Haitian Cardinal Chibly Langlois (left) and Spanish Cardinal Sebastian Aguilar arrive at the Synod Hall for the third day of the synod on the themes of family on Oct. 8, 2014, in Vatican City. / Credit: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Vatican City, Apr 29, 2025 / 09:41 am (CNA).

Cardinal Chibly Langlois, bishop of Les Cayes, will be the first Haitian prelate in the Church’s history to participate and vote in a papal conclave.

Following the death of Pope Francis, Langlois released a statement honoring the life and ministry of the Argentine pontiff who “showed special attention to Haiti” through his words and actions.

“Throughout his pontificate, he embodied a concrete spirituality founded on mercy, listening, and solidarity,” the cardinal wrote on April 22. “He made the Gospel a living invitation to console hearts and inspire actions in favor of the most vulnerable.”

“In a world plagued by injustice and suffering, he put faith at the service of everyday life, reminding everyone that the light of God is revealed in the care of each person, particularly the most deprived,” he added.

He is one of two cardinal electors representing Caribbean countries who will participate in the conclave to commence on May 7. Cuban Cardinal Juan García Rodríguez, archbishop of Havana, will also participate in the upcoming conclave to vote for the universal Church’s 267th pontiff.

Since being elevated as a cardinal by Pope Francis on Feb. 22, 2014, Langlois has served as a member of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Langlois received his episcopal ordination on June 6, 2004, two months after Pope John Paul II chose him to be the head of the Diocese of Fort-Liberté that same year. His episcopal motto is “Servire Cum Caritate” (“To Serve with Charity”).

In 2011, the 66-year-old prelate was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Les Cayes by Pope Benedict XVI. From 2011 to 2017, he served as president of the Episcopal Conference of Haiti.

In October 2014, Haiti’s first and only cardinal was one of 114 bishops’ conference presidents invited to participate in the Vatican’s Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on “the pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization.”

Born on Nov. 29, 1958, in La Vallée, Haiti, Langlois joined the seminary in 1985 and obtained a bachelor of arts degree in theology from the Grand Séminaire Notre-Dame in Port-au-Prince. He was ordained a priest on Sept. 22, 1991, for the Diocese of Jacmel.

From 1994 to 1996, Langlois continued his studies in Rome at the Pontifical Lateran University and was awarded a license in pastoral theology with his dissertation titled “La nouvelle évangélisation, oeuvre d’inculturation en Haïti” (“The New Evangelization, a Work of Inculturation in Haiti”).

Following the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010, Langlois gained recognition among local Church leaders for his dedicated efforts to spiritually and materially assist the poor and vulnerable of his country.

After a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti in August 2021, Langlois spoke out about the social inequalities affecting the Caribbean nation’s population in a webinar hosted by Caritas Internationalis.

“The people of Haiti are suffering, believe me,” Langlois said in the Sept. 21, 2021, webinar. “Wherever you look around the country — where poverty is rife, where violence is spreading, where catastrophes take place — the Church is present and the Church is a first responder.”