{{short description|20th and 21st-century Catholic cardinal and archbishop}} {{more citations needed|date=July 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = cardinal | honorific-prefix = [[His Eminence]] | name = Armand Gaétan Razafindratandra | honorific-suffix = | archbishop_of = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Antananarivo|Archbishop emeritus of Antananarivo]] | image = Armand_Razafindratandra.jpg | caption = | province = | diocese = | see = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Antananarivo]] | appointed = 1994 | enthroned = | ended = 7 December 2005 | predecessor = [[Victor Razafimahatratra]] | successor = [[Odon Marie Arsène Razanakolona]] | ordination = 27 July 1954 | consecration = 2 July 1978 | consecrated_by = [[Victor Razafimahatratra]] | other_post = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1925 |8 |7 }} | birth_place = [[Ambohimalaza, Analamanga|Ambohimalaza]], [[Madagascar]] | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2010|1|9|1925 |8 |7 }} | death_place = [[Majunga]], [[Madagascar]] | buried = [[Mahajanga Cathedral]], [[Majunga]] | nationality = Malagasy | religion = [[Roman Catholic]] | motto = Ut omnes unum sint | alma_mater = [[St. Michael's College (Madagascar)|St. Michael's College]] | residence = | parents = | spouse = | children = | occupation = | profession = | signature = }} [[File:Stemma cardinalizio SMaM.jpg|thumb|Coat of arms of Cardinal Razafindratandra, bearing the motto ''Ut omnes unum sint'' ("That all may be one"). From the basilica of [[San Martino ai Monti]], Rome.]]
'''Armand Gaétan Razafindratandra''' (7 August 1925 – 9 January 2010) was a [[Malagasy people|Malagasy]] prelate of the [[Catholic Church]] who served as [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Antananarivo|Archbishop of Antananarivo]] from 1994 to 2005.
==Life== Born in [[Ambohimalaza, Analamanga|Ambohimalaza]], near [[Antananarivo]], where his grandfather had been governor, Razafindratandra was educated at the parish school of [[Faravohitra]]. He went on to study at the minor seminary of [[Ambohipo]] and then at [[St. Michael's College (Madagascar)|St. Michael's College]], a [[Jesuit]] institution, before studying philosophy and theology at [[Ambatoroka]].
Razafindratandra was ordained as a priest in 1954, after which he studied at the [[Catholic University of Paris|Catholic Institute in Paris]] for two years. Returning to Madagascar in 1956, he directed [[catechism|catechetical]] teaching and spiritual programs for public and private schools, working extensively with youth summer camp programs for children from needy families. He also rose to become [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|Rector]] of the minor seminary at [[Faliarivo]] and the Director of the major seminary at [[Ambatoroka]].
Appointed [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Mahajanga|Bishop of Mahajanga]] in 1978 and named Archbishop of the Antananarivo Archdiocese in 1994, Razafindratandra was created a cardinal by [[Pope John Paul II]] in the consistory of 26 November 1994, and became the cardinal-priest of [[San Martino ai Monti]]''.''
From 1997 to 2002, he was president of the [[Episcopal Conference of Madagascar]]. Razafindratandra was one of the [[Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 2005|cardinal electors]] who participated in the [[2005 papal conclave]] that selected [[Pope Benedict XVI]].
Armand Razafindratandra died on 9 January 2010.<ref>[https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/18236/madagascan-catholics-receive-papal-condolences-for-cardinals-death Malagasy Catholics receive papal condolences for cardinal's death], Catholic News Agency, 12 January 2010</ref>
==See also== *[[Catholic Church in Madagascar]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote|Armand Gaétan Razafindratandra}} {{commonscat|Armand Gaétan Razafindratandra}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20050420000537/http://www.catholic-pages.com/hierarchy/cardinals_bio.asp?ref=120 Biography at catholic-pages.com]}} * [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/braza.html Biographical data], Catholic Hierarchy
{{Cardinals created by John Paul II}} {{Portal bar|Biography|Madagascar|Catholicism|Religion|Society}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Razafindratandra, Armand}} [[Category:1925 births]] [[Category:2010 deaths]] [[Category:Malagasy cardinals]] [[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Madagascar]] [[Category:People from Antananarivo]] [[Category:Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II]] [[Category:Malagasy Roman Catholic archbishops]] [[Category:Malagasy Roman Catholic bishops]] [[Category:Roman Catholic archbishops of Antananarivo]] [[Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Mahajanga]]