Jean-Marie Villot

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His Eminence

Jean-Marie Villot
Prefect of the Congregation of the Council (1967–1969)
  • President of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” (1971–1978)
    • Mottoauxilium a domino
    Coat of armsJean-Marie Villot's coat of arms

    Jean-Marie Villot (11 October 1905 – 9 March 1979) was a French

    Congregation for the Clergy from 1967 to 1969, Vatican Secretary of State from 1969 to 1979, and Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church
    from 1970 to 1979. He was made a cardinal in 1965.

    Early life

    He was born on 11 October 1905 in

    canon law and a doctorate in sacred theology in 1934 with a thesis entitled Le pape Nicolas II et le décret de 1059 sur l'élection pontificale.[1]

    Priesthood

    He was

    Bishop of Tarbes-et-Lourdes. He taught at the Clermont seminary and the Catholic University in Lyon, serving as vice-rector
    of the latter from 1942 to 1950. At the start of 1950 he was incardinated into the Archdiocese of Lyon.

    Bishop

    Coat of arms of Cardinal Villot during the vacancies of the papacy in 1978

    episcopal consecration on 12 October from Cardinal Maurice Feltin
    , with Archbishop Emile Guerry of Cambrai and Bishop Pierre de la Chanonie of Clermont as co-consecrators.

    On 17 December 1959, he was named

    Archbishop of Lyon
    on 17 January 1965.

    During the Second Vatican Council, he served as one of several of the council's undersecretaries, where his performance impressed Pope Paul.[2]

    Cardinal

    Styles of
    Jean-Marie Villot
    His Eminence
    Spoken styleYour Eminence
    Informal styleCardinal
    SeeLyon

    On 22 February 1965, he was created

    SS. Trinità al Monte Pincio by Pope Paul VI.[3]

    He was named Prefect of the

    Congregation of the Council (later renamed the Congregation for the Clergy) on 7 April 1967. Two years later, on 2 May 1969, he was named Cardinal Secretary of State[4] as part of Pope Paul's program to internationalize the Roman Curia. Though Villot told reporters "I have long been a Roman at heart", his appointment was resented by the Italians though without public conflict.[2] Pope Paul underscored his stance by adding to Villot's portfolio in May 1969, naming him head of the Section if the Secretariat of State responsible for foreign affairs, expanding his control over broader curia by making him President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.[5]

    Villot was named Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church on 16 October 1970, the first non-Italian to hold the office in half a millennium, a further testament of Pope Paul's insistence on expanding the role of non-Italians at the highest levels of the Vatican bureaucracy.[2] On 15 July 1971, he was appointed President of the newly formed Pontifical Council Cor Unum, a position he resigned on 4 September 1978, during the brief pontificate of Pope John Paul I.

    Cardinal Villot with Giovanni Leone in the Quirinal Palace in September 1972

    Pope Paul elevated him to

    Cardinal Bishop of Frascati on 12 December 1974.[citation needed] Villot was present at the death of Paul VI in Castel Gandolfo on 6 August 1978.[6]

    Pope John Paul I retained Villot as Secretary of State.[7] When Pope John Paul II announced he would retain Villot as Secretary of State, he made clear the appointment was short-term but also confirmed Villot in his other positions. He noted that Villot himself had suggested that the first non-Italian pope in centuries might want an Italian as his Secretary of State.[8][9] He remained in office until his death in March 1979.[10]

    Villot participated as a

    October conclaves of 1978, which elected John Paul I and John Paul II respectively, and presided at the conclaves because he was the senior cardinal bishop in attendance. As Camerlengo he acted as the interim administrator of the Holy See in the interregnums of 1978.[2]

    Death

    Villot died at age 73 from bronchial pneumonia on 9 March 1979, in his Vatican City apartment, the day he returned from a four-day hospital stay.[9] John Paul II celebrated his funeral Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on 13 March,[11] and his remains were buried in the crypt of Ss. Trinità al Monte Pincio.

    References

    1. OCLC 53276621
      .
    2. ^ a b c d "The Vatican Official in Temporary Charge". New York Times. 8 August 1978. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
    3. ^ "Pontiff Installs 27 New Cardinals" (PDF). New York Times. 23 February 1965. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
    4. ^ "Chirografo di Paolo VI per la Nomina del Signo Cardinal Giovanni Villot all'Alta Mansione di Segretario di Stato" (in Italian). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2 May 1969. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
    5. ^ "Pope Voices Faith in Cardinal Villot". New York Times. 6 May 1969. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
    6. ^ "Election to be Held". New York Times. 7 August 1978. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
    7. ^ "Il Chirografo del Santo Padre Giovanni Paolo I per la Nomina del Segretario di Stato" (in Italian). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 27 August 1978. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
    8. ^ "Lettera di Giovanni Paolo II al Cardinale Giovanni Villot per la Nomina a Segretario di Stato" (in Italian). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 24 October 1978. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
    9. ^ a b Hofmann, Paul (10 March 1979). "Jean Cardinal Villot Dead at 73". New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
    10. ^ "Messaggio del Santo Padre Giovanni Paolo II al Cardinale Agostino Casaroli" (in Italian). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 1 July 1979. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
    11. ^ "Capella Papale per le Esequie del Cardinale Giovanni Villot, Omelia del Santo Padre Giovanni Paolo II" (in Italian). 13 March 1979. Retrieved 8 July 2019.

    Bibliography

    External links
    Catholic Church titles
    Preceded by
    Archbishop of Lyon

    17 January 1965 – 7 April 1967     		Succeeded by
    Preceded by
    Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy

    7 April 1967 – 2 May 1969     		Succeeded by
    John Joseph Wright
    Preceded by Camerlengo
    16 October 1970 – 9 March 1979     		Succeeded by
    Preceded by
    none
    		 President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum
    15 July 1971 – 4 September 1978     		Succeeded by
    Political offices
    Preceded by Cardinal Secretary of State
    2 May 1969 – 9 March 1979     		Succeeded by
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