Georgios Xenopoulos, SJ ( el, Γεώργιος Ξενόπουλος; 23 August 1898 – 28 January 1980) was a Greek

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

and

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Catholic Church 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 ...

. From 1947 until his retirement in 1974, he was the Bishop of Santorini and the Bishop of Syros. In addition, he was at various times the apostolic administrator of the

Archdiocese of Athens The Archdiocese of Athens ( la, Archidioecesis Atheniensis or ''Athenarum'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Greece. Its cathedra is found within the neoclassic Cathedral Basilica of St. Dionysi ...

, the Diocese of Crete, and the Apostolic Vicariate of Salonica. He died in 1980, aged 81.

Biography

Xenopoulos was born on 23 August 1898 in Syros,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. He joined the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

and was ordained to the priesthood on 31 July 1926. On 22 February 1947, Xenopulos was appointed Bishop of Syros and Bishop of Santorini by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

. His episcopal consecration took place on 20 July 1947, with the Archbishop of Naxos, Tinos, Andros and Mykonos, Giovanni Francesco Filippucci, as

principal consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

, and Archbishop Antonios Grigorios Voutsinos, AA, and Bishop George Calavassy serving as co-consecrators. From 1950 to 1953, he was apostolic administrator of the

and the Apostolic Vicariate of Salonica (now Thessaloniki). In 1952, he was additionally appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Crete, a position he held until his death. From 1963 to 1965, Xenopulos participated in all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

. He was noted for addressing the concept of opening Communion under both kinds (e.g. bread ''and'' wine; the wine had previously been restricted to priests). Regarding the reception of wine through a common chalice, he raised concerns about health and women's lipstick, saying:

"Today the faithful, especially men, can be seen not to come forward to kiss a sacred
relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
because, among other things, they fear their lips will be colored by the red marks left by women on the glass of the
reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...
. What will happen now when so many hundreds and thousands of dyed lips of women or perhaps hundreds of lips of men which are not proper and pure and sometimes are infected with base sicknesses are applied to the rims of the chalice? The result will be that many of the faithful will abstain from Communion."

Yves Congar Yves Marie-Joseph Congar (; 13 April 1904 – 22 June 1995) was a French Dominican friar, priest, and theologian. He is perhaps best known for his influence at the Second Vatican Council and for reviving theological interest in the Holy Spiri ...

, the French Dominican theologian, took notice of Xenopulos at the Council, writing in his book ''My Journey of the Council'' about Xenopulos, "the name is Greek, but his pronunciation of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

was typically and entirely Italian." During his tenure as bishop, Xenopulos consecrated a number of bishops. He was principal consecrator of

Archbishop of Athens The Archbishopric of Athens ( el, Ιερά Αρχιεπισκοπή Αθηνών) is a Greek Orthodox archiepiscopal see based in the city of Athens, Greece. It is the senior see of Greece, and the seat of the autocephalous Church of Greece. Its ...

Marios Makrionitis Marios Makrionitis, SJ (Greek: Μάριος Μακρυωνίτης; 8 October 1913 – 8 April 1959) was a Greek Jesuit prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the Archbishop of Athens from 1953 until 1959, when he died from injuries caused ...

in 1953, of Archbishop of Naxos, Tinos, Andros and Mykonos Ioánnis Perrís in 1961, and Bishop of Syros and

Santorini Santorini ( el, Σαντορίνη, ), officially Thira (Greek: Θήρα ) and classical Greek Thera (English pronunciation ), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from the Greek mainland. It is the ...

Frangiskos Papamanolis, OFM Cap, in 1974. He was co-consecrator of Archbishop Marcus Sigala in 1947, Bishop

Hyakinthos Gad Hyakinthos Gad (2 February 1912 – 30 January 1975) was Apostolic exarch of the Greek Byzantine Catholic Church from 17 February 1958 to 1975. Biography Gad was born on 2 February 1912 in Greece. After receiving theological education, he was ...

in 1958, Archbishop Venediktos Printesis in 1959, Archbishop Antonios Varthalitis, AA, in 1962, and Archbishop

Nikolaos Foskolos Nikolaos Foskolos ( el, Νικόλαος Φώσκολος, born 11 December 1936 in Komi, Tinos, Greece) was the Archbishop of Athens and Apostolic Administrator of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rhodes. Biography Foscolos was ordained pries ...

in 1973. Xenopulos died on 28 January 1980, aged 81.

