Pope Francis appointed, this Thursday, as the bishop of Nice, Bishop André Marceau, 67, who was previously the bishop of Perpignan-Elne, announced the Conference of Bishops of France in a statement. He succeeds Bishop Louis Sankalé, who had resigned for health reasons in August 2013.
Born on May 6, 1946, in Cérons (Gironde), a graduate of the Higher Institute of Catechetical Pastoral of the Catholic Institute of Paris, Bishop André Marceau was ordained a priest on March 25, 1972, for the Archdiocese of Bordeaux, and was consecrated as a bishop on March 7, 2004.
After holding various positions in the Southwest, Bishop André Marceau was the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Bordeaux, before being appointed Bishop of Perpignan Elne, a position he had held since 2004.
The new “shepherd” sent his first message to the people of Nice:
It is with joy that I come to you as Pope Francis calls me to become your bishop. It is the joy of the servants. We will live it together.
Today, new paths lie before me.
You already know them. They have long been your history, that of your Church, your Christian communities, your communes, your department with its many rich traditions.
I count on you for us to walk them together. You will show me their beauty and richness.
The Lord entrusts us with the service of his Church, which lives here, in the Alpes-Maritimes.
He calls us to live together this new phase for each of us.
He, “the traveler of the roads of Palestine,” sends us as “servants and witnesses” ahead of Him. He is “the Good News of God.”
Let it be our joy to carry together this message of salvation.
It is with confidence that I come to meet your Church, the Church of Nice in all its components.
I assure each and every one of you, especially those who are in difficult moments or situations in life, of my pastoral friendship.
Soon, your Church will take shape for me. I await this moment in Hope.
I say to all of you, my union, in prayer.
- André MARCEAU
