Aaron Jean-Marie Lustiger

@Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Timeline and Family ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Aaron Jean-Marie Lustiger was a French cardinal who had served as the Archbishop of Paris French Miscellaneous Priests Virgo Celebrities Aaron Jean-Marie Lustiger was a French cardinal who had served as the Archbishop of Paris. What makes Lustiger’s story extremely remarkable is the fact that he was born to Polish Jews and converted to Roman Catholicism as a boy and went on to become a leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Paris. As the Archbishop he led France’s 45 million Catholics for over two decades—a rare achievement for someone who had originally been born into another faith. Not surprisingly, he was an early champion of interfaith relations. He considered Christianity to be the accomplishment of Judaism and Jewish-Christian relations was a recurring theme of his speeches. Even though he had converted to Catholicism, he never gave up his faith in Judaism and considered himself to be a Jewish Christian, like the first disciples. He was a conservative who opposed abortion and sought to preserve the priestly vow of celibacy. He was also very intelligent and frank and had a charismatic personality that made him a very popular head of the church. He had been an adviser to Pope John Paul II and was even mentioned as a possible successor to the Pope. He strived to reconcile the Catholics and the Jews, and in the process became beloved to members of both the religions.

Personal Details

Birthday: September 17, 1926 Died on: August 5, 2007 Nationality: French Famous: Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Miscellaneous, Priests Known as: Jean-Marie Lustiger Birth Place: Paris Gender: Male Information Detail Birthday September 17, 1926 Died on August 5, 2007 Nationality French Famous Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Miscellaneous, Priests Known as Jean-Marie Lustiger Birth Place Paris Gender Male Father Charles Lustiger Mother Gisèle Lustiger Sun Sign Virgo Born in Paris Famous as French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church Died at Age 80

Paris

Aaron Jean-Marie Lustiger born at Unsplash Birth Place

He was a good natured and friendly man who was well loved by everyone. He was an outspoken opponent of racism and was known to be an energetic and enthusiastic person. Unsplash Personal Life

He was diagnosed with bone and lung cancer and died on August 5, 2007. The World Jewish Congress paid homage to him after his death. Unsplash Personal Life

He was born as Aaron Lustiger on September 17, 1926, in Paris. His parents, Charles and Gisele Lustiger were Jews from Poland who had migrated to France around World War I. His father used to run a hosiery shop. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He received his primary education from Lycée Montaigne in Paris. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

Germany occupied France in 1940 and Aaron’s parents sent him along with his sister to live with a Catholic woman in Orleans. Exposed to Christianity, he decided to convert. Even though his parents were not practicing Jews, his father was appalled at his son’s decision. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

Aaron went ahead with the conversion and was baptized by the Bishop of Orleans, Jules Marie Courcoux in August 1940, adding the name Jean-Marie to Aaron. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

His mother who had been deported to Auschwitz died in 1942. Aaron along with his father and sister escaped with great difficulty. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He became a chaplain at the Sorbonne in 1954 where he served till 1959. After that he was made the director of the Richelieu Center, which trained chaplains for French universities, a post he held for the next ten years. Unsplash Career

In 1969, he became a parish priest of Ste. Jeanne de Chantal, 16th arrondissement of Paris. It was one of the city’s wealthier neighborhoods and the parish was somewhat complacent when Lustiger joined. He was successful in transforming the Parish into a highly active one with his dedication. Unsplash Career

He was appointed the Bishop of Orleans by Pope John Paul II in 1979. This appointment came as a surprise to him as he was not expecting to be handed such a prestigious position in the French Roman Catholic Church given his Jewish heritage. Unsplash Career

In 1981, he was promoted as Archbishop of Paris, succeeding Cardinal Marty. This appointment was criticized by the founder of the Traditionalist Catholic group, Society of St. Pius X, on the grounds that Lustiger was not of truly French origin. Unsplash Career

He participated in the annual meeting of the movement Comunione e Liberazione in Rimini in the summer of 1982 and was made Cardinal-Priest of Santi Marcellino e Pietro by Pope John Paul II the next year. Unsplash Career

He was awarded the Nostra Aetate Award for advancing Catholic-Jewish relations by the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding in 1998. Unsplash Awards & Achievements

He was awarded the Bailli Grand-croix d'honneur et de dévotion of the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Grand-Cross of the Order of the Infant Henry the Navigator. Unsplash Awards & Achievements

Information	Detail
Birthday	September 17, 1926
Died on	August 5, 2007
Nationality	French
Famous	Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Miscellaneous, Priests
Known as	Jean-Marie Lustiger
Birth Place	Paris
Gender	Male
Father	Charles Lustiger
Mother	Gisèle Lustiger
Sun Sign	Virgo
Born in	Paris
Famous as	French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
Died at Age	80

Aaron Jean-Marie Lustiger

French

Sep 17, 1926

Biography

Personal Details

Paris