The triumphal entry of Cardinal Maurice Piat

On Sunday 9 October 2016, Pope Francis appointed 17 new cardinals from across the world and among them was Mgr Maurice Piat from Mauritius who was elevated to the rank of Cardinal on Saturday 19. It is the second time a Mauritian is made Cardinal by the Roman Catholic Church.

This created a wave of joy among Mauritians who could not be contained by the several calls of the new Cardinal for more humility. On his arrival at the SSR airport on Thursday 24, Mgr Piat was given the greatest acclaim a Mauritian ever got throughout our recorded history. Cardinal Piat made a Triumphal Entry at the airport and was welcomed with dignity and honour back in his native Mauritius.

Heading up the list of new cardinals appointed by Pope Francis is Mario Zenari who is currently the papal envoy to Syria – a “martyred” country, according to the Pope. Second on the list is Dieudonne Nzapalainga, the archbishop of Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, who is the youngest of the 13 new cardinals, aged just 49. Among the other senior church leaders from developing countries being promoted to cardinal are Patrick D’Rozario, archbishop of Dhaka, Bangladesh and Maurice Piat, the bishop of Port-Louis in Mauritius. Francis is the first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years. He is the son of working class immigrants from Argentina.

After he got news of his appointment as the second Cardinal of Mauritius following Mgr Jean Margeot, who was elevated as Cardinal by Pope John Paul II on June 28, 1988, Mgr Maurice Piat expressed astonishment and surprise saying “I was far from expecting such a consecration. I feel honoured by the confidence shown to me by Pope Francis and I thank him even though I am quite surprised. As you know, becoming Cardinal is not only an honour. It is rather a responsibility conferred upon me, that of being his counsellor and eventually to participate in the election of a new Pope.” (that ended with a closing mass on Sunday 20 November).

Cardinal Piat also had a special thought for Father Laval, known as the Apostle of the poor.

BIO

Cardinal Maurice Piat was born in 1941 in the district of Moka. He undertook his secondary schooling at the Collège du Saint-Espirit of Quarte Bornes. He entered the novitiate for the Spiritan order in Ireland where he made his solemn profession on 8 September 1962. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree at a college in Dublin. Mgr Piat then travelled to Rome where he commenced his studies for the priesthood and was ordained as a priest on 2 August 1970. He proceeded to the Pontifical Gregorian University where he earned a diploma in theology in 1972. That same year he spent three months in Bangalore in India for his pastoral ministry.

His return to Mauritius saw him appointed as a catechist and professor at his old college where he was stationed until 1982 when he was made responsible for seminarians at the Foyer Murphy in Vacoas. From 1977 until 1979 he was in Paris for a long course on diocesan formation. He came back to become the vicar of the parish of Saint-François-d’Assise in Pamplemousses from 1979 to 1985 until being made the pastor of the parish of Immaculé-Coeur-de-Marie of Riviere du Rempart in 1986.

On 21 January 1991 he was appointed as the Co-adjutor Bishop of Port Louis and as a result received his episcopal consecration on 19 May 1991 from Cardinal Jean Margéot. On 15 February 1993 he was appointed as the Bishop of Port Louis.

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