Role of President Macron in the choice of Archbishop of Strasbourg

A unique case in France: why Emmanuel Macron should appoint the new Archbishop of Strasbourg

The President of the Republic's approval is essential for the appointment of the next Archbishop of Strasbourg.

On Thursday 20 April 2023, the Archbishop of Strasbourg Luc Ravel presented his resignation after an apostolic visit requested by the Pope. A particularity of Alsace and Moselle is that the French state will have a say in the name of his successor, who will be known in a few months.

Archbishop of Strasbourg since 2017, Luc Ravel, 65 years old, presented his resignation to Pope Francis on 20 April 2023. In several months, another man of the Church will succeed him. But the approval of the President of the Republic will be necessary. Francis Messner, Emeritus Research Director at the CNRS, explains this curiosity to France 3 Alsace.

To understand everything, we have to go back to 1801. That year, the Concordat was signed between the First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII. This 17-article document governed relations between France and the Catholic Church.

Two articles in particular are essential, numbers 4 and 5. In the first, it is written that it is for the First Consul to appoint the bishops and in the second that the latter will appoint the priests with the agreement of the government.

The Concordat abrogated, but not everywhere

More than a century later, in 1905, Church and State were separated and the Concordat was abrogated. Except that in that year, the Departments of Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin and Moselle belonged to the German Empire, having been annexed in 1871. Even though they became French again after the First World War, the Concordat was maintained in these Departments.

"To appoint the Archbishop of Strasbourg, but also the Bishop of Metz, it is necessary to have both an appointment by decree of the President of the Republic and an approval given by Rome. Without both, the new Archbishop will not be able to exercise his duties," explains Francis Messner.

In the end, the appointment is announced simultaneously by both countries.

In detail, there is a back-and-forth between Paris and the Vatican, according to a very precise procedure. "In the end, the appointment is announced simultaneously by both countries. It is published in the Osservatore Romano (the Vatican's official information service) and in the Official Journal," continues the man who is also a Professor at the University of Strasbourg.

This process usually takes several months.

Francis Messner adds that unlike in  previous times, the Élysée Palace does not actually intervene much in the appointment of the Archbishop of Strasbourg. "A president like Charles de Gaulle had very specific ideas about the appointment. Today, the State simply checks that everything is in order, especially with regard to criminal records.

Until the Holy See accepts Bishop Ravel's resignation, he continues to be a bishop.

Between now and the appointment of a successor, new steps await Luc Ravel and the Archdiocese of Strasbourg: "Bishop Ravel has submitted his resignation, but until the Holy See accepts it, he continues to be a Bishop. Only when two texts have been published at the same time in the Osservatore Romano and in the Official Journal will the See be considered vacant.

At least one year before a new Archbishop

While there is an official procedure for the vacancy of a see, Francis Messner points out that it is no longer applied to the letter. "In reality, the Holy See should appoint an Apostolic Administrator to take over the interim. This could be someone from the Diocese but it is more likely to be someone from outside the Diocese in the case of Bishop Ravel's successor.

After this initial procedure, there will be a long round trip between the Vatican and Paris. In August 2021, the bishop of Metz, Jean-Christophe Lagleize, resigned from his post for health reasons. It took almost a year for his successor, Philippe Ballot, to be appointed. "After all that has happened in the archdiocese of Strasbourg, we can imagine that it will take longer," Francis Messner predicts.

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