Albert Vanhoye

His Eminence

Albert Vanhoye

SJ
Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria della Mercede e Sant'Adriano a Villa Albani
Vanhoye in June 2005
ChurchCatholic Church
Appointed20 June 2016
Term ended29 July 2021
PredecessorJohn Joseph Krol
Other post(s)Ecclesiastical Counsellor to the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (2010–2021)
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination25 July 1954
by Henri-Charles Dupont
Created cardinal24 March 2006
by Pope Benedict XVI
Rank
Personal details
Born(1923-07-24)24 July 1923
Hazebrouck, French Flanders, France
Died29 July 2021(2021-07-29) (aged 98)
Rome, Italy
NationalityFrench
DenominationCatholic
Alma materPontifical Biblical Institute
MottoCordi tuo unitus sjedinjen sa svojim srcem!
Coat of armsAlbert Vanhoye's coat of arms

Albert Vanhoye SJ ([al.bɛʁ van.wa]; 24 July 1923 – 29 July 2021) was a French priest, a member of the Society of Jesus, and a biblical scholar. He taught at the Pontifical Biblical Institute from 1963 to 1998 and served as its rector from 1984 to 1990. He was Secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission from 1990 to 2001. He was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 and led the Lenten retreat for the Roman Curia in 2008.

Formation and studies

Vanhoye was born on 24 July 1923 at Hazebrouck, French Flanders.[1] During World War II in Occupied France, Vanhoye was made to work in a factory producing gunpowder for the German war effort.[2] To avoid being sent to work in Nazi Germany, he secretly traveled on foot across the entire width of France to reach the unoccupied zone. Vanhoye entered the Society of Jesus on 11 September 1941 in Le Vignau, Landes, and took his first vows on 15 November 1944.[1][3] He studied at Jesuit Scholasticates in France and Belgium. He obtained a licentiate in classical literature at the Sorbonne and another in theology from the University of Enghien.[1] He received a Doctorate in Sacred Scripture with a thesis on the literary structure of the Letter to the Hebrews from the Pontifical Biblical Institute (the Biblicum) in Rome in 1961. He was ordained a priest of the Society of Jesus on 25 July 1954 in Enghien, Belgium.[1] He took his final vows as a Jesuit on 2 February 1959.[3]

Teaching and research

After teaching for three years at the Jesuit study house of Chantilly,[4] he became Professor of Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in 1963; he was dean of the faculty from 1969 to 1975 and served as its rector from 1984 to 1990.[5] He retired in 1998. His research and teaching dealt with the New Testament Letters, in particular the Letter to the Hebrews. During his years at the Biblicum he directed 29 theses.[6]

He was a member of the commission that prepared the apostolic constitution Sapientia Christiana on ecclesiastical universities and faculties, which Pope John Paul II issued in 1979.[5] He was a consultor of several dicasteries of the Roman Curia: the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity from 1980 to 1996, the Congregation for Catholic Education beginning in 1976, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith beginning in 1990.[7]

He was Secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission from 1990 to 2001, under its president Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI.[5][8] In that post, Vanhoye played an important role in two important studies that, in the words of a Jesuit appraisal, "extended the work of the [Second Vatican] Council": L'Interprétation de la Bible dans l'Église (1993) and Le Peuple juif et ses saintes Écritures dans la Bible chrétienne (2001).[9] He retired from teaching when he turned 75 in 1998.[10]

Cardinal

Styles of
Albert Vanhoye, SJ
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal

He was made Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria della Mercede e Sant'Adriano a Villa Albani by Pope Benedict XVI at the consistory of 24 March 2006.[11] Having obtained a dispensation, he was not consecrated a bishop.[12] In November of that year, Pope Benedict chose him as one of two prelates charged with presenting his second encyclical Spe Salvi at a press conference held upon its release.[13]

He led the 2008 Lenten Retreat for the Curia.[14] At the synod of bishops held in October of that year, which considered the significance of scripture, Vanhoye was tasked with responding to an address by Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen of Haifa on Jewish interpretation of scripture.[15] In his remarks, published in L'Osservatore Romano later in the month, he considered "how the Christian Bible refers to the Hebrew Bible and how it speaks of the Jewish people".[16] He drew on the work produced at the end of his tenure at the Biblical Commission and published in November 2001 as The Jewish People and the Holy Scriptures in the Christian Bible.[17]

He served as Grand Prior of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George from 2008 until his appointment by Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, in November 2010 as Ecclesiastical Counsellor to the Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies.[18]

After the death of Cardinal Roger Etchegaray on 4 September 2019, Vanhoye was the oldest living member of the College of Cardinals.[19] He died in Rome on 29 July 2021, five days after his 98th birthday.[1][20]

