Georges-François-Xavier-Marie Grente (5 May 1872 – 5 May 1959) was a French

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as Archbishop of Le Mans from 1918 until his death, and was elevated to the

cardinalate The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

in 1953 by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

Biography

Georges Grente was born in Percy, Coutances, and studied at the University of Paris School of Law,

Major Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

of Coutances, and Catholic Institute of Paris. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on 29 June 1895, and then taught at the

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Priesthood (Catholic Church), Catholic priests. They are generally ...

Mortain Mortain () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Mortain-Bocage. Geography Mortain is situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the ...

until 1903. Grente was director of the diocesan College of Saint Louis from 1903 to 1916, whence he became superior of St. Paul Institute in

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

. He was made an honorary

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

chapter of Coutances in 1917. On 30 January 1918, Grente was appointed Bishop of Le Mans by

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 17 April from Cardinal Louis-Ernest Dubois, with Bishops Claude Bardel and Joseph Guérard serving as

co-consecrators 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 Churche ...

. He was given the title of Assistant at the Pontifical Throne on 18 January 1933, and personal title of "

Archbishop 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 archdi ...

" in March 1943. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Grente worked in the French resistance movement.

created him

Cardinal Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

of '' S. Bernardo alle Terme'' 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 12 January 1953. Despite speculation that his poor health would prevent him from participating, Grente was one of the cardinal electors in the 1958 papal conclave, which selected

Pope John XXIII Pope John 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 on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

. A member of the ''

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

'', he was in close correspondence with

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

as well. It was in a letter to Grente that de Gaulle made his famous distinction between ''la France chrétienne'' and ''la république läique''. The Cardinal died in

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

, on his 87th birthday, and was buried in the Cathedral of Le Mans (his heart however was interred in the church at Percy). He had served as the ordinary of that city for over forty years. Academically eminent but pretentious in manner, Grente was satirized by his clergy. He was subject to an attack by the Canard Enchaîné on his ownership of brothels near the cathedral purchased unsuccessfully (given opposition by civil and military authorities) in view of their closure, renewed by Jean Egen in 1973. In 1998, Grente was the posthumous object of an attempt at

character assassination Character assassination (CA) is a deliberate and sustained effort to damage the reputation or credibility of an individual. The term ''character assassination'' became popular around 1930. This concept, as a subject of scholarly study, was origi ...

by Christian Gury.

References

External links

Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grente, Georges-Francois-Xavier-Marie 1872 births 1959 deaths Cardinals created by Pope Pius XII 20th-century French cardinals Bishops of Le Mans Members of the Académie Française University of Paris alumni