Emmanuel Célestin Suhard
Encyclopedia
Emmanuel Célestin Suhard (April 5, 1874 – May 30, 1949) was a French
Cardinal
of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris
from 1940 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate
in 1935.
, Mayenne
, to Emmanuel Suhard (d. May 1874) and his wife Jeanne Marsollier. Baptized
by Abbé Lambert on the very day of his birth, he received his first Communion
on June 1, 1884, and was confirmed
in 1885. Although Suhard's pastor
did not think he would be a suitable priest, Suhard entered the minor
(October 1888) and major seminaries
(October 6, 1892) in Laval
. He then went to Rome
to study at the Pontifical French Seminary
and the Pontifical Gregorian University
, where he received a gold medal
for his grades
. From the Gregorian he also obtained doctorate
s in philosophy
and theology
, and a licentiate
in canon law
. He was ordained
to the priesthood
on December 18, 1897 in the private chapel
of Cardinal Vicar
Lucido Parocchi
, and then finished his studies in 1899.
Returning from Rome in June 1899, Suhard was made Professor
of Philosophy at the Grand Seminary of Laval on the following September 30. He began teaching theology
in 1912, and was made the seminary's vice-rector
in 1917; Suhard was hindered from being named rector because of Bishop Eugène-Jacques Grellier, who was close to Action Française
, of which the former had disapproved. In 1919, he became a titular
canon
of Laval's cathedral
chapter
.
On July 6, 1928, Suhard was appointed Bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux
by Pope Pius XI
. He received his episcopal consecration
on the following October 3 from Bishop Grellier, with Bishops Florent de La Villerabel and Constantin Chauvin serving as co-consecrators
.
Pius XI later advanced Suhard to Archbishop of Reims
on December 23, 1930, and created him Cardinal Priest
of S. Onofrio
in the consistory
of December 16, 1935. Suhard was one of the cardinal electors
who participated in the 1939 papal conclave
that selected Pope Pius XII
, who named him Archbishop of Paris
on May 11, 1940. During World War II
, the Cardinal was detained in his archiepiscopal residence by Nazi forces
on June 26, 1940, and addressed a dispatch to Hitler
on October 26, 1941, to save the hostages of Nantes
and Châteaubriant
. From 1945 to 1948, he was President
of the Assembly of Cardinals and Archbishops of France
and thus the spokesman of the Church in France
. He then served as the Assembly's Vice-President
, under Cardinal Achille Liénart
, until 1949.
Suhard died at 2:20 a.m. in Paris
, at age 75. He was buried in the crypt
of the archbishops in Notre-Dame Cathedral
on June 8, 1949.
's Vichy government
, but in July 1942 he wrote a Public Protest against the deportation of the Jews
of Paris and he condemned Vichy collaboration in this racial policy. He was subsequently confined to his palace for some time by Nazi German
troops, although his deportation to the Dachau concentration camp could be prevented.
The Cardinal was influential in establishing the Territorial Prelature
of Mission de France and the Worker-Priest movement
.
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 Catholic Church. He served 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...
from 1940 until his death, 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 1935.
Biography
Emmanuel Suhard was born in Brains-sur-les-MarchesBrains-sur-les-Marches
Brains-sur-les-Marches is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France....
, Mayenne
Mayenne
Mayenne is a department in northwest France named after the Mayenne River.-History:Mayenne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. The northern two thirds correspond to the western part of the former province of Maine...
, to Emmanuel Suhard (d. May 1874) and his wife Jeanne Marsollier. Baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
by Abbé Lambert on the very day of his birth, he received his first Communion
First Communion
The First Communion, or First Holy Communion, is a Catholic Church ceremony. It is the colloquial name for a person's first reception of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Catholics believe this event to be very important, as the Eucharist is one of the central focuses of the Catholic Church...
on June 1, 1884, and was confirmed
Confirmation (Catholic Church)
Confirmation is one of the seven sacraments through which Catholics pass in the process of their religious upbringing. According to Catholic doctrine, in this sacrament they receive the Holy Spirit and become adult members of the Catholic Church....
in 1885. Although Suhard's pastor
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
did not think he would be a suitable priest, Suhard entered the minor
Minor seminary
A minor seminary is a secondary boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming priests. They are generally Roman Catholic institutions, and designed to prepare boys both academically and spiritually for vocations to the priesthood...
(October 1888) and major seminaries
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...
(October 6, 1892) in Laval
Laval, Mayenne
Laval is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France.It lies on the threshold of Brittany and on the border between Normandy and Anjou. Its citizens are called Lavallois.-Geography:...
