Francis' Mediterranean man will lead France's Bishops' Conference from 1st July

Cardinal Aveline takes over

His topics are migration and coexistence in the Mediterranean region. Francis held him in high esteem. Now, Jean-Marc Aveline will take over the baton of the French Bishops' Conference. He relies on commitment and hope.

Some even considered him Papal. But as we now know, another has taken the throne of St. Peter: Leo XIV. Instead, Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, Archbishop of Marseille, is now taking over a different baton: As of Tuesday (July 1), the 66-year-old will also be president of the French Bishops' Conference.

Even before his election in April, Aveline was considered the most promising candidate for the post in the Paris General Secretariat, located between the Invalides, the military academy, and the Tour Montparnasse. He succeeds Archbishop of Reims, Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, who served for two three-year terms since 2019.

For the late Pope, Aveline, born in Algeria in 1958, apparently embodied the bishop of the Mediterranean. In 2022, he admitted him to the College of Cardinals and visited him in Marseille in September 2023. Aveline spent almost his entire childhood and youth in the city and has been a priest there since 1984. From 2008 to 2013, he was a consultant to the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. From 2014 to 2019, he served as an auxiliary bishop, and since then, as Archbishop of Marseille.

Migration as a major issue

Aveline was the only one of the five Frenchmen in the conclave to lead a large diocese. As the archbishop of a major port city on the Mediterranean, he is familiar with the issue of migration – and also with its dark side and the growing wave of national-populist reactions to it.

France's oldest and second-largest city has a huge migrant population. 90 percent of the city's current population has ancestors who are not from France. Marseille has a reputation for widespread lawlessness. But "Massilia," once founded by Greek sailors and European Capital of Culture in 2013, has flourished and worked on building an image as a city with charm.

The gateway to the world—and the largest port in the Mediterranean—is the deep-sea port "Marseille Europort." Pope Francis sought such symbolism with his visit in 2023. And Aveline, too, knows how to play this card in today's turbulent world. Today, many want to erase the historical memory of peaceful and fruitful coexistence in the Mediterranean, he says, and instead impose a fear of the other and their own ideology. But, says Aveline: "We stand for the fact that, despite all the real threats, good is also at work."

Tradition and disruption

The Church in France is one of the most traditional and intellectually important in Europe. Today, half of France's approximately 67 million inhabitants still identify as Catholic. However, the number of practicing Catholics, priests, and members of religious orders has been declining sharply for decades. In addition, the Church in France is struggling with the aftermath of the abuse scandals.

In recent issues of ethics, family, and politics, the bishops have suffered repeated defeats; for example, on "gay marriage," on artificial insemination, on the liberalization of abortion, and, most recently, on euthanasia. However, there has recently been a sharp increase in Catholic adult baptisms.

"Fractures in society"

The Archbishop of Marseille expresses concern about fractures in French and European society. It has become difficult to debate without insults. Abstentions in recent elections also testify to a lack of trust in politics and its actors. His country, France, needs commitment and hope, however.

One can perhaps assume that he also means Europe when he says that France has too many doubts about itself, about what it has been gifted with in its long history and what could be useful to others. As a result, "the French tone is missing in the current concert of nations" because it is no longer sufficiently sure of itself.

Shortly before the conclave in Rome, Aveline described the legacy of the late Francis in French as "immense"—meaning gigantic, immeasurable. And even though he hasn't had to fill the huge shoes of the fisherman, Cardinal Aveline can still accomplish a great deal in the spirit of Francis with his offices in France.

Source

Cathcon:  Another key indicator will be the degree to which Cardinal Aveline adjusts his game in response to the new Pope or will be still be a disciple of Bergoglianism pure.  The degree to which he is expected to change will also be noteworthy.