Maurice Piat CSSp GCSK (born 19 July 1941) is a Mauritian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

prelate who has served as Bishop of

Port Louis Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's ...

, Mauritius, since 1993; he is also a professed member of the

Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

. Piat was ordained a priest in 1970 and made a bishop in 1991.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

made him a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

on 19 November 2016.

Life

Maurice Piat was born in 1941 in Moka, Mauritius. He attended the Collège du Saint-Esprit, a middle and high school in

Quatre Bornes Quatre Bornes () also known as ''La Ville des Fleurs'' (The City of Flowers), is a town in Mauritius, located in the Plaines Wilhems District, the western part also lies in the Rivière Noire District. The town is administered by the Municipal ...

. Upon graduating, he entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the

in Co. Tipperary,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, where he made his solemn profession on 8 September 1962. While training at the Holy Ghost College, Kimmage Manor he obtained a bachelor's degree from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

. He studied for the priesthood in Rome, while residing at the Pontifical French Seminary. He was ordained a priest in Rome on 2 August 1970. He earned a licentiate in theology from the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in 1972. That same year he spent three months of pastoral ministry in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. He returned to Mauritius and worked as a catechist and professor at his old college until 1982, when he was made responsible for

seminarians A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

at the Foyer Mgr Murphy in

Vacoas Vacoas-Phoenix () also known as French: ''Villes Jumelles'' (Twin Cities), is a town in Mauritius, located in the Plaines Wilhems District, the eastern part also lies in the Moka District. The town is administered by the Municipal Council of Vaco ...

. From 1977 until 1979 followed courses on diocesan formation at the (IFEC), in Paris. He returned to his homeland to serve as vicar of the parish of Saint-François-d'Assise in Pamplemousses from 1979 to 1985. He became the pastor of the parish of Coeur-Immaculé-de-Marie in Riviere-du-Rempart in 1986. From 1981 he was in charge of diocesan pastoral planning. On 21 January 1991, Pope John Paul II named him the Coadjutor Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Port-Louis. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on 19 May 1991 from Cardinal Jean Margéot. He chose as his motto "Pousse vers le large" ("Set out into the deep"), a saying of Christ in Luke's Gospel, when he orders Peter the fisherman to cast his net again after a day of unfruitful work . On 15 March 1993 he was appointed the eleventh Bishop of Port Louis and was installed that same year. Piat served as the President of the Episcopal Conference of the Indian Ocean from 1996 to 2002. In March 2009 the government of Mauritius made him a Grand Officer of the

Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean The Most Distinguished Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean is the highest distinct order of merit in the honours system of Mauritius established under the National Awards Act 1993. It was founded in 1992 to decorate people who have mad ...

. In 2015, Piat participated in the Synod on the Family. He submitted his resignation as bishop on his 75th birthday as required by canon law.

announced on 9 October 2016 that he would raise Piat to the rank of cardinal in a

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

on 19 November 2016. When created a cardinal on that date, he was made a Cardinal-Priest and assigned the titular church of Santa Teresa al Corso d'Italia. Mauritius has had only one cardinal before, Piat's immediate predecessor, Jean Margéot. On 12 March 2017 the government of Mauritius awarded him its highest honour by making him a Grand Commander of

(GCSK). Pope Francis appointed him to the

Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (''Dicasterium ad integram humanam progressionem fovendam'' in Latin) is a dicastery of the Roman curia. The Vatican announced the creation of the dicastery on 31 August 2016 and it beca ...

on 23 December 2017.

References

External links

*
Diocese of Port Louis: Biography
(in French)
''Le Mauricien'': articles about Maurice Piat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piat, Maurice 1941 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Mauritius Roman Catholic bishops of Port-Louis 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Mauritius People from Moka District Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Alumni of University College Dublin Cardinals created by Pope Francis Mauritian cardinals Holy Ghost Fathers