Louis-Nazaire Bégin

infobox cardinalbiog
name = Louis-Nazaire Cardinal Bégin †


See = Quebec
Title = Cardinal Archbishop of Quebec
Period = April 12, 1898—July 18, 1925
cardinal = May 25, 1914
Predecessor = Elzéar-Alexandre Cardinal Taschereau †
Successor = Paul-Eugène Roy †
post = Coadjutor Archbishop of Quebec | date of birth = January 10, 1840
place of birth = Lévis, Canada
date of death = July 18, 1925
place of death = Quebec, Canada |

infobox cardinalstyles
cardinal name=Louis-Nazaire Cardinal Bégin
dipstyle=His Eminence
offstyle=Your Eminence
relstyle= Cardinal
deathstyle=
See=Quebec

Louis-Nazaire Cardinal Bégin (January 10, 1840—July 18, 1925) was a Canadian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Quebec from 1898 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1914.

Biography

Louis-Nazaire Bégin was born in Lévis, Quebec, to a modest family of farmers whose ancestors came from Normandy, France, to Canada in 1655. He completed his primary studies at "École modèle" in Lévis, and later "collège commercial" in Bellechasse. From 1862 to 1863, Bégin studied classicals and theology at the seminary in Quebec. He attended the University of Laval before going to Rome, where he studied at the Pontifical French Seminary (September 1863-1867). He was ordained to the priesthood by Costantino Cardinal Patrizi Naro on June 10, 1865, in the Lateran Basilica.

Bégin then furthered his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University, from where he obtained his doctorate in theology in 1866; he also studied the Hebrew, Chaldean, Syrian, and Arabic languages. From 1867 to 1868, he studied in the Theological Faculty of the University of Innsbruck, perfecting his previous studies and learning German. During this time, Bégin also traveled to Palestine and spent five months in the Holy Land.

Upon his return to Canada, he was named professor of dogmatic theology and of ecclesiastical history at the Seminary of Quebec in July 1868, remaining in those posts until 1884. He obtained the "agrégation", a competitive examination for positions on the teaching staff of lyceums and universities, in 1869. From October 1870 to 1875, Bégin was Professor of Religious Culture at his "alma mater" of the University of Laval. He held an array of administrative posts from 1876 to 1883, such as director of the boarding school, of students, of seminarians, and prefect of studies. Bégin took several months for rest and recuperation from the end of 1883 to the beginning of 1884, and acted as the private secretary to Elzéar-Alexandre Cardinal Taschereau on his tour in Europe from April to December 1884. He served as Principal of the Normal School of Laval from January 1885 to October 1888 as well.

On October 1, 1888, Bégin was appointed Bishop of Chicoutimi by Pope Leo XIII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following October 28 from Cardinal Taschereau, with Bishops Louis-François Richer dit Laflèche and Jean-François Laforce-Langevin serving as co-consecrators, in the metropolitan cathedral-basilica of Quebec.

After being advanced to Titular Archbishop of "Cyrene" on December 18, 1891, he was named Coadjutor Archbishop of Quebec on December 22 of that same year. Illness forced Cardinal Taschereau to delegated his workload to Bégin, who was made Apostolic Administrator of Quebec on September 3, 1894. He eventually succeeded the late Cardinal as Archbishop of Quebec, and thus Primate of Canada, on April 12, 1898. Archbishop Bégin was appointed an Assistant at the Pontifical Throne on the following April 22, and participated in the First Plenary Council of Canada in June 1909.

Pope Pius X created him Cardinal Priest of "Ss. Vitale, Valeria, Gervasio e Protasio" in the consistory of May 25, 1914. Bégin arrived late to the papal conclave of both 1914 and of 1922, and was consequently not allowed to participate. As Archbishop, he made vehement condemnations of modernism, jazz music, dancing, and cinemas (which he described as offering "serious dangers, if not approximate occasions, of mortal sin"), the clandestine sale of liquors [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,720566,00.html Begin] July 27, 1925] , and the frivolous fashions of women [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,719173,00.html In Quebec] September 22, 1924] .

Stricken by uremia followed by paralysis [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,720589,00.html Milestones] July 27, 1925] on June 12, 1925, the Cardinal died shortly thereafter, at the age of 85. His body, clad in scarlet and guarded by a detachment of the Papal Zouaves, was then exposed in the chapel of his residential palace for the homage of the faithful [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,720566,00.html Begin] July 27, 1925] . He was buried in the crypt of the Cathedral-Basilica of Quebec on the following July 25.

References

External links

* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bbeginl.html Catholic-Hierarchy]
* [http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios-b.htm#Begin Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church]

s-ttl|title=Bishop of Chicoutimi
years=1888–1892s-ttl|title=Archbishop of Quebec
years=1898–1925