Cardinal Marc Ouellet was born in Quebec in 1944, and joined the Sulpician priestly order in 1972.
Early in his priestly career, he became a missionary with the Sulpician order in Colombia, where he taught philosophy in Bogotá.
In 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed him Archbishop of Quebec, and just one year later made him a Cardinal who would eventually participate in the 2005 conclave which elected Joseph Ratzinger pope.
In 2010, Cardinal Ouellet was then called to Rome, where he was named president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
In this role one of his most recent undertakings was organizing a symposium at the Vatican for priests around the world.
CARD. MARC OUELLET
All Christians are a priestly people. It is a people that worships the Father, in Christ, and that obtains for humanity the light of the Holy Spirit for the enlightenment of all.
At 78, the Canadian Cardinal is past the normal retirement age of 75 for curial positions, suggesting that Pope Francis has yet to accept his retirement since he is pleased with the Cardinal's performance.
And as one of two Rome-based Canadian members of the curia, he also traveled with Pope Francis on his most recent trip to Canada.
Yet upon their return, the Cardinal was named among 88 members of the clergy in a class action lawsuit filed in Canada over allegations of sexual assault.
The cardinal is accused of inappropriately touching a female intern working in his diocese while he was Archbishop of Quebec.
Pope Francis has stated that the Vatican will not open a canonical investigation into the accusation since it does not present sufficient grounds to do so, according to a Vatican statement.
While it remains unclear how the case will develop in Canada, the Pope does not appear to have lost confidence in the Cardinal considered by many to be his possible successor.
JM
