 1963 papal conclave. Arranged by region , and within each alphabetically . Only two out of the eighty electors did not participate in the conclave: József Mindszenty The following were the cardinal electors in the 1963 papal conclave. Arranged by...
in the 1963 papal conclave
Papal conclave, 1963
The Papal conclave of 1963 was convoked following the death of Pope John XXIII on June 3 of that same year in the Apostolic Palace. After the cardinal electors assembled in Rome, the conclave to elect John's successor began on June 19 and ended two days later, on June 21, after six ballots. The...
, which selected Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
.
Liénart resigned as Lille's bishop on March 14, 1968, after forty years of service. After his death at age 89, he was buried in the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille
Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille
Lille Cathedral, the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Treille , is a Roman Catholic cathedral and basilica, and a national monument of France, located in the city of Lille....
.