Fernand Franck (born 6 May 1934) is a
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
ian prelate 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 ...
. He was
Archbishop of Luxembourg
The archbishop of Luxembourg is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic archbishopric of Luxembourg. The position was created on 23 April 1988, when Luxembourg was promoted from a bishopric. The seat of the see is Notre-Dame Cathedral, in Luxembourg Ci ...
from 1990 to 2011.
Biography
He was born in
Esch-sur-Alzette on 6 May 1934 and attended primary and secondary school in Esch-sur-Alzette and seminary in Luxembourg and
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
Ordained a priest in 1960, Franck's first assignment was as associate pastor at St. Joseph Parish in
Differdange, where he served until 1971. He then became pastor at St. Cuningundis Parish in
Clausen Clausen is a Danish language, Danish patronymic surname, literally meaning ''child of Claus'', Claus being a German language, German form of the Greek language, Greek Νικόλαος, Nikolaos, (cf. Nicholas), used in Denmark at least since the 16t ...
, and also served as National Director for the Catholic Action of Children in Luxembourg and the Pontifical Mission Aid Society, both 1969–1977.
From 1977, Franck was Secretary General of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith at the
Vatican and served as Secretary General of the Society of St. Peter the Apostle 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 ...
from 1988.
His mission led him to visit many countries across every continent. In conjunction with these offices, he was also named Ecclesiastical Counsellor at the Embassy of Luxembourg at the Holy See (from 1981)
and was a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications at the Vatican.
Pope John Paul II appointed him Archbishop of Luxembourg on 21 December 1990 and he was ordained a bishop on 2 February 1991 at
Notre-Dame Cathedral
Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...
in
Luxembourg City
Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...
.
His motto ''Ut unum sint,'' ( en, that they may be one, (
John 17: 11) has inspired his pastoral leadership and his constant dedication to both the local and central Church. He serves on different European Episcopal Commissions and is a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications since 1999. He is the Grand Prior of the Luxembourg Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
, which operates
an overseas campus in Luxembourg, recognised his outstanding leadership and his ongoing support of the laity in the Church by conferring on him an honorary doctorate in humane letters in 2003.
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 ...
accepted his resignation as Archbishop of Luxembourg on 12 July 2011.
References
External links
Roman Catholic Church in Luxembourg biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franck, Fernand
1934 births
Living people
20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Luxembourg
21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Luxembourg
People from Esch-sur-Alzette
Luxembourgian Roman Catholic archbishops