André Vingt-Trois

André Vingt-Trois studied at Lycée Henri-IV and Catholic University of Paris. The recorded working language is French. Places of work recorded in the authority are Paris. Positions recorded include cardinal and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tours. Distinctions recorded are Officer of the Legion of Honour, Knight in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Officer of the National Order of Merit and Grand Officer of the National Order of Benin.

• Type — cardinal • Honorific Prefix — His Eminence • Name — André Vingt-Trois • Title — Cardinal Archbishop of Paris • Church — Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris • Archdiocese — Paris • Appointed — 11 February 2005 • Term Start — 5 March 2005 • Term End — 7 December 2017 • Predecessor — Jean-Marie Lustiger • Successor — Michel Aupetit • Other Post — * Cardinal-Priest of San Luigi dei Francesi • Ordinary of French Faithful of Eastern Rites • Ordination — 28 June 1969 • Ordained By — François Marty • Consecration — 14 October 1988 • Consecrated By — Jean-Marie Lustiger • Cardinal — 24 November 2007 • Created Cardinal By — Benedict XVI • Rank — Cardinal-Priest • Birth Name — André Armand Vingt-Trois • Born — 7 November 1942 • Birthplace — Paris, France • Died — 18 July 2025 • Place of death — Paris, France • Buried — Archbishop's Vault, Notre-Dame Cathedral • Denomination — Roman Catholic • Previous Post — * Archbishop of Tours (1999–2005) • Auxiliary Bishop of Paris (1988–1999) • Titular Bishop of Thibilis (1988–1999) • Motto — Sic enim Deus Dilexit Mundum (For God so Loved the World)

• Cardinal Name — André Vingt-Trois • Dipstyle — His Eminence • Offstyle — Your Eminence • See — Paris André Armand Vingt-Trois (lang; 7 November 1942 – 18 July 2025) was a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 2005 to 2017, having previously served as Archbishop of Tours from 1999 to 2005. He was made a cardinal in 2007.

Vingt-Trois was born in Paris, France, to Armand Vingt-Trois and Paulette (née Vuillamy). His surname, which is French for "twenty-three", is probably from an ancestor who, as a child or baby, was abandoned and found on the 23rd day of the month. Vingt-Trois completed his secondary studies at the Lycée Henri IV and entered the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice at Issy-les-Moulineaux in 1962. He then attended the Institut Catholique de Paris, from where he obtained his licentiate in moral theology. From 1964 to 1965, Vingt-Trois performed his military service in Germany. He was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Daniel Pézeril in October 1968 and to the priesthood by Cardinal François Marty on 28 June 1969.

During his priestly ministry, he worked especially in parochial catechetics and the formation of the laity. From 1974 to 1981, Vingt-Trois was vicar at the Parisian parish of Sainte-Jeanne de Chantal. He then served as director of his alma mater of the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice until 1988, also teaching moral and sacramental theology there. Vingt-Trois participated in different pastoral movements, including the Centre de préparation au mariage and the sessions of permanent formation of the clergy. He was later named vicar general of Paris, and was charged with the diocesan formation (the cathedral school and diocesan seminary), of the means of communications (Radio Notre-Dame, Paris Notre-Dame, Centre d'Information), of the familial pastoral, of the chaplains of public education, and of catechetics.

• Illustration — André Vingt-Trois at the May 2012 inauguration ceremony of Francois Hollande as President of France, at the Élysée Palace in Paris On 25 June 1988, Vingt-Trois was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Paris and Titular Bishop of Thibilis by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 14 October in Notre-Dame Cathedral from Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, with Bishops Pézeril and Gabriel Vanel serving as co-consecrators. Vingt-Trois was appointed Archbishop of Tours on 21 April 1999, and Archbishop of Paris on 11 February 2005. He was installed in Paris on the following 5 March and additionally appointed Ordinary of French Catholics of the Eastern Rites on 14 March. On 5 November 2007, he was elected President of the French Episcopal Conference for a term of three years.

Pope Benedict XVI created him Cardinal-Priest of S. Luigi dei Francesi in the consistory of 23 November 2007. Vingt-Trois was a member of the Congregation for Bishops and the Pontifical Council for the Family from 12 June 2008 and of the Congregation for the Clergy since 2 February 2010. On 7 March 2012 he was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. In October 2012, after being appointed a synod father by Pope Benedict, he took part in the 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which concerned itself with the new evangelization for the transmission of the Christian faith. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2013 papal conclave that selected Pope Francis. Francis accepted his resignation as Archbishop of Paris on 7 December 2017. Vingt-Trois was no longer eligible to participate in papal conclaves, having reached the age of 80 on 7 November 2022, so he was not part of the 2025 conclave.

Vingt-Trois died on 18 July 2025, at the age of 82. His funeral took place on 23 July 2025, at Notre-Dame Cathedral. His remains was buried in the Archbishop's Vault in the Crypt of at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Vingt-Trois was a vocal opponent of efforts to introduce same-sex marriage in France. In 2013, he warned that it could incite violence and split society in France: "This is the way a violent society develops. Society has lost its capacity of integration and especially its ability to blend differences in a common project." He insisted that as long as the government is not listening to French citizens, this could lead to more violence.

André Vingt-Trois is recorded as having received Officer of the Legion of Honour, Knight in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and Officer of the National Order of Merit. Recorded at birth as André Armand Vingt-Trois. Connected to 2 other published records in the VALÉORINE Encyclopedia.