Bernardin Gantin


Bernardin Gantin
Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina
Gantin during his early years as a cardinal
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
SeePalestrina
Installed29 September 1986
PredecessorCarlo Confalonieri
SuccessorJosé Saraiva Martins
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination14 January 1951
by Louis Parisot
Consecration3 February 1957
by Eugène Tisserant
Created cardinal27 June 1977
by Pope Paul VI
Personal details
Born(1922-05-08)8 May 1922
Died13 May 2008(2008-05-13) (aged 86)
Paris, France
Coat of armsBernardin Gantin's coat of arms
Styles of
Bernardin Gantin
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
SeePalestrina (suburbicarian)

Bernardin Gantin (8 May 1922 – 13 May 2008) was a Beninese prelate of the Catholic Church who held senior positions in the Roman Curia for twenty years and the highest position in the College of Cardinals for nine years. His prominence in the hierarchy of the Church was unprecedented for an African and has been equaled by few non-Italians. He began his career in his native country first as an auxiliary bishop and then as archbishop of Cotonou. In 1971 he began his thirty-year career in the Curia. After he had spent several years in the role of senior assistant, he held a series of senior positions as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, and prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops

Pope Paul VI made him a cardinal in 1977, Pope John Paul II promoted him to the rank of cardinal bishop in 1986, and his peers elected him dean, the highest office in the College of Cardinals, in 1993. He retired to Benin when he turned 80.