![Max-Hymans-archevêque-de-Bourges](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Max-Hymans-archev%C3%AAque-de-Bourges.JPG)
Joseph-Charles Lefèbvre (commonly Joseph Lefèbvre, 15 April 1892—2 April 1973) was a French
cardinal of the
Roman 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 ...
. He served as
Archbishop of Bourges
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...
from 1943 to 1969 and was made a cardinal in 1960.
He was the cousin of Archbishop
Marcel Lefebvre
Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (; 29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a French Catholic archbishop who greatly influenced modern traditional Catholicism. In 1970, he founded the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a community to tra ...
and the nephew of monarchist and resistance hero
René Lefebvre
René Charles Joseph Marie Lefebvre (23 February 1879 – 4 March 1944) was a French factory-owner from Tourcoing,[Tourcoing
Tourcoing (; nl, Toerkonje ; vls, Terkoeje; pcd, Tourco) is a city in northern France on the Belgian border. It is designated municipally as a commune within the department of Nord. Located to the north-northeast of Lille, adjacent to Roubai ...](_blank)
on 12 April 1892. He studied law at the
Catholic University of Lille, but interrupted his studies for family reasons. He became president of a Catholic youth group and decided to become a priest, but first served in the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He was severely wounded in 1914 near
Mariembourg
Mariembourg ( wa, Mariyambour) is a town in the municipality of Couvin in the Province of Namur, Belgium.
The town is named after Mary of Hungary, governor of what was then the Habsburg Netherlands, who ordered the construction of a fortress ...
and taken prisoner. He was released in a prisoner exchange in 1918 and left military service in 1919. He studied at the
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy.
The Gregorian originated as ...
, the
Pontifical French Seminary
The Pontifical French Seminary (La. ''Pontificium Seminarium Gallicum'', Fr.: ''Séminaire Pontifical Français'', It. ''Pontificio'' ''Seminario Francese'') is a Roman College dedicated to training French speaking Roman Catholic priests.
History ...
in Rome, and the University of Fribourg.
[ At the Gregorian, he received a gold medal for his exceptional grades.
Lefèbvre was ]ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
a priest on 17 December 1921. In 1924 he began pastoral work in Poitiers, where he became Director of Works, honorary canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
, and vicar general
A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...
. He was raised to the rank of monsignor
Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...
on 28 December 1936.
On 27 July 1938, Lefèbvre was appointed bishop of Troyes by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
on 11 October[ from Bishop Edouard-Gabriel Mesguen, with Bishops Joseph-Jean Heintz and Louis Liagre as co-consecrators. During the German occupation, he directed Troyes' medical services and provisioning.][ Lefebvre was promoted to archbishop of Bourges on 17 June 1943. In the 1950s, in order to counter the increasingly popular French view that the Church is allied with the wealthy against the working class, Lefèbvre suggested to "throw light on the essential teachings of the Church in contemporary affairs—political, social and economic".]
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
, who came to like the "tall, jolly" Lefèbvre while serving as nuncio to France, created him cardinal priest of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini in the consistory
Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to:
*A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church
* Consistor ...
of 28 March 1960. He participated as a cardinal elector in the 1963 papal conclave that elected Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...
, where he and his French peers were thought to be enthusiastic in supporting his election. Pope Paul made him a member of the Holy Office
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible f ...
in 1964 as part of his campaign to make its leadership less Italian and less curial.
Lefèbvre attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
(1962–1965). At the final session, on 20 September 1965, he joined in defending the proposed document on religious freedom, eventually promulgated as ''Dignitatis humanae
''Dignitatis humanae'' (''Of the Dignity of the Human Person'') is the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom. In the context of the council's stated intention "to develop the doctrine of recent popes on the inviolable rights ...
''. He made "a powerful impression" with a detailed refutation of the opponents' arguments. Though thought to oppose any liberalization of the Church's policy on contraception, in 1966 he surprised his peers on the Pontifical Commission on Birth Control
The Pontifical Commission on Birth Control was a committee within the Roman Curia tasked with analyzing the modern impact of birth control on the Roman Catholic Church. The disagreements within the commission ultimately led to the publication of t ...
by saying that "it would not be too rash" to approve of artificial birth control as a deeper understanding of traditional teaching.
He served a four-year term as president of the French Episcopal Conference from 1965 to 1969. From 1965 to 1969, he was cardinals' representative to that body. Lefèbvre resigned his position in Bourges on 10 October 1969, citing his age. He died there on 2 April 1973 at the age of 80. He was buried in the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne.
A small park in Bourges in named for him, as is a street in Troyes.
References
;Additional sources
*E. Fouilloux in Dictionnaire d'histoire et géographie ecclésiastiques, Letouzey et Ané, Fasciscule 180, 2010, p. 99-100
External links
* Film of ceremonies upon his arrival in Bourges on 10 April 1960, shortly after being made a cardinal.
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lefebvre, Joseph-Charles
1892 births
1973 deaths
20th-century French cardinals
Archbishops of Bourges
Bishops of Troyes
French military personnel of World War I
Participants in the Second Vatican Council
People from Tourcoing
Pontifical French Seminary alumni
Pontifical Gregorian University alumni
Cardinals created by Pope John XXIII