Luc Marie Daniel Ravel, C.R.S.V. (born 21 May 1957) is a French Catholic bishop. He was appointed bishop of the Diocese of the French Armed Forces 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 sovereig ...

on 7 October 2009. He was consecrated

bishop 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 ...

at the Cathedral of

Notre Dame de Paris 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 ...

on 29 November 2009. He was appointed archbishop of Strasbourg by

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. ...

on 18 February 2017.

Early life

Ravel was born in a family with origins in

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island and an Overseas department and region, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of ...

and

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island o ...

on his father's side, and in the Var department of France on his mother's side. He was born the fourth child in a family of three girls and four boys. He is a graduate of the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savo ...

and studied to become an engineer at the

IFP School The IFP School (French: ''ENSPM - École Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs'') is a graduate engineering school located in Rueil-Malmaison, France. Founded in 1954, IFP School is part of the IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN), a French ...

. He studied Philosophy and Theology at the Abbey Saint-Pierre in the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, sp ...

, in the

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in southern France, and at the

University of Poitiers The University of Poitiers (UP; french: Université de Poitiers) is a public university located in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group. It is multidisciplinary and contributes to making Poitiers the city with the highest stud ...

Religious career

He made his solemn profession as a Canon Regular of St. Victor on 7 December 1985, and was ordained a priest on 25 June 1988. He was afterwards prior at the Church of Saint-Charles at

Porrentruy Porrentruy (, fc, Poérreintru , german: Pruntrut) is a Swiss municipality and seat of the district of the same name located in the canton of Jura. Porrentruy is home to National League team, HC Ajoie. History The first trace of human pres ...

, in Jura,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, at Montbron, and at the Tardoire and Bandiat deanery, in

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, a ...

. He subsequently returned to the Abbey of Saint-Pierre in the town of Champagne, where he was master of novices from 1996 to 2007, and subprior from 2003. He founded Notre-Dame de l`Écoute, a movement for single and celibate people. He was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of the French Armed Forces by

on 7 October 2009. His consecration as a bishop took place in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on 29 November 2009, presided over by cardinal

André Vingt-Trois André Armand Vingt-Trois (; born 7 November 1942) is a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 2005 to 2017, having previously served as Archbishop of Tours from 1999 to 2005. He was elevated to the card ...

. He was elected a member of the Doctrinal Commission of the

Bishops' Conference of France 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 Fr ...

in 2011. Ravel created controversy when he called abortion a "weapon of mass destruction" and called for the return of the abortion debate in French society in the Armed Forces monthly magazine in February 2015. As a result, the French Defence Minister asked the Diocese's magazine to stop displaying the Army's logo on the cover so as to distancing the Army from its content. Ravel was appointed Archbishop of Strasbourg, on 18 February 2017.

Notes

References

External links

Luc Ravel at the Bishops' Conference of France Website (French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravel, Luc 1957 births Living people 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France Clergy from Paris Archbishops of Strasbourg École Polytechnique alumni