Chibly Langlois (; born 29 November 1958) is a Haitian Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Les Cayes since 2011. He is also president of the Haitian Bishops’ Conference.

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

elevated Langlois to the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

on 22 February 2014. As of February 2023, Langlois is the first and only Haitian cardinal in history. He was the only new cardinal elevated in the February 2014

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 ...

who was not an

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Biography

Langlois was born in 1958 in La Vallée in southeast Haiti to a poor family. Langlois entered the Grand Séminaire Notre-Dame of

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

in 1985, where he studied philosophy and theology. From 1994 to 1996, he studied at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and obtained a licentiate in pastoral theology. He was ordained as

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

for the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

Jacmel Jacmel (; ) is a commune in southern Haiti founded by the Spanish in 1504 and repopulated by the French in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est, 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Port-au-Prince across the Tiburon Peninsula, and ...

on 22 September 1991. On 8 April 2004, Langlois was appointed Bishop of Fort-Liberté 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 ...

. On 15 August 2011 he was appointed Bishop of Les Cayes by

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 ...

. When choosing to elevate Langlois to the College of Cardinals in 2014, Pope Francis bypassed many more senior Haitian bishops, including metropolitan archbishops Louis Kébreau and Guire Poulard. At the time, Poulard was Langlois's metropolitan in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

. On 22 February 2014, Pope Francis appointed Langlois

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 Giacomo in Augusta. This

Roman 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

church had never before been designated as the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

of a Catholic cardinal. Langlois took possession of his titular church on 7 June 2014. As of April 2025, Langlois is the first and only Haitian cardinal in history. On 22 May 2014, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Langlois a member of both the

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (''Justitia et Pax'') was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia dedicated to "action-oriented studies" for the international promotion of justice, peace, and human rights from the perspective of the ...

, Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and Secretariat for Communications. He is also president of the Haitian Bishops’ Conference. Langlois was injured during the 2021 Haiti earthquake. He was at the bishop's residence when it partially collapsed during the quake. Langlois survived, but a priest and two employees were killed. On June 8, 2022, Langlois was injured in a serious car accident. Langlois participated as a cardinal elector in the

2025 papal conclave A conclave was held on 7 and 8 May 2025 to elect a new pope to succeed Pope Francis, Francis, who had died on 21 April 2025. Of the 135 eligible Cardinal electors in the 2025 papal conclave, cardinal electors, all but two attended. Cardinal Piet ...

that elected

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

References

External links

*
LANGLOIS, Chibly

" GCatholic.org , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Langlois, Chibly 1958 births Living people 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Haiti Pontifical Lateran University alumni Cardinals created by Pope Francis Haitian cardinals Members of the Secretariat for Communication Members of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Members of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America Haitian Roman Catholic bishops Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI Roman Catholic bishops of Fort-Liberté Roman Catholic bishops of Les Cayes

Biography

See also

References

External links