Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Styles of Eugène Tisserant |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Porto e Santa Rufina (suburbicarian), Ostia (suburbicarian) |
Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant (March 24, 1884 - February 21, 1972) was an French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a long-time member of the Roman Curia in Vatican City.
Tisserant was born in Nancy, France in 1884 and was ordained a priest in 1907. He entered the Roman Curia in 1919 after serving as intelligence officer in the French Army. On July 25, 1937 he was consecrated Titular Archbishop of Iconio by Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, then Secretary of State.
Already one year earlier, Tisserant was created Cardinal Deacon with the deaconry of Ss. Vito, Modesto e Crescenzia by Pope Pius XI in the consistory of 1936. He was elevated to Cardinal Priest soon afterwards, retaining the title, which was changed to S. Maria sopra Minerva in 1939. The title of the suburbicarian see of Porto e Santa Rufina was granted by Pope Pius XII in 1946, making him Cardinal Bishop.
Cardinal Tisserant held a number of offices in the Roman Curia, among them Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Church (1936-1959), President of the Pountifical Commission for Biblical Studies (1938-1946), Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Ceremonies (1951-1967 when suppressed), Librarian of the Vatican Apostolic Library and Archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives (both 1957-1971). After the outbreak of World War II, Pius XII refused to release Tisserant as the head of the Vatican Library, so that Tisserant could return to France to serve in the army.[1]
In 1951 Tisserant became Dean of the College of Cardinals, after three years as Vice-Dean. Thus he received the suburbicarian see of Ostia in addition to his first bishopric see.
During the tenure of Pius XII, Tisserant headed a tribunal to investigate alleged abuses of Knights Hospitaller appointments, which concluded that there was no wrongdoing.[2]
Cardinal Tisserant participated in the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) as a member of its board of presidency, and in the conclaves of 1939, 1958 and 1963. Tisserant was widely considered papabile by most Vatican-watchers before the 1958 conclave and it is generally believed he received at least five votes in the early ballots. He was elected a member of the Académie française in 1961.
Eugène Cardinal Tisserant died on February 21, 1972 in Albano Laziale. He is buried in the Cathedral of Porto e Santa Rufina in Rome.
Tisserant was fluent in thirteen languages: Amharic, Arabic, Assyrian, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Persian, Russian, Syriac.[3]
[edit] References
- Murphy, Paul I. and Arlington, R. Rene. .1983. La Popessa. New York: Warner Books Inc. ISBN 0-446-51258-3.
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Francesco Marchetti-Selvaggiani |
Dean of the College of Cardinals 1951-1972 |
Succeeded by Amleto Giovanni Cicognani |
| Dean of the College of Cardinals |
|---|
| … • Stefano (1828–1913) (1873, 1896) • S. Vannutelli (1913-1915) • V. Vannutelli (1915-1930) • G. Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte (1930-1948) • F. Marchetti-Selvaggiani (1948-1951) • E. Tisserant (1951-1972) • A. G. Cicognani (1972-1973) • L. Traglia (1974-1977) • C. Confalonieri (1977-1986) • A. Rossi (1986-1993) • B. Gantin (1993-2002) • J. Ratzinger (2002-2005) • A. Sodano (2005-) |
