François-Wolff Ligondé

{{Short description|Haitian Roman Catholic archbishop (1928–2013)}}{{Infobox Christian leader

| name = François-Wolff Ligondé

| birth_place = Les Cayes, Haiti

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|1|17|df=y}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|4|8|1928|1|17|df=y}}

| ordained_by = Rémy Jérôme Augustin

| ordination = 11 July 1954

| consecrated_by = Antonio Samorè

| consecration = 28 October 1966

| predecessor = François-Marie-Joseph Poirier

| successor = Joseph Serge Miot

| appointed = 20 August 1966

| retired = 1 March 2008

| archdiocese = Port-au-Prince

| title = Archbishop of Port-au-Prince

| see = Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption

| honorific_prefix = The Most Reverend

| church = Roman Catholic

| nationality = Haitian

}}

François-Wolff Ligondé (January 17, 1928 in Les Cayes – April 8, 2013) was a Haitian Roman Catholic archbishop of the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Ligondé was ordained to the priesthood on 11 July 1954, and was appointed Archbishop of Port-au-Prince on 20 August 1966 and retired on 1 March 2008.{{Cite web |title=Archbishop François-Wolff Ligondé [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bligonde.html |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}

Ligondé was a close ally of President Jean-Claude Duvalier and the uncle of his wife Michèle Bennett.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/01/09/haitian-mob-destroys-property-of-coup-maker-and-church/92af83c0-d34a-449d-bdf6-2cf77e61c465/|title=Haitian mob destroys property of coup-maker and church|newspaper=Washington Post|date=January 9, 1991|first=Lee|last=Hockstader|access-date=April 24, 2021}} He presided over their "opulent cathedral wedding" in 1980 which was broadcast live to the nation.{{cite news|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-haiti-bishop-who-married-baby-doc-duvalier-dies-2013apr08-story.html|title=Haiti bishop who married ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier dies|newspaper=The San Diego Union-Tribune|date=April 8, 2013|access-date=April 24, 2021}}

In January 1991, Ligondé reportedly "fled into the night clad only in undershorts" when mobs attacked the Port-au-Prince Cathedral during a coup attempt against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He had previously been a critic of Aristide, comparing the government to a Bolshevik dictatorship. This statement was "seen as giving the green light for the coup". Ligondé and other church leaders subsequently went into hiding.{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-01-13-9101040444-story.html|title=Priest's rise to Haiti's presidency may spur change|first=Nathaniel|last=Sheppard Jr.|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=January 13, 1991|access-date=April 24, 2021}} Although his pastoral role as archbishop ended after this incident, he remained archbishop until his retirement in 2008.

Ligondé died on 8 April 2013. His funeral at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Turgeau was attended by then-president Michel Martelly and other notables.{{Cite news|url=https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-8298-haiti-religion-mgr-francois-wolff-passed-away.html|title=Haiti - Religion : Mgr François Wolff passed away|publisher=Haiti Libre|date=April 9, 2013|access-date=April 24, 2021}}