. He then went to 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...
to study at the Pontifical French Seminary
Pontifical French Seminary
The Pontifical French Seminary is one of the Roman Colleges dedicated to training Roman Catholic priests.-History:...
and the Pontifical Gregorian University
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...
, where he received a gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
for his grades
Grade (education)
Grades are standardized measurements of varying levels of comprehension within a subject area. Grades can be assigned in letters , as a range , as a number out of a possible total , as descriptors , in percentages, or, as is common in some post-secondary...
. From the Gregorian he also obtained doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
s in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and theology
Doctor of Theology
Doctor of Theology is a terminal academic degree in theology. It is a research degree that is considered by the U.S. National Science Foundation to be the equivalent of a Doctor of Philosophy....
, and a 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 canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)
The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...
. 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 December 18, 1897 in the private chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
of Cardinal Vicar
Cardinal Vicar
Cardinal Vicar is a title commonly given to the vicar general of the diocese of Rome for the portion of the diocese within Italy. The official title, as given in the Annuario Pontificio , is "Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome"...
Lucido Parocchi
Lucido Parocchi
Lucido Maria Parocchi S.T.D. was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Secretary of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office.-Biography:...
, and then finished his studies in 1899.
Returning from Rome in June 1899, Suhard was made Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Philosophy at the Grand Seminary of Laval on the following September 30. He began teaching 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...
in 1912, and was made the seminary's vice-rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
in 1917; Suhard was hindered from being named rector because of Bishop Eugène-Jacques Grellier, who was close to Action Française
Action Française
The Action Française , founded in 1898, is a French Monarchist counter-revolutionary movement and periodical founded by Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois and whose principal ideologist was Charles Maurras...
, of which the former had disapproved. In 1919, he became a titular
Titular (Catholicism)
In Roman Catholicism, a titular can be:*the cardinal who holds a titulus, one of the main churches of Rome. Such holders were initially by tradition native-born Romans . The first church in Rome to have a non-Italian titular was Santi Quattro Coronati: Dietrich of Trier was appointed titular in...
canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Laval's cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
chapter
Chapter (religion)
Chapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....
.
On July 6, 1928, Suhard was appointed Bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux
Bishopric of Bayeux
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux, is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in France. The diocese is coextensive with the Department of Calvados, and is a suffragan to the Archdiocese of Rouen, also in Normandy....
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...
. 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 October 3 from Bishop Grellier, with Bishops Florent de La Villerabel and Constantin Chauvin 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...
.
Pius XI later advanced Suhard to Archbishop of Reims
Archbishop of Reims
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by St. Sixtus, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750...
on December 23, 1930, and 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. Onofrio
Sant'Onofrio (Rome)
Sant'Onofrio al Gianicolo is a titular church in Trastevere, Rome. It is the official church of the papal order of knighthood Order of the Holy Sepulchre. A side chapel is dedicated specifically to the Order and a former grand master, Nicola Canali is entombed there...
in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of December 16, 1935. Suhard was one of the cardinal electors
Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 1939
The following were the cardinal electors in the 1939 papal conclave. Arranged by region , and within each alphabetically...
who participated 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...
that selected Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
, who named him 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 May 11, 1940. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Cardinal was detained in his archiepiscopal residence by Nazi forces
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...
on June 26, 1940, and addressed a dispatch to Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
on October 26, 1941, to save the hostages of Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
and Châteaubriant
Châteaubriant
-Coat of arms:Two coats of arms are attributed :*First Pale: Blue, three gold fleurs de lys, Pales split in two by a shortened staff with a red hache....
. From 1945 to 1948, he was 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 Assembly of Cardinals and Archbishops of France
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...
and thus the spokesman of the 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...
. He then served as the Assembly's Vice-President
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
, under Cardinal Achille Liénart
Achille Liénart
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.-Biography:...
, until 1949.
Suhard died at 2:20 a.m. 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...
, at age 75. He was buried in the crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
of the archbishops 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...
on June 8, 1949.
Legacy
Like most of the French clergy during that time, Suhard initially supported Marshal PétainPhilippe 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...
's Vichy government
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
, but in July 1942 he wrote a Public Protest against the deportation of the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
of Paris and he condemned Vichy collaboration in this racial policy. He was subsequently confined to his palace for some time by Nazi German
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...
troops, although his deportation to the Dachau concentration camp could be prevented.
The Cardinal was influential in establishing the Territorial Prelature
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 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...
.