Death of Cardinal Édouard Gagnon

Monday, August 27 2007

gagnon_e.jpgHis Eminence Édouard Cardinal Gagnon, P.S.S., President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Eucharistic Congresses and Bishop emeritus of Saint-Paul, Alberta, died 25 August 2007 at the age of 89 in Montreal.

The funeral will take place on Tuesday, 4 September at 10 a.m. in the Notre Dame Basilica. Interment will take place at the crypt of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal.

gagnon_e.jpgHis Eminence Édouard Cardinal Gagnon, P.S.S., President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Eucharistic Congresses and Bishop emeritus of Saint-Paul, Alberta, died 25 August 2007 at the age of 89 in Montreal.

Born 15 January 1918 in Port-Daniel, Quebec, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Montreal on 15 August 1940, and joined The Society of the Priests of St. Sulpice. On 19 February 1969, Pope Paul VI named him Bishop of Saint-Paul.

Three years later, the Holy Father accepted his resignation as Bishop of Saint-Paul and invited him to take on responsibilities in the Roman Curia. During his many years working at the Holy See, Bishop (later Archbishop) Gagnon held a number of positions, in particular as President of the Pontifical Council for the Family and more recently as President of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses. Pope John Paul II appointed him to the College of Cardinals in 1985.

Pope Benedict XVI also expressed his sorrow at the death of Canadian Cardinal. Read article in Zenit, Catholic Press Agency.

Cardinal Gagnon will lie in state on Sunday 2 September 2007 and Monday 3 September 2007, from noon until 8 p.m. in the Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Coeur of the Notre Dame Basilica situated at 110, Notre Dame Street West, Montreal (near the Place d’Armes subway station). The funeral will take place on Tuesday, 4 September at 10 a.m. in the Notre Dame Basilica. Interment will take place at the crypt of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal.