Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau

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Elzéar-Alexandre Cardinal Taschereau (1886)

Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau (born February 17, 1820 in Sainte-Marie-de-la-Beauce , Québec , Canada , † April 12, 1898 in Québec ) was the first Canadian cardinal .

Life

Taschereau was one of seven children of Jean-Thomas Taschereau (judge) and his wife Marie Panet. After completing the primary level, he began his studies in 1828 in the Minor Seminary of Québec, which he graduated with excellent results in 1836 and went to Europe for a year. After his return in 1837 he studied at the major seminary of Québec theology and taught at the same time in the Minor Seminary of Québec. He received his doctorate in canon law in 1856 .

Priest and professor

Archbishop Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau (1871)
Cardinal coat of arms

With a special permit, he had not yet reached the required age, he was ordained a priest on September 10, 1842 . From 1842 to 1854 he taught philosophy at the seminary in Québec as a professor , he also taught astronomy , theology and church literature. From 1849 to 1854 he was a member of the academic seminar council and took over the prefecture of studies . As early as 1851 to 1852 he was appointed director of the Grand Seminary in Québec. In 1852 he was one of the co-founders of the University of Laval , further studies took him to Rome from 1854–1856 . In Rome he was the first Canadian priest to study at the French seminary in Rome, after his return he was professor of theology and became director of the Minor Seminary of Québec. 1856-1859 he was appointed director of the Major Seminary of Québec and took over the 1866-1869 Rector place at the University of Laval in order to take out from 1869 to 1871 the Office of the Rector of the University of Laval.

His priests career ran parallel with his academic career steeply, in 1862 he became vicar general of Quebec and took over the training of young priests, he accompanied the administrator of Quebec to Rome and took from 1869 to 1870 as a theological adviser to the Quebec Archbishop Charles-Francois Baillargeon on First Vatican Council attended.

Archbishop and first Canadian cardinal

On December 24, 1870, he was appointed Archbishop of Québec . He received his episcopal ordination from the Archbishop of Toronto , John Joseph Lynch , CM on March 19, 1870 in the Cathedral of Québec; Co- consecrators were the Bishop of Kingston , Edward John Horan , and the Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe , Charles La Rocque .

In 1873, 1887 and 1886 he led and directed three provincial councils and had established an episcopal conference for the ecclesiastical province of Québec since 1875, which has since been held in a two-year cycle. Even if his authoritarian leadership style was somewhat controversial, he still managed to gain the recognition and respect of his suffragans with organizational talent and ingenuity . That was also the time when he, with a disciplined lifestyle and piety, gained recognition beyond the borders of Québec and Canada.

The Taschereau Bridge in Québec

In the status of a cardinal - the first Canadian - he was on June 7, 1886 by Pope Leo XIII. raised and received his "red hat" on March 17, 1887. As a cardinal priest, he was assigned the titular church of Santa Maria della Vittoria . For health reasons he had to ask for a coadjutor in 1891 and finally handed over his official duties on September 3, 1894. After his golden jubilee as a priest (1892) and his silver jubilee as a bishop (1896), Cardinal Taschereau withdrew into a quiet life and died on April 12 1898. His tomb is in the Québec Cathedral .

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predecessor Office successor
Charles-François Baillargeon Archbishop of Québec
1871–1898 		Louis-Nazaire Bégin
personal data
SURNAME Taschereau, Elzéar-Alexandre
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian cardinal
DATE OF BIRTH February 17, 1820
PLACE OF BIRTH Sainte-Marie-de-la-Beauce , Québec, Canada
DATE OF DEATH April 12, 1898
Place of death Quebec