Selected works

  • La structure littéraire de l'Epître aux Hébreux (in French). Tournai: Desclée de Brouwer. 1963.[21] (MMS ID 9910575974401631)
  • Situation du Christ. Epître aux hébreux 1 et 2 (in French). Paris. 1969.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[22] (MMS ID 992940274401631)
  • Prêtres anciens, prêtre nouveau selon le Nouveau Testament (in French). Paris. 1980.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[23] (OCLC No 896871547)
  • La lettre aux Hébreux: Jésus-Christ, médiateur d'une nouvelle alliance (in French). Paris. 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[24] ISBN 978-2-7189-0963-9
  • The Letter to the Hebrews: A New Commentary. New York: Paulist. 2015.[25] ISBN 978-0-8091-4928-5
  • Moore, Nicholas J.; Ounsworth, Richard J., eds. (2018). A Perfect Priest: Studies in the Letter to the Hebrews. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.[26] ISBN 978-3-1615-4289-3
  • L'Apôtre Paul: personnalité, style et conception du ministère (in French). Leuven University Press. 1986.[27] ISBN 978-9-0618-6209-3
  • La passion selon les quartre évangiles (in French). Paris: Editions du Cerf. 1981.[28] ISBN 978-0-2204-0183-2

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Le cardinal français Albert Vanhoye est décédé". Vatican News (in French). 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  2. ^ Vanhoye, SJ, Albert (2019). Daily Bread of the Word: Reflections on the Weekday Lectionary Readings. Liturgy Training Publications. p. 634. ISBN 978-1-61671-377-5. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Décès du cardinal Albert Vanhoye (1923-2021)". Jésuites, Europe Occidentale Francophone (in French). 29 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  4. ^ "World's oldest cardinal, biblical scholar Cardinal Vanhoye, dies at 98". Crux. Catholic News Service. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Pope Francis Mourns 'Authoritative Biblical Scholar' Cardinal Albert Vanhoye". National Catholic Register. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  6. ^ Williamson, Peter. "Catholicism Exegesis Today: An Interview with Albert Vanhoye". catholicculture.org. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  7. ^ * "Vanhoye Card. Albert, S.I." Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Elenco delle Sessioni Plenarie tenute dalla Pontificia Commissione Biblica" (in Italian). Pontificia Commissione Biblica. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Un jésuite cardinal : Monseigneur Albert Vanhoye" (in French). 29 October 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  10. ^ Vanhoye, Albert (2018). Moore, Nicholas J.; Ounsworth, Richard J. (eds.). A Perfect Priest: Studies in the Letter to the Hebrews. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
  11. ^ "Assegnazione dei Titoli e delle Diaconie ai nuovi Cardinali" [Assignment of Titles and Deaconries to the new Cardinals]. The Holy See (in Italian). Ufficio delle Celebrazioni Liturgiche del Sommo Pontefice. 24 March 2006. Archived from the original on 28 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  12. ^ Allen Jr., John L. (5 October 2008). "Synod: A Rabbi, a Jesuit and the Pope walk into a bar". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  13. ^ "«Spe salvi», une encyclique pour redonner l'espérance à l'humanité" (in French). Zenit. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Cardinal Vanhoye: Spiritual Exercises necessary for renewal of Christian vocation". Catholic News Agency. Catholic News Agency (CNA). Archived from the original on 16 October 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  15. ^ Allen Jr., John L. (6 October 2008). "Synod: Rabbi says Jews cannot 'forgive and forget' Pius XII". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  16. ^ Schall, James V. (25 June 2009). "The Old Testament and the New Testament". Ignatius Insight. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  17. ^ Henneberger, Melinda (18 January 2002). "Vatican Says Jews' Wait for Messiah Is Validated by the Old Testament". New York Times. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Cardinal Albert Vanhoye appointed Grand Prior". Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George - Delegation for Great Britain and Ireland. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Roger Etchegaray gestorben – nach nur einem Tag als ältester Kardinal". Katholisch.de (in German). 5 September 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  20. ^ Rizzi, Filippo (29 July 2021). "Addio al cardinale gesuita Vanhoye. Una vita da "innamorato" della Scrittura". Avvenire (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  21. ^ La structure littéraire de l'épitre aux Hébreux. WorldCat. OCLC 301413135. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  22. ^ Situation du Christ; Hébreux 1-2. WorldCat. OCLC 335292. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  23. ^ Pretres anciens : Pretre nouveau selon le Nouveau Testament. WorldCat. OCLC 896871547. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  24. ^ La lettre aux Hébreux : Jésus-Christ, médiateur d'une nouvelle alliance. WorldCat. OCLC 1203873654. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  25. ^ The Letter to the Hebrews : a new commentary. WorldCat. OCLC 1249968205. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  26. ^ A perfect priest studies in the Letter to the Hebrews. World Cat. OCLC 1040186220. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  27. ^ L' apôtre Paul : personnalité, style et conception du ministère. World Cat. OCLC 159784737. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  28. ^ La passion selon les quartre évangiles. WorldCat. OCLC 10401914. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Maurice Gilbert
 Rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute
1984–1990 		Succeeded by
Klemens Stock
Preceded by Secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission
1990–2001
Preceded by Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria della Mercede e Sant'Adriano a Villa Albani
24 March 2006 – 20 June 2016 		Succeeded by
Himself as Cardinal Priest
Preceded by
Himself as Cardinal Deacon
 Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria della Mercede e Sant'Adriano a Villa Albani
20 June 2016 – 29 July 2021 		Succeeded by
Records
Preceded by Oldest living cardinal
4 September 2019 – 29 July 2021 		Succeeded by