The Pope sends his condolences on the death of Cardinal Turcotte

Profound sorrow for the
death of Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, Archbishop emeritus of Montréal, was
expressed by the Pope in a telegram sent to the cardinal’s successor,
Archbishop Christian Lépine. “As we are celebrating the Resurrection of the
Lord”, the Pope writes, “I implore [Him] to welcome into the light of eternal
life this faithful Pastor who served the Church with dedication”.

He served
“not only in his diocese but also on a national level as President of the
Episcopal Conference of Canada, and at the same time he was a member of various
dicasteries in Rome. A zealous pastor, attentive to the challenges of the
contemporary Church, he actively participated in the Synod of Bishops in 1994
on ‘Consecrated Life and its mission in the Church and in the world’ and was
one of the leaders at the Synod in 1997 on America”.

Cardinal Jean-Claude
Turcotte, who had been seriously ill for some time, was a patient in Hôpital
Marie-Clarac in Montréal, where he died on Wednesday, 8 April. Turcotte was
born in Montréal on 26 June 1936 and was
ordained a priest on 24 May 1959. He was appointed to the titular see of Suas on 14 April 1982. He was appointed
Auxiliary Bishop of Montréal and received his episcopal ordination on 29 June
1982. On 17 March 1990 he was appointed Archbishop of Montréal. John Paul II
created him a cardinal at the Consistory of 26 November 1994 with the Title of
Nostra Signora del Santissimo Sacramento e dei Santi martiri Canadesi. On 20
March 2012 he resigned as Archbishop of
Montréal.