MONTREAL, April 8, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte died on April 8 at Marie-Clarac Hospital in Montréal. He was 78 years old.
Archbishop of Montreal from 1990 to 2012, Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte was born on June 26, 1936, and was ordained to the priesthood on May 24, 1959. Upon his return from a year of pastoral social studies at the Catholic University of Lille in France, he was named diocesan chaplain of the Independent Feminine Christian Youth (JICF) and of the Young Christian Workers (JOC) Movement (1965-1967). From 1967 to 1974, he was responsible for a number of areas within the Office for Clergy.
In 1974, he became director of the Office for Parish Ministry and, in 1977, was named diocesan bursar. In 1981, Archbishop Paul Grégoire appointed him Vicar General of the archdiocese and General Coordinator for Pastoral Activities.
On April 15, 1982, His Holiness Pope John Paul II appointed himTitular Bishop of Suas and Auxiliary Bishop of Montreal. Archbishop Paul Grégoire presided at his episcopal ordination on June 29, 1982. On March 17, 1990, Pope John Paul II appointed him (the ninth) Archbishop of Montreal and, on October 30, 1994, announced his elevation to the rank of Cardinal within the Roman Catholic Church. In Rome, on November 26 of the same year, he formerly entered the College of Cardinals.
For more than 20 years of his 30-year episcopate, he was a member of the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, serving as president of the conference from 1997 to 1999. As a member of the College of Cardinals, he served on the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and the Synod of Bishops' Special Assembly for America.
In June 2011, having reached the age of 75, Cardinal Turcotte submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI. It was accepted in March 2012 with the nomination of a new archbishop, Most Reverend Christian Lépine.
SOURCE Archdiocese of Montreal
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Information: Lucie Martineau, 514 925 4304, [email protected]; For further information: Eric Durocher, 514 937 2301 # 275, [email protected]
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