Dominique Lebrun (born 10 January 1957) is a French

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

prelate. Bishop of

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

from 2006 to 2015, he was appointed

Archbishop of Rouen The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Ar ...

and

Primate of Normandy Primate of Normandy (french: Primat de Normandie) is a Roman Catholic title borne by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Rouen. History The title stems from the late Roman Empire: in the time of Constantine, the Romans across the Empire were evangel ...

in July 2015.

Biography

Youth and personal life

Dominique Julien Claude Marie Lebrun was born in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

to Auguste Lebrun, magistrate and Geneviève (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Facque) Lebrun, the last of a family of eight. He spent his early years in

, before his family moved to

Villemomble Villemomble () is a Communes of France, commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. Heraldry Transport Villemomble is served by Le Raincy – Villemomble – Montfermeil (Par ...

, a town near

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He was the son of a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

; his mother entered religion after she was widowed and her children had completed their curriculums. She took the religious name of Geneviève Marie. Dominique Lebrun served as an official

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

for 13 years.

Education

He studied at Panthéon-Assas University, where he obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in civil law. In 1978, he entered the French seminary in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, then went on to study at the Catholic University of Paris. He supported his PhD thesis in theological science in 1990.

Ministries

Lebrun was ordained priest on 9 June 1984 in the Diocese of Saint-Denis. He was

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Saint-Baudile in Neuilly-sur-Marne from 1985 to 1994. That year, he became priest of the parish of Saint-Germain in

Pantin Pantin () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019 its population was estimated to be 59,846. Pantin is located on the edge of the city of Paris and is mainly formed by a plain ...

, position he held until 1998. He then became spiritual director at the French seminary in

until 2001, when he was sent back to the Diocese of Saint-Denis. He was responsible for the continuous training of new priests in the diocese, and was in charge of building connections with the economic and professional sectors in the Plaine-Saint-Denis. He officiated at the Church of Sainte-Geneviève de la Plaine in Saint-Denis. In 2003, he was appointed priest of the

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

of Saint-Denis, and of the parishes around the city, and was named member of the Presbyterial Council. From 1994 to 1997, he served as editor in chief of ''La Maison-Dieu'', a pastoral and liturgical

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

, for which he kept writing articles occasionally until 2002 Appointed Bishop of

on 28 June 2006, he was consecrated on 9 September of the same year by Cardinal Philippe Barbarin. He was member of the Communication Committee of the

Conference of French Bishops The Bishops' Conference of France (french: Conférence des évêques de France) (CEF) is the national episcopal conference of the bishops of the Catholic Church in France. Presidents Presidents of the Assembly of Cardinals and Archbishops of ...

. From 2008 to 2012, he served as president of the Advisory Board of the French Christian radio network ''RCF''. He is today member of the Family and Society Committee of the

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

, more particularly involved in Justice. On 10 July 2015, he was appointed

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 ...

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. ...

. His installation took place on 11 October 2015 at

Rouen Cathedral Rouen Cathedral (french: Cathédrale primatiale Notre-Dame de l'Assomption de Rouen) is a Roman Catholic church in Rouen, Normandy, France. It is the see of the Archbishop of Rouen, Primate of Normandy. It is famous for its three towers, each in ...

. The new bells of the restored

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

, cast by Paccard, were christened on 3 April 2016 by

Monseigneur Monseigneur (plural: Messeigneurs or Monseigneurs) is an honorific in the French language, abbreviated Mgr., Msgr. In English use it is a title before the name of a French prelate, a member of a royal family or other dignitary. Monsignor is b ...

Lebrun.

Decoration and awards

Mgr M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987) was the Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. MGR may also refer to: * ManaGeR (MGR), graphical window system * Merry-go-round train, British freight-train design Mgr. is an honorific or abbreviation for: * Manager ...

Lebrun was made a Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

on 14 April 2017 by

French President The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is ...

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

References