Jean Margéot

His Eminence Jean Margéot
Bishop Emeritus of Port-Louis
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Diocese	Port-Louis
See	Port-Louis
Appointed	6 February 1969
Term ended	15 February 1993
Predecessor	Daniel Liston
Successor	Maurice Piat
Other post(s)	Cardinal-Priest of San Gabriele Arcangelo all'Acqua Traversa (1988-2009)
Previous post(s)	President of the Episcopal Conference of the Indian Ocean (1986-89)
Orders
Ordination	17 December 1938 by Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani
Consecration	4 May 1969 by Paolo Mosconi
Created cardinal	25 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	Jean Margéot 3 February 1916 Quatre-Bornes, Mauritius
Died	17 July 2009(2009-07-17) (aged 93) Filles de Marie Convent, Bonne-Terre, Vacoas, Mauritius
Buried	Port-Louis Cathedral
Parents	Joseph Margéot Marie Harel
Alma mater	Pontifical Gregorian University
Motto	Non ministrari sed ministrare

Jean Margéot (3 February 1916 – 17 July 2009) was Mauritian Roman Catholic priest, bishop and cardinal.

Education

A native of Quatre-Bornes, Mauritius, Jean Margéot attended Collège Père Laval before attending the Royal College Curepipe. He travelled to Rome for further religious studies. Margéot was ordained a priest on 17 December 1938 at Basilica Saint-Jean-de-Latran in Rome.[1]

Priesthood in Mauritius

He was consecrated as Bishop of the Diocese of Port-Louis on 4 May 1969 and served until 15 February, 1993. He was President of the Conférence Episcopale de l'Océan Indien from 1986–1989.

Elevation to rank of Cardinal

Margéot was named a cardinal by Pope John Paul II on 28 June 1988 becoming Cardinal-Priest of San Gabriele Arcangelo all'Acqua Traversa, the first cardinal from Mauritius. Following his death in 2009 at the age of 93, Margéot was lauded by Pope Benedict XVI in a public statement.

Contribution to society

Following the 1968 Mauritian riots Jean Margéot worked to reconcile the racial and religious tensions which existed at the time of the island's Independence.[2] In the 1960s he was the founder of Action Familiale which assisted in managing rising population growth-rate.[3] In more recent times Cardinal Jean Margéot's main contributions have been the holistic training of clergy and his followers.[4] He is also credited for appeasing public anger during the 1999 Mauritian riots following the murder in custody of Kaya (Mauritian musician).[5] Pope Benedict paid tribute to Margéot especially for having promoted the importance of the family in a stable society.[6]

Publications

Jean Margéot published several books including "Civilisation Mauricienne Et Valeurs Morales : Lettre Pastorale de Careme 1993" [7] and "Le voyage intérieur : Dialogues sur la prière et la méditation" in 2007.[8]

Legacy

A period of national mourning was announced throughout Mauritius and sporting events were suspended when Cardinal Jean Margéot died.[9] In recognition of the contribution of Cardinal Jean Margéot a new training institute was named Institut Cardinal Jean Margéot in 2009.[10] It specialises in Catholic education and is located at Maison de Carné along Célicourt Antelme street in Rose Hill.[11] The main bus terminal of Beau Bassin-Rose Hill was also named Place Cardinal Jean Margéot in honour of the high priest.[12][13]

External links

• Jean Margéot biodata
• GCatholic.org
• Cardinal Margéot, Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church website Archived 2007-12-14 at the Wayback Machine
• Catholic Hierarchy website/biodata

References

1. Piat, Maurice. "Le Cardinal Jean Margéot Évêque émérite de Port-Louis". Diocèse Port Louis. Archived from the original on 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
2. Tang, Vanessa (2019). Development and Sustainable Growth of Mauritius. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 58–60. ISBN 9783319961668.
3. "Jean Margéot le premier Cardinal". Histoires Mauriciennes. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
4. "Jean Margéot le premier Cardinal". Histoires Mauriciennes. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
5. Goupille, P. "Mémorial Cardinal Margéot – Discours du P. Goupille". Diocese Port Louis. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
6. "Pope praises work by late cardinal Margeot of Mauritius to promote the family". Vatican Radio. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
7. Margéot, Jean (1993). Civilisation Mauricienne Et Valeurs Morales : Lettre Pastorale de Careme 1993. Diocese de Port-Louis. ISBN 9789990330007.
8. Margéot, Jean (2007). Le voyage intérieur : Dialogues sur la prière et la méditation. Presses de la renaissance. ISBN 978-2750902995.
9. Aiken, Judex (21 July 2009). "Mauritius mourns Cardinal Jean Margeot". Independent Catholic News. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
10. "Maison de Carné, La Grande Dame veille". lacase.mu. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
11. Véder, Jean-Claude. "Institut Cardinal Jean Margéot". dioceseportlouis.org. Diocese Port Louis. Archived from the original on 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
12. "Bus Rose Hill (Place Cardinal Margeot)". Mauritius Bus. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
13. "Government is making provision for modern, safe and secure urban terminals". Government of Mauritius (Public Infrastructure). Retrieved 2018-05-16.