Bernard César Augustin Barsi (4 August 1942 – 28 December 2022) was a French

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

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 ...

who was the archbishop of Monaco from 2000 to 2020.

Biography

Barsi was born on 4 August 1942 in Nice, France. He was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

on 28 June 1969. After his ordination, he served as a vicar at the parish of Saint-Etienne de Tinée in Nice from 1969 until 1972. From 1972 to 1982 he worked in the vocations office of the diocese. He was appointed

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of La Trinité parish, serving in that capacity from 1982 to 1991. He was made

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

of the diocese of Nice in 1991, and served in that position until 2000 with a brief interruption from 1997 to 1998, when he was administrator of the

Diocese of Rennes The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rhedonensis, Dolensis et Sancti Maclovii''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rennes, Dol et Saint-Malo''; br, Arc'heskopti Roazhon, Dol ha Sant-Maloù) is a dioces ...

. Barsi was appointed the archbishop of Monaco on 16 May 2000. He was consecrated a bishop on 8 October of the same year. His principal consecrator was Jean Bonfils, S.M.A.,

Bishop of Nice The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nice (Latin: ''Dioecesis Nicensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Nice'') is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the Départment of Alpes-Maritimes. The diocese is a ...

, who was assisted by François Saint-Macary, the Archbishop of Rennes, and

Joseph-Marie Sardou Joseph-Marie Sardou, S.C.J. (25 October 1922 – 19 September 2009) was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Ordained to the priesthood on 12 May 1949, Sardou was appointed Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Monaco, by Pope John Paul I ...

, S.C.J., then the Archbishop Emeritus of Monaco. In 2003 he oversaw a

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

investigation into abuse of

choirboy A choirboy is a boy member of a choir, also known as a treble. As a derisive slang term, it refers to a do-gooder or someone who is morally upright, in the same sense that "Boy Scout" (also derisively) refers to someone who is considered honora ...

s in the 1970s in Rome. The result was inconclusive. Barsi officiated at the funeral of

Prince Rainier III Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...

in April 2005, and on 2 July 2011, he presided over the

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

Prince Albert II Albert II – Website of the Palace of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, since 2005. Albert was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and he is the second child and only son of Prince Rai ...

and Charlene Wittstock.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

accepted his resignation on 21 January 2020. Barsi died of a heart attack on 28 December 2022, at the age of 80.

Honours

* : Officer of the

Order of Grimaldi The Order of Grimaldi (usually called ''Ordre de Grimaldi'' but officially ''Ordre des Grimaldi'' according to the Ordonnance) is an Order established in Monaco on 18 November 1954. Award It is awarded to people who have contributed to the pre ...

(Nov. 2011)Sovereign Ordonnanc
n° 3.537 du 17 novembre 2011
portant promotions ou nominations dans l’Ordre de Grimaldi (French).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barsi, Bernard 1942 births 2022 deaths French Roman Catholic archbishops Archbishops of Monaco People from Nice Officers of the Order of Grimaldi Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur