Jump to content

Jean Jadot

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Belgian railway engineer and banker, see Jean Jadot (banker).
Jean Jadot
President of the Secretariat for Non-Christians
Jean Jadot
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
SeeTitular See of Zuri
In office1980–1984
PredecessorSergio Pignedoli
SuccessorFrancis Arinze
Previous post(s)Priest
Orders
Ordination11 February 1934
by Jozef-Ernest van Roey
Consecration1 May 1968
by Leo Joseph Suenens
Personal details
Born(1909-11-23)23 November 1909
Brussels, Belgium
Died21 January 2009(2009-01-21) (aged 99)
Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Belgium

Jean Jadot (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ ʒado]; 23 November 1909 – 21 January 2009) was a Belgian Catholic prelate who served as apostolic delegate to the United States (the first non-Italian to do so) from 1973 to 1980, and as president of the Secretariat for Non-Christians from 1980 to 1984.

Biography

[edit]

Jean Jadot was born in Brussels. He was born to a well-known aristocratic family, and his father, Lambert, was a noted electrical engineer who worked around the world, including China and Congo. In 1926, he entered the Catholic University of Leuven, from where he obtained his doctorate in philosophy magna cum laude in 1930. His thesis was on the work of Alfred Edward Taylor.

Despite his father's opposition, Jadot then entered the seminary of the Archdiocese of Mechelen, and was ordained to the priesthood by Jozef-Ernest Cardinal van Roey on 11 February 1934. On 28 February 1968, Pope Paul VI appointed him titular archbishop of Zuri and apostolic delegate to Thailand, Laos, and the Malay Peninsula (Malaysia and Singapore).[1] He was consecrated a bishop by Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens on 1 May 1968.[2] He was appointed Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Thailand on 28 August 1969.[3] On 15 May 1971, Jadot was appointed apostolic pro-nuncio to Gabon and Cameroon as well as apostolic delegate to Equatorial Guinea.[4] On 23 May 1973 he was appointed the apostolic delegate to the United States.[5]

Jadot was considered a progressive leader of the Roman Curia,[6] and was at times polarizing in the statements he made and decisions he took. Jadot was seen favorably by the Vatican under Pope Paul VI, who rejected Jadot's initial offer to resign as apostolic delegate.[7] On 27 June 1980, Pope John Paul II appointed him the Pro-President of the Secretariat of Non-Christians,[8] a position normally held by a cardinal. On 19 June 1982, Jadot ordained Robert Francis Prevost for the Augustinians in Rome.[9] Prevost was later elected Pope Leo XIV on 8 May 2025.[10]

Jadot's progressive views were the main obstacle to his being made a cardinal by Pope John Paul,[11] who did not include him when he created cardinals in February 1983. Pope John Paul accepted his resignation on 8 April 1984, a few months before his 75th birthday when he would have been required to submit his resignation. Jadot died in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Belgium, on 21 January 2009.[12]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LX. 1968. p. 365. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Archbishop Jean Jadot [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  3. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXI. 1969. p. 599. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  4. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXIII. 1971. p. 398. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  5. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXV. 1973. p. 349. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  6. ^ Scaramuzzi, Iacopo (April 25, 2025). "Prevost, il cardinale americano cosmopolita e schivo che può essere l'outsider" [Prevost, the cosmopolitan and shy American cardinal who could be the outsider]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  7. ^ Dick, John A. (21 January 2009). "Cleric who shaped U.S. 'pastoral church' dead at 99". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  8. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXII. 1980. p. 769. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Robert Francis Prevost [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
  10. ^ Scaramuzzi, Iacopo (8 May 2025). "Il ritratto. Il missionario che ha unito le Americhe contro gli estremismi" [The portrait. The missionary who united the Americas against extremism]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  11. ^ Hyer, Marjorie (1983-05-01). "Opinion | How Our War-Blessing Catholic Bishops Got Religion on Nukes". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
  12. ^ "Archbishop Jadot, former apostolic delegate in US, dies in Belgium". Catholic News Service. 21 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013.
Additional sources
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jean_Jadot&oldid=1291074499"