Charles Journet

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- Name
- Charles Journet
- Born
- 26 January 1891
- Birthplace
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Died
- 15 April 1975
- Place of death
- Fribourg, Switzerland
- Nationality
- Switzerland
- Occupation
- catholic priest · catholic bishop · pedagogue · writer · catholic theologian
- Languages
- German · French
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Note VALÉORINE
Charles Journet (1891–1975) was a Swiss writer, catholic bishop and catholic priest. The writer was born in Geneva and died in Fribourg. Charles Journet worked for University of Fribourg and held the positions of cardinal and cardinal protodeacon, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 02 October 2026
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q115805 · wikipedia · Charles Journet
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Type — cardinal • Honorific Prefix — Servant of God • Name — Charles Journet • Title — Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Campitelli • Church — Roman Catholic Church • Term — 5 March 1973 – 15 April 1975 • Predecessor — Carlo Chiarlo • Successor — Corrado Bafile • Ordination — 15 July 1917 • Consecration — 20 February 1965 • Consecrated By — François Charrière • Cardinal — 22 February 1965 • Created Cardinal By — Pope Paul VI • Rank — * Cardinal-deacon (1965–1973) • Cardinal-priest (1973–1975) • Birth Name — Charles Journet • Born — 26 January 1891 • Birthplace — Geneva, Switzerland • Died — 15 April 1975 • Place of death — Fribourg, Switzerland • Previous Post — * Titular Archbishop of Furnos minor (1965) • Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Campitelli (1965–1973) • Protodeacon of the College of Cardinals (1971–1973) • Motto — Dominus misereatur ("Lord have mercy")
Key facts
Key facts
• Cardinal Name — Charles Journet • Dipstyle — His Eminence • Offstyle — Your Eminence Charles Journet (26 January 1891 – 15 April 1975) was a Swiss Roman Catholic theologian and priest. Journet has been considered a figure of holiness and a candidate for canonisation; he has been accorded the title Servant of God.
Life
Life
Charles Journet was born in Geneva in 1891 as the son of Jean-Louis Journet and Jenny Bondat. He was baptized on the same day in the church of Sacré-Coeur and confirmed there on 12 June 1903 by Bishop Joseph Déruaz. He studied at the seminary in Fribourg before being ordained to the priesthood on 15 July 1917. He then did pastoral work in the Diocese of Fribourg until 1924 and taught at the seminary there from 1924 to 1965. Together with Fr. François Charrière, he established the theological journal Nova et Vetera in 1926. Journet was raised to the rank of domestic prelate of his holiness on 13 August 1946 by Pope Pius XII. Pope Paul VI announced on 25 January 1965 that he planned to make Journet a cardinal. On 15 February 1965, Journet was appointed titular archbishop of Furnos Minor. He received his episcopal consecration on 20 February from Bishop François Charrière, with Bishops Franz von Streng and Louis-Sevérin Haller as co-consecrators. In the consistory two days later, on 22 February, he was one of the three European theologians elevated to the College of Cardinals by Paul VI, who made him cardinal deacon of Santa Maria in Campitelli. Although he only attended the last session of the Second Vatican Council in 1965, Journet was nevertheless a rather influential figure at the council. He supported the documents Dignitatis humanae and Nostra aetate while also affirming the Church's traditional teaching on divorce. The Pope himself requested two of the talks he gave during the last session: on the indissolubility of Christian Marriage and on religious freedom. Journet was a close friend of the renowned philosopher Jacques Maritain, with whom he founded the theological journal Nova et Vetera in 1926. Both of them had a central role in the creation of Montini's profession of faith. In 1969, Montini, visiting Geneva, described Journet as "a teacher and a friend for many years". A supporter of Socialist leader Miguel Arraes, the cardinal protested his imprisonment by the Brazilian military in the 1960s. He was protodeacon from the following 10 August 1971 until he opted to become a cardinal priest on 5 March 1973. His best-known work is considered to be The Church of the Word Incarnate. In his letters to Maritain, Journet stated that, during the council, the Pope kept the two volumes of his (voluminous) French treatise entitled L'Église du Verbe incarné (The Church of the Incarnated Word) on his desk. Together with other writings, that treatise offered "the basic synthesis, the one from which Paul VI will be able to integrate all the other contributions." He is also seen as the mentor of Swiss Cardinal Georges Cottier. Journet died in Fribourg at the age of 84 on 15 April 1975. He is buried in the Chartreuse de la Valsainte in Gruyères.
Identity
Identity
Charles Journet is recorded with the occupation Catholic theologian. Recorded as catholic priest, catholic bishop, pedagogue, writer and catholic theologian.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1891
Charles Journet was born on 26 January 1891.
1975
Charles Journet died in 1975 at Fribourg.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Geneva.
Birth place
Fribourg.
Death place
Beatification process
His beatification cause has been approved. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints gave their approval and granted him the title of Servant of God.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q115805: Charles Journet
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Charles Journet”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Archbishop Lefebvre and Archbishop Charrière Before the Ecône Saga. Society of Saint Pius X. October 20, 2022.
- 2.New Thinking on Divorce. Time. 18 March 1966.
- 3.P. Mamie, La présence et la participation du cardinal Journet à la quatrième session du concile Vatican II (14 septembre-8 décembre 1965), in Nova et Vetera 81/2 (2006) 171-174, ivi 171 ( ); cf. Jean-Pierre Torrell, Présence de Journet à Vatican II, in PH. CHENAUX (ed.), Charles Journet (1891-1975), un théologien en son siècle, in Actes du Colloque de Genève 1991, Fribourg-Paris 1992, 41-68.
- 4.Pinna, Samuele. «Dottrina che scandalizza e che salva». Il Matrimonio indissolubile secondo Charles Journet.
- 5.Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, Città del Vaticano 1963-1979, vol. VII, 409.
- 6.Hard Blow for the Hard Line. Time. 30 April 1965.
- 7.C. Journet – J. Maritain, Correspondance. Volume V, 1958-1964, Saint-Maurice 2006, 10.
- 8.J.-P. Torrell, Paul VI et le cardinal Journet. Aux sources d’une ecclésiologie, in Nova et Vetera 61/4 (1986) 161-174, qui 173
References
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