France: New Ordinations in the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon
Facade of Toulon Cathedral
On December 10, 2023, “at the end of the Mass during which he was welcomed as Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, Bishop François Touvet announced on behalf of Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-Sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, that the decree of April 28, 2022, deferring ordinations, is now revoked,” the diocese published.
Indeed, on June 2, 2022, the Dicastery for Bishops had decided to suspend the four diaconal and six priestly ordinations planned for June 26 at Toulon.
A first celebration of diaconal and priestly ordinations took place on Sunday, January 21, 2024, at Toulon Cathedral.
The Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon and the Seminary of La Castille published a communiqué on December 22 to “announce that Bishop François Touvet, Coadjutor Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, in communion with Bishop Dominique Rey, has fulfilled the call to the priesthood of deacon Reinaldo Mareicos (Paraguayan), and the call to the diaconate of seminarians Richard Quiroga (Paraguayan), Kevin Cassidy (Irish), and Thomas Nguyen (Vietnamese).”
The seminarians were among those whose ordination had been anticipated in June 2022.
Pope Francis appointed Bishop Touvet Coadjutor Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon on November 21, 2023, after the Apostolic Visit to the diocese requested by Rome. The Coadjutor Bishop is appointed alongside Bishop Rey, the diocesan Bishop, with immediate right of succession in the case of the resignation or death of the titular Bishop.
(Sources : cath.ch/imedia/diocèse de frejus-toulon/DICI n°440 – FSSPX.Actualités)
Illustration : Chabe01, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
