His Eminence Louis-Nazaire Bégin

Overview Louis Nazaire Bégin was a Roman Catholic priest, professor, author, archbishop, and cardinal. He was ordained in 1865 and received his doctorate in theology in 1866. Bégin was professor of dogmatic theology and of ecclesiastical history at the Seminary of Québec from 1868-1884. He served as Principal of the Normal School of Laval from January 1885 to October 1888 as well. Bégin was appointed Bishop of Chicoutimi on 1 October 1888. He was the Supérieur du Séminaire de Chicoutimi from 1889 to 1892. He became Archbishop of Québec on 22 December 1891. He was installed as Cardinal from 12 April 1898 to 18 July 1925. Although Bégin never took part in a conclave, arriving in Rome too late in 1914 and 1922, he was loyal to Rome. However, he also knew that the Holy See did not share his vision of the place of French Canadians in confederation and in the Canadian church. Nevertheless, by tirelessly defending the rights of minorities and by helping build a public Catholic culture in the province of Quebec, Bégin proved a leading figure in French Canada.

Sources

• Wikipedia
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography