Armand Maillard, born 18 June 1943 in Offroicourt (

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

), is the recent French

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

, of the

diocese of Bourges The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bourges (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Bituricensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Bourges'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The Archdiocese comprises the departements of Ch ...

. He was appointed to that position by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

on 11 September 2007, succeeding Archbishop

Hubert Barbier Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and ''beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers. ...

. The new archbishop, who also received the honorary title of patriarch and primate of Aquitaine, was greeted in his

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

on 14 October and took his seat in the presence of the

bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the province: Archbishops Bernard-Nicolas Aubertin, Metropolitan Archbishop of Tours; André Fort,

bishop of Orleans A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

; Michel Pansard,

Bishop of Chartres The oldest known list of bishops of Chartres is found in an 11th-century manuscript of Trinity Abbey, Vendôme. It includes 57 names from Adventus (Saint Aventin) to Aguiertus (Agobert) who died in 1060. The most well-known list is included in the ...

; Maurice de Germiny,

Bishop of Blois The Roman Catholic Diocese of Blois (Latin: ''Dioecesis Blesensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Blois'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese lies in western France, and encompasses the department of Loi ...

Career

He completed theological studies at the Strasbourg Faculty of Catholic Theology from 1967 to 1971. He holds two licenses, the first in letters (in German) and the second in theology. He was ordained a priest on 28 June 1970. He was assigned responsibility in 1976 throughout the diocese for catechesis, and was named head of the permanent diaconate. He continued to also be a chaplain in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s. From 1987 to 1996 he was secretary of the Apostolic East region. He was named Bishop of Laval by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 2 August 1996, and consecrated by the Archbishop of Aix,

Louis-Marie Billé Louis-Marie Billé (18 February 1938 – 12 March 2002) was a French clergyman, archbishop of Lyon from 6 September 1998 and a cardinal until his death in office. Life Louis Marie Billé studied Catholic Theology and Philosophy in Luçon, ...

, on 5 October.Église catholique en Berry: Diocèse de Bourges
Mgr Maillard
retrieved: 2017-05-15. He was

archbishop of Bourges In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

from 2007 until July 2018. In this role he helped the Little Sisters Disciples of the Lamb obtain the definitive recognition of their statutes in 2011. Within the Bishops' Conference of France, he was a member of the Commission of ordained ministries. He is currently bishop accompanying the national service of vocations and a member of the Council for the Pastoral Care of children and young people, responsibility for Catholic Education. in 2011 he gave the abbatial blessing to Jean Pateau as abbot of

Fontgombault Abbey Fontgombault Abbey, otherwise the Abbey of Notre-Dame, Fontgombault (french: Abbaye de Fontgombault; Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Fontgombault), is a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery of the Solesmes Congregation located in Fontgombault in th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maillard, Armand 1943 births Living people Archbishops of Bourges People from Vosges (department) 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France Knights of the Legion of Honour

Career

See also

References