Jean Marie Julien Balland (26 July 1934 in

Bué Bué () is a Communes of France, commune in the Cher (department), Cher Departments of France, department, located in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region, France. Geography A winegrowing and farming village situated northeast of ...

, Cher, France – 1 March 1998 in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

) was a

Catholic Cardinal 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. Ca ...

and

Archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (; ), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archbishops of Lyon are also called Primate o ...

. Florida International University, ''The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church section, ‘’Biographical Dictionary of John Paul II (1978-2005), Consistory of February 21, 1998 (VII)''
/ref>

Early life

He entered the

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

and later attended the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in Rome where he earned a licentiate in philosophy in 1956, and in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. He later attended the

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

in Paris where he graduated with doctorates in philosophy and

. He was ordained on 3 September 1961. After his ordination he was a faculty member of the seminary where he was ordained from 1962 to 1968. He was transferred, teaching at

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

from 1967 to 1973.

Episcopate

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 ...

appointed him as

Bishop of Dijon The Archdiocese of Dijon (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Divionensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Dijon'') is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archepiscopal see is Dijon Cathedral, which is located in the city of Dijon. The diocese ...

on 6 November 1982. He was transferred to the Metropolitan see of Reims in 1988. He was appointed as the

on 27 May 1995. Archbishop Balland was created and proclaimed

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. ...

in the

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 ...

of 21 February 1998 with 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 ...

San Pietro in Vincoli San Pietro in Vincoli (; Saint Peter in Chains) is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy. The church is on the Oppian Hill near Cavour metro station, a short distance from the Colosseum. The name alludes to the Bibl ...

. In 1992, politician Jean Marie Le Pen planned to hold a meeting in front of Reims Cathedral; Bishop Balland closed the cathedral and canceled masses that day in protest of this.Sacre Coeur Dijon website, ''Monsignor Jean Marie Julien Balland''
/ref> He died of lung cancer on 1 March 1998, eight days after becoming a cardinal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balland, Jean Marie 1934 births 1998 deaths People from Cher (department) 20th-century French cardinals French expatriates in Italy Bishops of Dijon Archbishops of Lyon Archbishops of Reims Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II