Robert Joseph Coffy (24 October 1920 – 15 July 1995) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 ...

and Archbishop of Marseille.

Early life and education

Coffy was born on 24 October 1920 in Le Biot. His father was a carpenter. 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 ...

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 ...

and was ordained to the priesthood 28 October 1944. He carried out pastoral work in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

for a year in 1946. He taught as a faculty member where he had been taught in 1948. In the

diocese of Annecy The Diocese of Annecy (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France, located 26 miles (42km) south of Geneva. Saint-Gingolph VS, a town in the Swiss canton of Valais, is also part of the diocese. Originally erected in 1822, aft ...

he was transferred to be a faculty member of its major seminary from 1949 to 1952, becoming its rector in 1952.

Episcopate

He was appointed as

Bishop of Gap The Diocese of Gap and Embrun (Latin: ''Dioecesis Vapincensis et Ebrodunensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Gap et d'Embrun'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of South ...

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 ...

in 1967. He was appointed to the metropolitan see of Albi on 15 June 1974. He was transferred to the archdiocese of Marseille 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 13 April 1985.

Cardinalate

Archbishop Coffy 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 Luigi Maria Grignion de Montfort'' in the consistory of 28 June 1991. He resigned the government of the archdiocese in 1995, dying shortly afterward.

References

External links

GCatholic.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffy, Robert 1920 births 1995 deaths People from Haute-Savoie 20th-century French cardinals Archbishops of Albi Bishops of Gap Archbishops of Marseille Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II