Maurice Piat was born in Moka, Mauritius, on 19 July 1941. He attended the Collège du Saint-Esprit in Quatre Bornes, then at twenty entered the Spiritan novitiate in Tipperary, Ireland, making solemn profession on 8 September 1962. He took a bachelor's degree at University College Dublin, studied at the Pontifical French Seminary in Rome, earned a licentiate in theology from the Gregorian (1972), and was ordained a priest in Rome on 2 August 1970. After three months of ministry in Bangalore, India, he returned to Mauritius as a teacher and youth worker.
Appointed coadjutor bishop of Port Louis on 21 January 1991 and consecrated by Cardinal Margéot on 19 May, he succeeded as Bishop of Port Louis in February 1993 and served for thirty years, until 19 May 2023. He presided over the Indian Ocean bishops' conference and sat on the standing committee of SECAM from 2000, championing basic ecclesial communities. Francis created him a cardinal on 19 November 2016, with the title of Santa Teresa d'Avila. His motto is Pousse vers le large — “set out into the deep.”
Consequential Quotes
If I had to do it all over again, I would not hesitate.
Major Works & Initiatives
Bishop of Port Louis
Thirty years in Mauritius's only diocese.
Africa's episcopal standing committee
Long service on SECAM's standing committee.
Basic ecclesial communities
Built grassroots Church life across the island.
Controversies
On the record
No significant public controversies reported.