Armand Gaétan Razafindratandra (7 August 1925 – 9 January 2010) was a

Cardinal Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Antananarivo The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Antananarivo is one of five Latin Metropolitan Archdioceses in Madagascar, yet depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Its cathedral episcopal see is the Cathédrale de l' ...

, Madagascar.

Life

Born in Ambohimalaza, near

Antananarivo Antananarivo (French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("An ...

, where his grandfather had been governor, Razafindratandra was educated at the parish school of Faravohitra. He went on to study at the minor seminary of

Ambohipo Ambohipo is a town and commune in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Manandriana, which is a part of Amoron'i Mania Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 4,000 in 2001 commune census. Primary and junior l ...

and then at St. Michael's College, a Jesuit institution, before studying philosophy and theology at Ambatoroka. Razafindratandra was ordained as a priest in 1954, after which he studied at the

Catholic Institute The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in Paris for two years. Returning to Madagascar in 1956, he directed

catechetical Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the re ...

teaching and spiritual programs for public and private schools, working extensively with youth summer camp programs for children from needy families. He also rose to become

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the minor seminary at Faliarivo and the Director of the major seminary at Ambatoroka. Appointed Bishop of Mahajanga in 1978 and named Archbishop of the Antananarivo Archdiocese in 1994, Razafindratandra was created Cardinal by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in the consistory of 26 November 1994, and became the

of the '' Titulus Ss. Silvestri et Martini in Montibus.'' From 1997 to 2002, he was president of the

Episcopal Conference of Madagascar The Episcopal Conference of Madagascar (CEM) (French: ''Conférence Episcopale de Madagascar'') is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in Madagascar. Founded in 1965, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic hier ...

. Razafindratandra was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

. Armand Razafindratandra died on 9 January 2010.Malagasy Catholics receive papal condolences for cardinal's death
Catholic News Agency, 12 January 2010

References

External links

Biography at catholic-pages.com

Catholic Hierarchy {{DEFAULTSORT:Razafindratandra, Armand 1925 births 2010 deaths Malagasy cardinals 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Madagascar People from Antananarivo Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Malagasy Roman Catholic archbishops Malagasy Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic archbishops of Antananarivo Roman Catholic bishops of Mahajanga

Life

See also

References

External links