# Georges Grente

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French Cardinal

Georges Grente Cardinal-Bishop of Le Mans Church Roman Catholic Church Archdiocese Archdiocese of Tours Province Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tours Metropolis Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tours Diocese Le Mans Installed 30 January 1918 Term ended 5 May 1959 Predecessor Raymond-Marie-Turiaf de La Porte Successor Paul-Léon-Jean Chevalier Other posts Cardinal Priest of S. Bernardo alle Terme Assistant at the Pontifical Throne Orders Ordination 29 June 1895 Consecration 17 April 1918 by Cardinal Louis-Ernest Dubois, Bishops Claude Bardel and Joseph Guérard Created cardinal 12 January 1953 by Pope Pius XII Rank Cardinal-priest Personal details Born Georges-François-Xavier-Marie Grente (1872-05-05)May 5, 1872 Percy, Coutances, France Died May 5, 1959(1959-05-05) (aged 87) Le Mans, France Buried Cathedral of Le Mans Alma mater University of Paris School of Law Major Seminary of Coutances Catholic Institute of Paris Motto Dux unitam exemplar Coat of arms

Styles of Georges Grente Reference style His Eminence Spoken style Your Eminence Informal style Cardinal See Le Mans

**Georges-François-Xavier-Marie Grente** (5 May 1872 – 5 May 1959) was a French [Cardinal](/source/Cardinal_(Catholicism)) of the [Roman Catholic Church](/source/Roman_Catholic_Church). He served as [Archbishop of Le Mans](/source/Diocese_of_Le_Mans) from 1918 until his death, and was elevated to the [cardinalate](/source/Cardinal_(Catholicism)) in 1953 by [Pope Pius XII](/source/Pope_Pius_XII).

## Biography

Georges Grente was born in Percy, [Coutances](/source/Coutances), and studied at the [University of Paris School of Law](/source/University_of_Paris), [Major Seminary](/source/Seminary) of Coutances, and [Catholic Institute of Paris](/source/Institut_Catholique_de_Paris). He was [ordained](/source/Holy_Orders) to the [priesthood](/source/Priesthood_(Catholic_Church)) on 29 June 1895, and then taught at the [minor seminary](/source/Minor_seminary) in [Mortain](/source/Mortain) until 1903.

Grente was [director](/source/Director_(education)) of the [diocesan](/source/Diocese) College of Saint Louis from 1903 to 1916, whence he became [superior](/source/Superior_(hierarchy)) of [St. Paul Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=St._Paul_Institute&action=edit&redlink=1) in [Cherbourg](/source/Cherbourg-Octeville). He was made an [honorary](/source/Title_of_honor) [canon](/source/Canon_(priest)) of the [cathedral](/source/Cathedral) [chapter](/source/Chapter_(religion)) of Coutances in 1917.

On 30 January 1918, Grente was appointed [Bishop of Le Mans](/source/Diocese_of_Le_Mans) by [Pope Benedict XV](/source/Pope_Benedict_XV). He received his [episcopal consecration](/source/Bishop_(Catholic_Church)) on the following 17 April from Cardinal [Louis-Ernest Dubois](/source/Louis-Ernest_Dubois), with Bishops [Claude Bardel](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Claude_Bardel&action=edit&redlink=1) and [Joseph Guérard](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joseph_Gu%C3%A9rard&action=edit&redlink=1) serving as [co-consecrators](/source/Consecrator). He was given the title of [Assistant at the Pontifical Throne](/source/Assistant_at_the_Pontifical_Throne) on 18 January 1933, and personal title of "[Archbishop](/source/Archbishop)" in March 1943. During [World War II](/source/World_War_II), Grente worked in the [French resistance movement](/source/French_Resistance).[1]

[Pope Pius XII](/source/Pope_Pius_XII) created him [Cardinal-Priest](/source/Cardinal_(Catholicism)) of *[S. Bernardo alle Terme](/source/San_Bernardo_alle_Terme)* in the [consistory](/source/Papal_consistory) of 12 January 1953. Despite speculation that his poor health would prevent him from participating,[2] Grente was one of the [cardinal electors](/source/Cardinal_electors_in_Papal_conclave%2C_1958) in the [1958 papal conclave](/source/Papal_conclave%2C_1958), which selected [Pope John XXIII](/source/Pope_John_XXIII) [*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]. A member of the *[Académie française](/source/Acad%C3%A9mie_fran%C3%A7aise)*, he was in close correspondence with [Charles de Gaulle](/source/Charles_de_Gaulle) 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](/source/Le_Mans), on his 87th birthday, and was buried in the [Cathedral of Le Mans](/source/Le_Mans_Cathedral) (his heart however was interred in the church at Percy). He had served as the [ordinary](/source/Ordinary_(Catholic_Church)) 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jean_Egen&action=edit&redlink=1) in 1973. In 1998, Grente was the posthumous object of an attempt at [character assassination](/source/Character_assassination) by [Christian Gury](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christian_Gury&action=edit&redlink=1).

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Milestones"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121022165803/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,869102-2,00.html). *Time*. 18 May 1959. Archived from [the original](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,869102-2,00.html) on October 22, 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Religion: The Succession"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070930154049/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,863976,00.html). *Time*. 20 October 1958. Archived from [the original](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,863976,00.html) on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2012.

## External links

- [Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church](https://cardinals.fiu.edu/bios-g.htm#Grente)

- [Catholic-Hierarchy](http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bgrente.html)

Catholic Church titles Preceded by Raymond-Marie-Turiaf de La Porte Archbishop of Le Mans 1918–1959 Succeeded by Paul-Léon-Jean Chevalier Records Preceded by José María Caro Rodríguez Oldest living Member of the Sacred College 4 December 1958 – 5 May 1959 Succeeded by Elia Dalla Costa

v t e Cardinals created by Pius XII 1946 Agagianian Glennon Masella Micara Sapieha Mooney Saliège McGuigan Stritch Parrado y García Roques de Jong Vasconcellos Motto Petit de Julleville Gilroy Spellman Caro Rodríguez de Gouveia de Barros Câmara Pla y Deniel Arteaga y Betancourt Frings Guevara Griffin Arce y Ochotorena Mindszenty Ruffini von Preysing von Galen Caggiano Tien Ken-sin Bruno 1953 Constantini da Silva Cicognani Roncalli Valeri Ciriaci Borgongini Duca Feltin Mimmi de la Torre Stepinac Grente Siri D'Alton McIntyre Lercaro Wyszyński de Arriba y Castro Quiroga y Palacios Léger Luque Sánchez Wendel Ottaviani Gracias Catholic Church portal

v t e Académie française seat 32 Claude Favre de Vaugelas (1634) Georges de Scudéry (1650) Philippe de Courcillon (1667) Armand de Vignerot du Plessis (1720) François-Henri d'Harcourt (1788) Lucien Bonaparte (1803) Louis-Simon Auger (1816) Charles-Guillaume Étienne (1829) Alfred de Vigny (1845) Camille Doucet (1865) Charles Costa de Beauregard (1896) Hippolyte Langlois (1911) Émile Boutroux (1912) Pierre de Nolhac (1922) Georges-François-Xavier-Marie Grente (1936) Henri Massis (1960) Georges Izard (1971) Robert Aron (1974) Maurice Rheims (1976) Alain Robbe-Grillet (2004) François Weyergans (2009) Pascal Ory (2021)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Georges Grente](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Grente) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Grente?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.