Albert Decourtray

{{Short description|French Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Lyon}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = Cardinal | honorific_prefix = His Eminence | name = Albert Florent Augustin Decourtray | honorific_suffix = | title = [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]], [[Archdiocese of Lyon|Archbishop of Lyon]] | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | church = [[Roman Catholic]] | archdiocese = [[Archdiocese of Lyon|Lyon]] | province = | metropolis = | diocese = | see = | term_start = 1981 | term_end = 16 September 1994 | predecessor = [[Alexandre Renard]] | opposed = | successor = [[Jean Marie Balland]] | other_post = Cardinal-Priest of Santissima Trinità al Monte Pincio [[Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Mission de France|Prelate of Mission de France o Pontigny]] (1982–1988)  | ordination = 29 June 1947 | consecration = 3 July 1971 | cardinal = 25 May 1985 | created_cardinal_by = [[John Paul II]] | rank = Cardinal-Priest  | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1923|4|9}} | birth_place = [[Wattignies]], [[France]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1994|9|16|1923|4|9}} | death_place = [[Lyon]], France | buried = | denomination = | residence = | parents = | spouse =  | children = | occupation = | profession = | previous_post = [[Archdiocese of Dijon|Auxiliary Bishop of Dijon]] (1971–1974) [[Archdiocese of Dijon|Bishop of Dijon]] (1974–1981) | alma_mater = | motto = In Simplicitate | signature = | signature_alt = | coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of Mgr Albert Decourtray.svg | coat_of_arms_alt =  | feast_day = | venerated = | saint_title = | beatified_date = | beatified_place = | beatified_by = | canonized_date = | canonized_place = | canonized_by = | attributes = | patronage = | shrine = | suppressed_date =  | other = }} {{infobox cardinalstyles |cardinal name=Albert Decourtray |dipstyle=His Eminence |offstyle=Your Eminence |See=Lyon }} '''Albert Florent Augustin Decourtray''' [[Doctor of Sacred Theology|S.T.D.]] (9 April 1923 – 16 September 1994) was a French [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Catholic Cardinal]] and [[Archdiocese of Lyon|Archbishop of Lyon]].

==Biography==

===Early life=== He was born in the [[hamlet (place)|hamlet]] of L'Amiteuse near [[Lille]], France. He entered the [[minor seminary]] of Haubourdin in October 1940, later entering the Grand [[Seminary]] of Lille in 1941. He was ordained on 29 June 1947 and completed his studies at the [[Catholic Faculties of Lille]] in 1948. He then went to Rome in 1948 where he entered the [[Pontifical Gregorian University]] studying for a doctorate in [[theology]]. Which he was later awarded in 1951 with his thesis on [[Nicolas Malebranche]]. While in Rome, he was also chaplain of the church of Saint-Louis des Français.

===Career=== From 1952 until 1966 he served as Professor of [[Holy Scripture]] at the Grand Seminary of Lille. He was also responsible for the formation of young priests of the [[diocese of Lille]] in 1958. He served as [[vicar general]] of the diocese of Lille in 1966.

He was appointed [[Titular see|titular bishop]] of Ippona Zárito and [[Auxiliary Bishop]] of [[Dijon]] by [[Pope Paul VI]] on 27 May 1971. He was named [[Bishop of Dijon]] in 1974. He was bishop of Dijon until he was promoted to the [[metropolitan see of Lyon]] on 29 October 1981. He was elected vice-president of the [[Conférence des évêques de France|Episcopal Conference of France]] serving from 1981 until 1987 and was then elected its president, serving until 1990.

Decourtray was created [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[SS. Trinità al Monte Pincio]] on 25 May 1985 by [[Pope John Paul II]]. He was a member of the Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organizational and Economic Problems of the Holy See from 1986. He was appointed an Officer of the [[Légion d'honneur]] in 1986. He resigned the prelature on 1 October 1988. He was elected to a one-year term as president of the Council of the Christian Churches of France on 17 November 1987. He received his first prize of the [[Conseil Consultatif des Droits de l'Homme|Droits de l'Homme]] in 1988. He was elected a member of the [[Académie Française]] on 1 June 1993.

===Personal life=== Decourtray had one brother, Eliane, who died at 17, and two sisters, Paule and Blanche, who both died at a young age. He died at the age of 71 in 1994.

==References== * {{cite web|title=Albert Decourtray (1923–1994) |url=http://www.academie-francaise.fr/immortels/base/academiciens/fiche.asp?param=685 |publisher=Académie française |language=French |year=2009 |accessdate=2009-01-18 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081117060743/http://www.academie-francaise.fr/immortels/base/academiciens/fiche.asp?param=685 |archivedate=17 November 2008 }}

{{s-start}} {{s-rel|ca}} {{succession box | title=[[Archdiocese of Lyon|Archbishop of Lyon]] 29 October 1981 – 16 September 1994 | before=[[Jean-Marie Villot]] | after=[[Jean Marie Balland]] | years=}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Decourtney, Albert}} [[Category:1923 births]] [[Category:1994 deaths]] [[Category:Clergy from Nord (French department)]] [[Category:20th-century French cardinals]] [[Category:Archbishops of Lyon]] [[Category:Bishops of Dijon]] [[Category:Members of the Académie Française]] [[Category:Officers of the Legion of Honour]] [[Category:Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II]] [[Category:Pontifical Gregorian University alumni]] [[Category:French expatriates in Italy]] [[Category:Bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI]]