Paul Bernier (18 January 1906 – 21 November 1964) was a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the Archdiocese of Quebec and international organization, served briefly in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, and then as Bishop of Gaspé from 1957 to 1964.

Biography

Paul Bernier was born on 18 January 1906 in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. He attended the local seminary and earned a bachelor's degree in 1924, a licentiate in philosophy in 1925, and a doctorate in theology in 1928. He was ordained a priest on 17 June 1928. He became chancellor of the Archdiocese of Quebec and vice chair of its ecclesiastical tribunal. He was secretary of the French section of the Pontifical Missionary Union and then President of the Interamerican Committee for Broadcasting from 1942 to 1947. He taught at

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxe ...

from 1939 to 1947. He joined the staff of the Secretariat of State in 1947. On 7 August 1952,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

appointed him titular archbishop of

Laodicea in Syria Laodicea () was a port city and important colonia of the Roman Empire in ancient Syria, near the modern city of Latakia. It was also called Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad mare. Under Septimius Severus, it was the capital of Roman Syria, and ...

and Apostolic Nuncio to Costa Rica and Apostolic Nuncio to Panama. He received his episcopal consecration on 12 September 1952 from Cardinal

James Charles McGuigan James Charles McGuigan (November 26, 1894 – April 8, 1974) was a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the longest-serving Archbishop of Toronto, serving for almost 37 years from 1934 to 1971. He became the first English-speaking ...

, Archbishop of Toronto. He was replaced in Costa Rica by Giuseppe Maria Sensi on 21 May 1955, having left it in the care of the chargé d'affaires Egano Lambertini as of 22 December 1953. On 9 September 1957, Pope Pius named him Bishop of Gaspé with the personal title of archbishop. He was the first Francophone elected president of the

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB; ) is the national assembly of the bishop (Catholic Church), bishops of the Catholic Church in Canada. It was founded in 1943, and was officially recognized by the Holy See in 1948. Since the Sec ...

, serving from 1958 to 1960. Bernier had a heart attack on 21 November 1964 just before the start of the closing meeting of the third session of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. He died in the first aid station of

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian Renaissance architecture, Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the cit ...

and

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 ...

led prayers for him when his death was announced at the end of the meeting. He was 58.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernier, Paul 1906 births 1964 deaths Clergy from Quebec 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Canada Apostolic nuncios to Costa Rica Apostolic nuncios to Panama Academic staff of Université Laval Roman Catholic bishops of Gaspé