Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Fides Service) - Cardinal Hyacinthe Thiandoum, emeritus Archbishop of Dakar in Senegal, died yesterday evening at a clinic in the southern French city of Marseilles. The Cardinal was born at Poponguine, Dakar, on 2 February 1921. His father was a catechist. After secondary school he entered the regional seminary in Dakar and was ordained a priest on 18 April 1949 in Dakar cathedral.
As a young priest he worked in the capital and two years later in 1951 was sent to Rome to study at the Pontifical Gregorian University for a Licentiate in philosophy and sociology.
He returned to Africa and in 1953 was made head of Catholic Action in Senegal and later parish priest of Dakar Cathedral and Vicar general of the archdiocese.
Appointed Archbishop of Dakar by Pope John XXIII on 24 February 1962, he was ordained a bishop on 20 May of that same year by his predecessor, Archbishop Marcel Lefèbvre.
He attended the Second Vatican Council and was involved in various fields: liturgical reforms, particularly with regard to rites for African Catholics and the need to introduce the use of the vernacular - ecumenical matters and social communications. He intervened in the assemblies of Bishops as representative of the Bishops’ Conference of Senegal-Mauritania speaking on pluralism in the Church, the ministerial priesthood (stressing the value of celibacy), the right of peoples to self-determination and the difficulties encountered in evangelisation in developing countries.
He was a member of the Council of the general Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops; President delegate of the 4th general assembly of the Synod of Bishops, on "Catechesis today, with special concern for children and young people " 1977.
He was President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Senegal-Mauritania until 1987; Vice-president of the Symposium of Bishops’ Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. He was Relator at the 7th general assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Laity 1987; Relator general at the Special assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa 1994.
On 16 June 2000 he presented his resignation as Archbishop of Dakar, a task he had carried out for 38 years. Pope Paul VI created him a Cardinal on 24 May 1976 and made him Cardinal titular of the church Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome. (Agenzia Fides 19/5/2004; Righe 32, Parole 366)
