Maurice Roy

Summary

Maurice Roy CC OBE (January 25, 1905 – October 24, 1985) was a Canadian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Quebec from 1947 to 1981. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965.


Maurice Roy
Cardinal
Archbishop Emeritus of Québec
Primate Emeritus of Canada
The then-bishop seen in 1956.
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
ArchdioceseQuébec
SeeQuébec
Appointed2 June 1947
Term ended20 March 1981
PredecessorJean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve
SuccessorLouis-Albert Vachon
Other post(s)Cardinal-Priest of Nostra Signora del Santissimo Sacramento e Santi Martiri Canadesi (1965-85)
Previous post(s)Bishop of Trois Rivières (1946-47)
Military Vicar of Canada (1946-82)
President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity (1967-76)
President of the Pontifical Commission of Justice and Peace (1967-76)
President of the Committee for the Family (1973-76)
Orders
Ordination12 June 1927
by Joseph-Simon-Herman Brunault
Consecration1 May 1946
by Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve
Created cardinal22 February 1965
by Pope Paul VI
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born
Maurice Roy

(1905-01-25)25 January 1905
Died24 October 1985(1985-10-24) (aged 80)
Québec City, Canada
ParentsFerdinand Roy
Amelie Legendre
Alma materUniversité Laval
Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas
University of Paris
Institut Catholique de Paris
MottoIn Nomine Jesu
("In the name of Jesus")
Coat of armsMaurice Roy's coat of arms
Styles of
Maurice Roy
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
SeeQuebec

Early life

edit

Roy was born in Quebec City as one of three children. His father was a judge, the dean of the faculty of law at the University of Laval, and a friend of Maurice Duplessis. His mother was a descendant of the poet Napoléon Legendre. Initially homeschooled, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Joseph Brunault on June 12, 1927 after attending the Seminary of Quebec from 1915 to 1923. He obtained his licentiate in theology from the Université Laval in 1927, and then studied at the Angelicum in Rome, receiving a doctorate in philosophy in 1929. From 1929 to 1930, he attended the Sorbonne and the Catholic Institute in Paris. Roy then taught dogmatic and sacramental theology and apologetics at Quebec's Grand Seminary until 1939. He worked as a chaplain to the University of Laval (1935–1937) and to the Canadian Army during World War II. He served in the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany from 1939 to 1943 and attained the rank of colonel. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his "extremely courageous conduct" as a chaplain in the war.[1] Resuming his teaching posts upon his return to Canada in 1945, Roy was named superior of the seminary in December of that same year.

Bishop

edit

On February 22, 1946, Roy was appointed Bishop of Trois Rivières by Pope Pius XII. Roy received his episcopal consecration on the following May 1 from Cardinal Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve, OMI, with Bishops Albini Lafortune and Arthur Douville serving as co-consecrators, in the Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame. His episcopal motto was In nomine Jesu.[2] Roy became Bishop of the Catholic Military Vicariate of Canada on June 8 of the same year, later resigning from the post on March 12, 1982, after thirty-five years of service.

Archbishop

edit
Ordination history of
Maurice Roy
History
Priestly ordination
Ordained byJoseph-Simon-Herman Brunault
DateJune 12, 1927
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecratorJean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve
Co-consecratorsAlbini Lafortune,
Arthur Douville
DateMay 1, 1946
PlaceCathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec, Québec City, Canada
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Maurice Roy as principal consecrator
Jean-Louis JobidonMay 22, 1961
Laurent NoëlAugust 29, 1963
Charles Henri LévesqueDecember 27, 1965
Francis John SpenceJune 15, 1967
Henri LégaréSeptember 9, 1967
Bertrand BlanchetDecember 8, 1973
Jean-Guy HamelinFebruary 9, 1974
Roch PedneaultJune 29, 1974
Jean-Guy CoutureAugust 15, 1975
Louis-Albert VachonMay 14, 1977
Jean-Paul LabrieMay 14, 1977
Gérard DrainvileJune 12, 1978
Raymond Saint-GelaisJuly 31, 1980

A little over a year after Roy's first episcopal appointment, Pope Pius raised him to Archbishop of Quebec on June 2, 1947. He was made Primate of the Canadian Church upon Quebec's elevation to that ecclesiastical rank on January 24, 1956.

Roy condemned the supposed miracles of Saint-Sylvestre in 1949,[3] and prohibited Fr. Georges-Henri Lévesque from sitting on Parliament in 1955, fearing that a priest with such a position would bring embarrassment to the Church.[4] Participating in the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), Roy was created Cardinal-Priest of Nostra Signora del Ss. Sacramento e Santi Martiri Canadesi by Pope Paul VI in the consistory of February 22, 1965. He was named the first President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace on January 6, 1967, and then first President of the Pontifical Council for the Family on January 11, 1973.

As President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, it was to Roy, that Pope Paul VI addressed his apostolic letter of 14 May 1971, Octogesima adveniens commemorating the eightieth anniversary of Rerum novarum and discussing the role of the laity and local churches in responding to situations of injustices.

In 1971 Roy was made a Companion of the Order of Canada, and he resigned all three of his Curial posts on December 16, 1976. He was a cardinal elector in the conclaves of August and October 1978, and stepped down as Quebec's archbishop on March 20, 1981,[2] after a period of thirty-three years.

Roy died in his sleep at a hospital in Quebec, at age 80. He is buried in the crypt of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. Thus his baptism, confirmation, priestly ordination, episcopal consecration, installment as Archbishop of Quebec, and burial all took place at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.[5]

Honours

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ TIME Magazine. Youth in the Archbishopric June 16, 1947
  2. ^ a b Miranda, Salvador. "Roy, Maurice", Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church
  3. ^ TIME Magazine. Miracle Business October 3, 1949
  4. ^ TIME Magazine. The Church Said No February 7, 1955
  5. ^ TIME Magazine. Enthronement August 4, 1947
  6. ^ "Cuban Cardinal Awarded Isabella Order". ACI Prensa (in Spanish). 26 July 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  7. ^ TIME Magazine. Youth in the Archbishopric June 16, 1947
edit
  • Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
  • Catholic-Hierarchy
  • Maurice Roy at Find a Grave
  • Cardinal Roy on Being a Military Chaplain
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Trois Rivières
1946–1947
Succeeded by
Preceded by Bishop of Military Ordinariate of Canada
1946–1982
Succeeded by
Preceded by Archbishop of Quebec
1947–1981
Succeeded by
Preceded by
none
President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity
1967–1976
Succeeded by
Preceded by
none
President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
1967–1976
Succeeded by
Preceded by
none
President of the Pontifical Council for the Family
1973–1976
Succeeded by