Jadot, Jean
Item
Name
Jadot, Jean
Given name
Jean
Family name
Jadot
One-line bio
Jean Jadot was a Belgian JEC chaplain, who later became a Vatican diplomat. He also collaborated with Cardijn during Vatican II.
Biography
Jean Jadot was born in Brussels, Belgium, on 23 November 1909.
His father, Lambert, was a noted electrical engineer who worked around the world, including China and the Congo.
In 1926, he entered the Catholic University of Leuven, from where he obtained his doctorate in philosophy magna cum laude in 1930 with a thesis was on the work of Alfred Edward Taylor.
Despite his father's opposition, Jadot then entered the seminary of the Archdiocese of Mechelen, and was ordained to the priesthood on 11 February 1934.
He began his pastoral ministry in the parish of Etterbeek, a suburb of Brussels.
During this period, he was a member of the editorial board of La Cité Chrétienne, a journal founded by Jacques Leclercq; and was responsible for the section "The Church in the World".
He wrote his articles under the pen name of Augustin Drufosse.
At the request of Pierre Harmel and Jean Vieujean, he became chaplain of the JIC in 1939 and then of the JEC.
After the war, he became one of the founders of La Revue Nouvelle.
Simultaneously he was appointed as chaplain to the School of the Second Lieutenants of Infantry at Tervuren, before becoming chaplain of the Royal Military Academy, then in 1952 Chaplain General of the Public Force in Congo, a role he exercised until the independence of this country in 1960.
During this period, he also preached a retreat to a young non-commissioned officer, named ... Joseph Mobutu.
After returning to Belgium, he was appointed to lead the Pontifical Mission Societies.
His life had a new turning point in 1968, when he accepted to become Apostolic Delegate in Bangkok.
On 23 February 1968, he was appointed by Pope Paul VI as titular archbishop of Zuri as well as the apostolic delegate to Laos, Singapore and Malaysia. He was consecrated by Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens on 1 May 1968.
He was appointed apostolic pro-nuncio to Thailand 28 August 1969. On 15 May 1971, Jadot was appointed apostolic pro-nuncio to Gabon and Cameroon as well as apostolic delegate to Equatorial Guinea. On 23 May 1973 he was appointed the apostolic delegate to the United States.
Jadot was regardeds as a progressive leader in the American Church. Jadot was viewed favourably under Pope Paul VI, who rejected Jadot's initial offer to resign as nuncio.
On 27 June 1980, Pope John Paul II appointed him the Pro-President of the Secretariat of Non-Christians, a position normally held by a cardinal.
Pope John Paul accepted his resignation on 8 April 1984, a few months shy of his 75th birthday.
He died in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Belgium, on 21 January 2009.
REFERENCES
His father, Lambert, was a noted electrical engineer who worked around the world, including China and the Congo.
In 1926, he entered the Catholic University of Leuven, from where he obtained his doctorate in philosophy magna cum laude in 1930 with a thesis was on the work of Alfred Edward Taylor.
Despite his father's opposition, Jadot then entered the seminary of the Archdiocese of Mechelen, and was ordained to the priesthood on 11 February 1934.
He began his pastoral ministry in the parish of Etterbeek, a suburb of Brussels.
During this period, he was a member of the editorial board of La Cité Chrétienne, a journal founded by Jacques Leclercq; and was responsible for the section "The Church in the World".
He wrote his articles under the pen name of Augustin Drufosse.
At the request of Pierre Harmel and Jean Vieujean, he became chaplain of the JIC in 1939 and then of the JEC.
After the war, he became one of the founders of La Revue Nouvelle.
Simultaneously he was appointed as chaplain to the School of the Second Lieutenants of Infantry at Tervuren, before becoming chaplain of the Royal Military Academy, then in 1952 Chaplain General of the Public Force in Congo, a role he exercised until the independence of this country in 1960.
During this period, he also preached a retreat to a young non-commissioned officer, named ... Joseph Mobutu.
After returning to Belgium, he was appointed to lead the Pontifical Mission Societies.
His life had a new turning point in 1968, when he accepted to become Apostolic Delegate in Bangkok.
On 23 February 1968, he was appointed by Pope Paul VI as titular archbishop of Zuri as well as the apostolic delegate to Laos, Singapore and Malaysia. He was consecrated by Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens on 1 May 1968.
He was appointed apostolic pro-nuncio to Thailand 28 August 1969. On 15 May 1971, Jadot was appointed apostolic pro-nuncio to Gabon and Cameroon as well as apostolic delegate to Equatorial Guinea. On 23 May 1973 he was appointed the apostolic delegate to the United States.
Jadot was regardeds as a progressive leader in the American Church. Jadot was viewed favourably under Pope Paul VI, who rejected Jadot's initial offer to resign as nuncio.
On 27 June 1980, Pope John Paul II appointed him the Pro-President of the Secretariat of Non-Christians, a position normally held by a cardinal.
Pope John Paul accepted his resignation on 8 April 1984, a few months shy of his 75th birthday.
He died in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Belgium, on 21 January 2009.
REFERENCES
Country of origin
English
Belgium
Birth date
November 23, 1909