He served as papal representative in delicate situations. Some were ecclesiastical, like improving relations with the Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow, organizing an historic inter-religious prayer service in Assisi in 1986, and seeking rapprochement with Communist governments. Others were geopolitical, attempting to prevent international violence, arranging an exchange of prisoners, or bearing witness to the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsis.
Biography
Early life and ordination
Etchegaray, of Basque ancestry,[1] was born in the Northern Basque Country to Jean-Baptiste and Aurélie Etchegaray. The eldest of three children, he had two younger siblings, Jean and Maïté; their father worked as an agricultural mechanic.[2] All his life he spoke French with the accent of his native region.[3]
Etchegaray then did pastoral work in the Diocese of Bayonne, also serving as secretary to Bishop Léon-Albert Terrier, secretary general of the diocesan works of Catholic Action, and as vicar general. He then served as deputy director (1961–1966) and later secretary general (1966–1970) of the French Episcopal Conference.[4]
After the first meeting between Church and Freemasonry which had been held on 11 April 1969 at the convent of the Divine Master in Ariccia, he was the protagonist of a series of public handshakes between high prelates of the Roman Catholic Church and the heads of Freemasonry.[5]
Popes Paul VI and John Paul II used Etchegaray as a diplomatic agent even when he was still Archbishop of Marseille and before he had Curial titles associated with human rights. He visited Eastern Europe on their behalf several times in the 1970s.[4] In 1980 he became the first cardinal to visit China[11] and visited again in 1993.[12] He improved the relations with the Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow.[7] He was a key organizer among others of the first World Day of Prayer for Peace that brought together more than 160 religious leaders in Assisi on 27 October 1986. It was the broadest representation of international religious leaders ever assembled.[13]
Cuba
Etchegaray made his first trip to Cuba in 1989 and spent nine days there, between Christmas and New Year's Day. His Cuban tour was capped by a meeting with Fidel Castro during Christmas week at which Etchegaray underlined the social contribution the Church provided to the Cuban health service, the pride of the Cuban regime.[14]
The meeting underscored an easing of tensions between Church and state in the officially atheist country, where practicing Christians, Jews, and Muslims have been objects of government repression for almost 30 years.[15]
In December 1985, he led a Vatican team invited by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to visit prisoners of war held in Iran.[17] He visited Baghdad in 1985 when he helped to arrange an exchange of prisoners of war between Iran and Iraq while they were at war. In 1998, he visited Baghdad to determine if a papal visit was feasible.[7]
Rwandan genocide
He first visited Rwanda in 1993 in an attempt to reconcile the warring parties.[18] In June 1994, amidst the violence of the Rwandan genocide, he visited the site where three bishops were assassinated and officiated at their funeral. He crossed the country to deliver the same message to the government and its rebel opposition.[19][20]
On 24 December 2009, Cardinal Etchegaray was knocked down along with Pope Benedict XVI when 25-year-old Susanna Maiolo jumped over a barrier and grappled with the Pope, who was making his way through St Peter's Basilica in procession for Christmas Eve Mass. The Pope was not injured, but Etchegaray suffered a broken leg and a broken hip.[25][26][27] He had been standing a few yards away from the Pope and was knocked down in the scuffle.[28] The Vatican said Maiolo was "psychologically unstable" and had lunged at the Pope previously.[29]
In 2015, Etchegaray fell in St. Peter's Basilica during Mass and broke his leg for the second time.[30]
Return to France and death
Etchegaray returned to Bayonne, France, in January 2017, to live with his sister Maité (d. 13 February 2018) in a retirement home in Cambo-les-Bains near Espelette, the village where he was born. Catholic News Agency journalist Andrea Gagliarducci described Cardinal Etchegary's retirement from Rome as "the end of an era".[31] He had farewell meetings with Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI before he left.[31] Pope Francis accepted his resignation as Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals on 10 June 2017.[32]
Etchegaray died on 4 September 2019, at age 96.[33] At the time of his death he was the oldest living cardinal, following the death of Cardinal Pimiento Rodriguez one day earlier on 3 September 2019.[34] Etchegaray was the longest-serving cardinal not to participate in a papal conclave.[a]
Notes
^On 26 November 2008 he overtook Giacomo Antonelli, secretary of state to Pope Pius IX, who was a cardinal for 29 years during the 31-year pontificate of Pius IX. Both Antonelli's and Etchegaray's non-participation in conclaves was not by choice because there was no conclave that either of them could freely and legally attend. The comparison is inexact because Antonelli was eligible to participate in a conclave until his death. Etchegaray on the other hand, lost his eligibility on his 80th birthday when he had been a cardinal for a little more than 23 years. Also, no conclave was held during Antonelli's cardinalate, while Etchegaray was actually excluded from participating in the conclaves of 2005 and 2013.
^"Rinunce e Nomine, 10.06.2017" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 10 June 2017. Archived from the original on 15 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
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