Episcopal lineage

* Cardinal

Scipione Rebiba Scipione Rebiba (3 February 1504 – 23 July 1577) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a protégé of Gian Pietro Carafa, who became Pope Paul IV. He held a variety of positions in the Church hierarchy, including some of the most sen ...

* Cardinal Giulio Antonio Santorio (1566) * Cardinal

Girolamo Bernerio Girolamo Cardinal Bernerio, O.P. (1540 – 5 August 1611) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Biography Bernerio was born in Corregio. He served as Bishop of Ascoli Piceno from 1586 until his resignation in 1605. He was ...

, OP (1586) * Archbishop

Galeazzo Sanvitale Galeazzo Sanvitale (died 8 September 1622) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Bari-Canosa (1604–1606). ''(in Latin)''Ludovico Ludovisi (1621) * Cardinal

Luigi Caetani Luigi Caetani (July 1595 – 15 April 1642) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Biography Caetani was born in Piedimonte. Son of Filippo I Caetani, duke of Sermoneta, and Camilla Gaetani dell'Aquila d'Aragona, of the duke ...

(1622) * Cardinal

Ulderico Carpegna Ulderico Carpegna (24 June 1595 – 24 January 1679) was an Italian jurist and Cardinal. Biography Born at Scavolino, he was from a family of the Roman nobility, connected with the Montefeltro family. He became bishop of Gubbio

(1630) * Cardinal Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri degli Albertoni (1666) * Pope Benedict XIII (1675) *

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758.Antipope ...

(1724) *

Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII ( la, Clemens XIII; it, Clemente XIII; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. ...

(1743) * Cardinal Marco Antonio Colonna (1762) * Cardinal

Hyacinthe Sigismond Gerdil Hyacinthe Sigismond Gerdil, CRSP (23 June 1718 – 12 August 1802) was an Italian theologian, bishop and cardinal, who was a significant figure in the response of the papacy to the assault on the Catholic Church by the upheavals caused by the F ...

, CRSP (1777) * Cardinal

Giulio Maria della Somaglia Giulio Maria della Somaglia (29 July 1744 – 2 April 1830) was an Italian cardinal. He was, in his later life — a staunch '' zelante'' cardinal who, as Secretary of State under Pope Leo XII, helped enforce an authoritarian regime in the ...

(1788) * Cardinal

Carlo Odescalchi Carlo Odescalchi, (5 March 1785 – 17 August 1841) was an Italian prince and priest, Archbishop of Ferrara, cardinal of the Catholic Church and Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome. For years a close collaborator of popes Pius VII and Gregory XV ...

, SJ (1823) * Bishop Eugène de Mazenod,

OMI is a hereditary noble title (''kabane'') of ancient Japan. It was given to the descendants of the Imperial Family before Emperor Kōgen. Along with ''Muraji'', ''Omi'' was reserved for the head of the most powerful clans during the Kofun period. ...

(1832) * Archbishop

Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert (1802, Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône – 1886, Paris) was a French Catholic Archbishop of Paris and Cardinal. He was consecrated by Eugène de Mazenod and was appointed by Pope Gregory XVI as bishop of Viviers in 18 ...

(1842) * Cardinal

François-Marie-Benjamin Richard François-Marie-Benjamin Richard de la Vergne (; 1 March 1819 – 27 January 1908) was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and served as the Archbishop of Paris. His cause of canonization has commenced and he has the title of Servant o ...

(1872) * Cardinal

Pietro Gasparri Pietro Gasparri, GCTE (5 May 1852 – 18 November 1934) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, diplomat and politician in the Roman Curia and the signatory of the Lateran Pacts. He served also as Cardinal Secretary of State under Popes Benedict XV an ...

(1898) * Archbishop

Angelo Rotta Angelo Rotta (9 August 1872 – 1 February 1965) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. As the Apostolic Nuncio in Budapest at the end of World War II, he was involved in the rescue of the Jews of Budapest from the Nazi Holocaust. He is ...

(1922) * Archbishop Giovanni Francesco Filippucci (1927) * Bishop Georges Xenopulos, SJ (1947)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xenopoulos, Georgios 1898 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Greece 20th-century Jesuits Greek Jesuits Jesuit bishops Participants in the Second Vatican Council People from Syros