Bernard Agré (2 March 1926 – 9 June 2014) was an Ivorian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Abidjan from 1994 to 2006. He was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

in 2001.

Biography

He was born in Monga, Côte d'Ivoire.Catholic News Agency website, ''Agre, Bernard''
/ref> He was educated at the Seminary of

Bingerville Bingerville is a town in south-eastern Ivory Coast. It is a suburb of Abidjan city and one of four sub-prefectures of Abidjan Autonomous District. Bingerville is also a commune. The town is located about 10 kilometres east of Abidjan and lies ...

where he studied philosophy, then the Major Seminary of Quidah, Dahomey, now Benin (theology) then finally from 1957 to 1960 at the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian, is a pontifical university that was under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The university's mission is to ...

in Rome where he earned a doctorate summa cum laude in theology. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on 20 July 1953, Bishop Jean Baptiste Boivin, S.M.A. Fr Agré served as a vicar in Dabou, teacher and director of the school, 1953–1956. Rector of the pre-seminary in Bingerville, 1956–1957. Pastor of Notre Dame in Treichville, 1960–1962. He was created Domestic prelate on 8 December. He also served as vicar general of

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

, in charge of private education and of the Seminaries, 1963–1968. He was appointed bishop of Man on 8 June 1968 by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. He served as president of the Regional Episcopal Conference of Western Africa, 1985–1991.Vatican Press website, ''Agré Card. Bernard''
/ref> Transferred to see of

Yamoussoukro Yamoussoukro (; , locally ) is the capital city of Ivory Coast and an autonomous district. As of the 2014 census, Yamoussoukro is the fifth most populous city in the Ivory Coast, with a population of 212,670. Located north-west of Abidjan, the ...

, 6 March 1992. Promoted to

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ...

of Abidjan, 19 December 1994. He was created

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

of San Giovanni Crisostomo a Monte Sacro Alto on 21 February 2001 by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. As a cardinal under the age of 80 Agré was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the

2005 papal conclave A papal conclave was held on 18 and 19 April 2005 to elect a new pope to succeed John Paul II, who had died on 2 April 2005. Of the 117 eligible cardinal electors, all but two attended. On the fourth ballot, the conclave elected Cardinal Josep ...

that selected

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. His resignation from the pastoral government of the archdiocese was accepted on 2 May 2006, in conformity to canon 401 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law. He was a member of the Mbatto people. Agré died in Paris on 9 June 2014.Vatican Radio website, ''Death of Cardinal Bernard Agré'', article dated June 10, 2014
/ref>

References

External links

* retrieved 16 Oct 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Agre, Bernard 1926 births 2014 deaths Ivorian cardinals 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Africa People of French West Africa Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Pontifical Urban University alumni Ivorian Roman Catholic archbishops Roman Catholic archbishops of Abidjan Roman Catholic bishops of Yamoussoukro Roman Catholic bishops of Man, Ivory Coast Roman Catholic archbishops of Gagnoa