Édouard Gagnon

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His Eminence

Édouard Gagnon

Port-Daniel, Quebec, Canada
DiedAugust 25, 2007(2007-08-25) (aged 89)
Saint-Sulpice Seminary, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
DenominationRoman Catholic
Previous post(s)Bishop of St Paul in Alberta, Cardinal-Deacon of Sant'Elena, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
MottoAd obediendum fidei
Coat of armsÉdouard Gagnon's coat of arms
Styles of
Édouard Gagnon
His Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
SeeSan Marcello al Corso

Édouard Gagnon,

cardinal and President of the Pontifical Council for the Family
for 16 years, from 1974 to 1990. He became a cardinal on 25 May 1985.

Biography

Édouard Gagnon was born in

University of Laval in Quebec from 1941 to 1944, receiving a doctorate in canon law.[1]

Father Gagnon was admitted to the

Society of Saint-Sulpice for Canada, Japan and Latin America. During this time, he also acted as a peritus (theologian advisor and consultant) during the Second Vatican Council, especially during the 3rd and 4th sessions (1964-1965). He became secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications in 1966. In June 1968, he was appointed one of the thirty consultors of the Congregation for Catholic Education.[1]

Gagnon was named

of 25 May 1985.

He held several important posts in the

contraception in Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae vitae.[3] He attended the Synod of Bishops in 1985 and in 1987. In 1991, he was appointed President of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses
.

In 1993, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.[4] He opposed the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Canada in 2005.

He died on August 25, 2007, in Montreal at the Saint-Sulpice Seminary. The funeral Mass was at Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal. On hearing of his death, Pope Benedict XVI said that Cardinal Gagnon was a "faithful pastor who, with an evangelical spirit, consecrated his life in service to Christ and his Church."[3]

Special Assignments

In 1987 Cardinal Gagnon was given the task of seeking a rapprochement with Archbishop

Society of St Pius X. Gagnon conducted interviews with the Archbishop and others and visited institutions belonging to the new Society. Unfortunately, the Archbishop refused the condition that he ordain only one bishop for the Society. The mission ended in failure and Archbishop Lefebvre was excommunicated in 1988, after consecrating four bishops without permission from the Holy See.[4]

Legacy

Cardinal Gagnon lectured at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University in Washington, D.C. The Edouard Cardinal Gagnon Professorship of Fundamental Theology was created at the Institute by the Knights of Columbus in honorable memory of Cardinal Gagnon.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c ""Biography of Cardinal Édouard Gagnon, p.s.s.", Society of the priests of Saint-Sulpice, Province of Canada". Archived from the original on 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  2. ^ a b "Knights Mourn Death of Cardinal Edouard Gagnon", Knights of Columbus, 27 August 2007
  3. ^ a b Moynihan, Robert. "A Dying Cardinal", Catholic Exchange
  4. ^ a b "Cardinal Edouard Gagnon 1918 – 2007", Catholic Insight, November 2007

External links