Philippe Barabarin, the Archbishop of Lyon and primate of the Gauls, as well as one of the Church’s youngest cardinals, was born in Rabat, Morocco in 1950. He hails from a family of 11 children: six girls, of whom three are religious, and five boys, including the cardinal and a doctor. Cardinal Barbarin’s mother is now in her eighties.
Cardinal Barbarin was educated at the Sorbonne and the Catholic Institute of Paris before entering Séminaire des Carmes, and holds masters degrees in philosophy and theology. He was ordained a priest on December 17, 1977, and then served as priest and school chaplain in Vincennes (1978–1985); school chaplain and parish priest in Saint-Maur (1985–1991); pastor, diocesan delegate for ecumenism, and school chaplain in Boissy-Saint-Léger (1991–1994), Fidei donum priest in Madagascar and lecturer of theology at the Major Seminary of Fianarantsoa (1994–1998); as well as pastor of Bry-sur-Marne (1998).
On November 22, 1998, Barbarin was ordained as Bishop of Moulins before replacing the late Cardinal Louis-Marie Billé as Archbishop of Lyon. In October 2003, he was made a cardinal by Pope John-Paul II, with title to Most Holy Trinity Church in Monte Pincio. His vitality, plain speaking, and openness have made him a powerful figure in Lyon’s public arena. “Turn off the TV and turn on the Gospel” is the challenge he threw down in 2002 on arriving in Lyon.
The two secrets of vocation, he told students during a visit to a Saint-JosephSchool in Loire-sur-Rhône, France, are giving your life totally to God and praying every day.