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Maurice Feltin

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Maurice Feltin
Cardinal,
Archbishop Emeritus of Paris
Portrait.
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
ArchdioceseParis
SeeParis
Appointed15 August 1949
Term ended1 December 1966
PredecessorEmmanuel Suhard
SuccessorPierre Veuillot
Other post(s)Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria della Pace (1953–75)
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination3 July 1909
by Léon-Adolphe Amette
Consecration11 March 1928
by Charles-Henri-Joseph Binet
Created cardinal12 January 1953
by Pope Pius XII
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born
Maurice Feltin

15 May 1883
Died27 September 1975(1975-09-27) (aged 92)
Thiais, Paris, France
MottoAnimam pro ovibus
SignatureMaurice Feltin's signature
Coat of armsMaurice Feltin's coat of arms
Styles of
Maurice Feltin
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
SeeParis (Emeritus)

Maurice Feltin (15 May 1883 – 27 September 1975) was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 1949 to 1966, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 by Pope Pius XII.

Biography

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Born in Delle, Territoire-de-Belfort, Maurice Feltin studied at the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Paris before being ordained a priest on 3 July 1909. He then did pastoral work in Besançon until 1914, at which time he was made an officer in the French Army during World War I. For his work, he was awarded with the Croix-de-Guerre, the Médaille militaire, and the Légion d'honneur.

On 19 December 1927, Feltin was appointed Bishop of Troyes by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration on 11 March 1928 from Cardinal Henri-Charles-Joseph Binet, with Bishops Paul-Jules-Narcisse Rémond and Jean-Marcel Rodié serving as co-consecrators. Feltin was promoted to Archbishop of Sens on 16 August 1932, and was later named Archbishop of Bordeaux on 16 December 1935. After the defeat of France in the summer of 1940 Feltin supported the Vichy regime of Marshal Pétain. However, he also sheltered Jews fleeing German Occupied France and helped the Grand Rabbi of France escape the Gestapo.[1] On 15 August 1949, he became the twenty-third Archbishop of Paris.

He was created Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria della Pace by Pope Pius XII in the consistory of 12 January 1953. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 1958 papal conclave and the 1963 papal conclave.

During the Algerian War Feltin strongly supported the French army and dismissed allegations of widespread torture as "exaggerations". He accused people who spread such information with undermining national unity and insulting the honor of the army. In the fall of 1959, he met with General Jacques Massu, a leading advocate for the use of torture, reassuring him that the Church supported the army. Feltin denounced the use of torture in 1960 but continued his opposition to the legalization of conscientious objection in France, rejecting objections to the war by certain French Catholics. In anti-war Catholic circles, Feltin's actions were met with displeasure.[2]

He attended the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965. He resigned as Paris' archbishop on 21 December 1966. After the first meeting between Church and Freemasonry which had been held on 11 April 1969 at the convent of the Divine Master in Ariccia, he was the protagonist of a series of public handshakes between high prelates of the Roman Catholic Church and the heads of Freemasonry.[3]


He died in Thiais, outside Paris, at age 92, and was buried in Notre Dame Cathedral.

Trivia

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  • Feltin condemned the legend of Santa Claus, claiming that it debased the "Christian significance of Christmas".[4]
  • In 1959, Feltin requested of the Holy Office that the Worker-Priest movement be revived, albeit under strict controls; his request, however, was denied.[5]
  • In 1963, Feltin denied Édith Piaf a religious funeral due to her controversial life.[6] However, on 10 October 2013, fifty years after her death, the Roman Catholic Church gave Piaf a memorial Mass in the St. Jean-Baptiste Church in Belleville, Paris, the parish into which she was born.

References

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  1. ^ "Cardinal Feltin of France Dead; Archbishop Led Worker‐Priests".
  2. ^ Johnston-White, Rachel (2019). "A New Primacy of Conscience? Conscientious Objection, French Catholicism and the State during the Algerian War". Journal of Contemporary History. 54 (1): 112–138.
  3. ^ Sandro Magister (19 August 1999). "Tra il papa e il massone non c'è comunione" [There is no communion between the pope and the Mason] (in Italian). L'Espresso.
  4. ^ Time Magazine. Death to Santa Claus 7 January 1952
  5. ^ Time Magazine. End of the Worker-Priests 28 September 1959
  6. ^ Jeffries, Stuart (8 November 2003). "The love of a poet". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2007.
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Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Troyes
1927–1932
Succeeded by
Preceded by Archbishop of Sens
1932–1935
Succeeded by
Preceded by Archbishop of Bordeaux
1935—1949
Succeeded by
Preceded by Archbishop of Paris
1949–1966
Succeeded by
Preceded by
First
International President of Pax Christi
1950–1965
Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the French Episcopal Conference
1964–1969
Succeeded by
Preceded by Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria della Pace
1953–1975
Succeeded by