Louis-Marie Billé (18 February 1938 – 12 March 2002) was a French clergyman,

archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (; ), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archbishops of Lyon are also called Primate o ...

from 6 September 1998 and a cardinal until his death in office.Vatican Press website, ''Billé Card. Louis-Marie''
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Life

Billé was born in Orléans to Gabriel Léandre François Victor Billé and Madeleine Louise David.
/ref> He studied Catholic

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Luçon Luçon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vendée Departments of France, department, Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region, western France. Its inhabitants are known as Luçonnais. Luçon Cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Luço ...

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

(

Catholic University of the West The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, specialising in Biblical Theology. His career in the clergy began on 25 March 1962 when he was ordained priest for the

diocese of Luçon In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

. From 1966 to 1972 he worked as a lecturer at the priests'

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 cle ...

in Luçon, and from 1972 to 1977 he performed the same task at the seminary of

La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vendée Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is '' ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed him Bishop of Laval on 10 May 1984, transferring him in 1995 to the diocese of Aix, Arles and Embrun. He published ''Jean-Paul II avec l`Eglise de France - La vitalité de l`Evangile'' in 1997. He would become Archbishop of Lyon on 10 July 1998. On 21 February 2001 he was appointed to the

College of Cardinals 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, ...

with the title of

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. ...

San Pietro in Vincoli San Pietro in Vincoli (; Saint Peter in Chains) is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy. The church is on the Oppian Hill near Cavour metro station, a short distance from the Colosseum. The name alludes to the Bibl ...

. Later in the same year the title of Santissima Trinità al Monte Pincio was transferred to him. Cardinal Billé died in Bordeaux on 12 March 2002 after a serious illness and was entombed in Lyon cathedral. He was succeeded as Archbishop of Lyon by Bishop

Philippe Barbarin Philippe Xavier Christian Ignace Marie Barbarin (born 17 October 1950) is a French Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Lyon from 2002 to 2020. He was made a cardinal in 2003. He was convicted in 2019 of failing to report alleged sex ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bille, Louis-Marie 1938 births 2002 deaths 20th-century French cardinals Catholic University of the West alumni 21st-century French cardinals Bishops of Laval Archbishops of Lyon Burials at Lyon Cathedral Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II