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Cardinal Jean-Louis Taurang
President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran was born on April 5, 1943, in Bordeaux, France. He received his education for the priesthood at the Gregorian University, where he obtained a license in Philosophy and Theology. Ordained to the priesthood in September 1969, he served as parochial vicar in Bordeaux, beginning, at the same time, his studies in Canon Law at the neighboring Institut Catholique in Toulouse. In 1973, he returned to Rome and joined the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy for training for the Pontifical Diplomatic Corps. After having defended his doctoral thesis in Canon Law at the same Gregorian University, he entered the diplomatic service as Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in the Dominican Republic and later served in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lebanon. In 1983, he was called to the Vatican and joined the Council for Public Affairs of the Church and for many years he represented the Holy See at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
In 1988, he was appointed Undersecretary of the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church (now known as the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State). On January 6, 1991, he was consecrated as titular Archbishop of Telepte and appointed as Secretary of the same Council. He has led the Holy See Delegation at numerous international conferences.
On October 21, 2003, Cardinal Tauran was appointed cardinal deacon in the consistory and received the red biretta and the deaconry of Saint Apollinare alle Terme NeronianeAlessandrine. On November 24th of the same year, he was named Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church.
Since the 25th June 2007, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran is President of the Pontifical Council
for Interreligious Dialogue.
