26 Facts About Roger Etchegaray

Roger Etchegaray was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1979, and was the longest-serving cardinal never to attend a papal conclave.

Roger Etchegaray, of Basque ancestry, was born in the Northern Basque Country to Jean-Baptiste and Aurelie Roger Etchegaray.

Roger Etchegaray attended the minor seminary in Ustaritz and the major seminary in Bayonne before studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, from where he obtained a Licentiate of Sacred Theology and a Doctorate of Canon Law.

Roger Etchegaray was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Jean Saint-Pierre on 13 July 1947.

Roger Etchegaray then did pastoral work in the Diocese of Bayonne, serving as secretary to Bishop Leon-Albert Terrier, secretary general of the diocesan works of Catholic Action, and as vicar general.

Roger Etchegaray then served as deputy director and later secretary general of the French Episcopal Conference.

On 29 March 1969, Roger Etchegaray was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Paris and Titular Bishop of Gemellae in Numidia by Pope Paul VI.

Roger Etchegaray was named Archbishop of Marseille on 22 December 1970 and served until 1984, when he took up assignments in the Roman Curia.

Roger Etchegaray was twice elected president of the Conference of French Bishops, serving from 1975 to 1981.

Roger Etchegaray held the first of those positions until 2 December 1995 and the other until 24 June 1998.

Roger Etchegaray was made Cardinal-Priest of San Leone I by Pope John Paul II in the consistory of 30 June 1979.

Roger Etchegaray was elected Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals and served from 30 April 2005 until 10 June 2017, when he was relieved from the duties of his position at his own request.

Roger Etchegaray visited Eastern Europe on their behalf several times in the 1970s.

Roger Etchegaray improved the relations with the Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow.

Roger Etchegaray was a key organizer among others of the first World Day of Prayer for Peace that brought together more than 160 religious leaders in Assisi on 27 October 1986.

Roger Etchegaray made his first trip to Cuba in 1989 and spent nine days there, between Christmas and New Year's Day.

In 2006, the Catholic Church, again through Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, gave the Greek Orthodox Church another relic of St Andrew.

Roger Etchegaray visited Baghdad in 1985 when he helped to arrange an exchange of prisoners of war between Iran and Iraq while they were at war.

Roger Etchegaray first visited Rwanda in 1993 in an attempt to reconcile the warring parties.

Roger Etchegaray crossed the country to deliver the same message to the government and its rebel opposition.

On 24 December 2009, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray was knocked down along with Pope Benedict XVI when 25-year-old Susanna Maiolo jumped over a barrier and grappled with the Pope, who was making his way through St Peter's Basilica in procession for Christmas Eve Mass.

The Pope was not injured, but Roger Etchegaray suffered a broken leg and a broken hip.

Roger Etchegaray had been standing a few yards away from the Pope and was knocked down in the scuffle.

In 2015, Roger Etchegaray fell in St Peter's Basilica during Mass and broke his leg for the second time.

Roger Etchegaray had farewell meetings with Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI before he left.

Roger Etchegaray was the longest-serving cardinal not to participate in a papal conclave.