Philippe Jourdan
His Excellency Philippe Jourdan | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Tallinn | |
 | |
| Church | Roman Catholic |
| Appointed | 26 September 2024 |
| Previous post(s) | Apostolic Administrator of Estonia (2005 – 2024) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 20 August 1988 by Cardinal Bernard Francis Law |
| Consecration | 10 September 2005 by Peter Stephan Zurbriggen |
| Rank | Bishop |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Philippe Jean-Charles Jourdan August 30, 1960 |
| Nationality | French, Estonian |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Coat of arms |  |
Philippe Jean-Charles Jourdan (born 30 August 1960) is a French-born prelate of the Catholic Church who has been bishop of the Diocese of Tallinn since 2024 after serving as Apostolic Administrator of Estonia from 2005 to 2024. He has lived and worked in Estonia since 1996 and has become an Estonian citizen.
Biography
[edit]Philippe Jourdan was born in Dax, France, on 30 August 1960.[1] His family is of Basque origin. He was the oldest of three boys; one brother is a priest. He completed his secondary education in Dax and took preparatory classes at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris.[2] He joined Opus Dei in 1980,[2] while studying at the at the École nationale des ponts et chaussées in Paris, where he completed an engineering degree in 1983.[1] After working briefly in energy conservation[3] and turning down a job offer from IBM, he studied for the priesthood.[4] He obtained his doctorate in philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in 1987. He was ordained a priest of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei by Cardinal Bernard Francis Law on 20 August 1988.[1][5]
He then practised his ministry as a chaplain at schools and student residences, first in Madrid in 1988–89, then in Paris from 1989 to 1993. He also assisted with parish duties and taught philosophy from 1989 to 1995.[1]
In 1996, he took up an assignment in Estonia, where his knowledge of Russian and English, which are widely spoken there, made him an attractive candidate.[4] He was appointed vicar general of the Apostolic Administration of Estonia, then the highest resident Church official in the country, within the jurisdiction of the Apostolic Nuncio to Lithuania.[1] From 1999 to 2001 Jourdan served also as a parochial vicar of the Cathedral of Sts. Paul and Peter in Tallinn.[citation needed]
On 23 March 2005, he was appointed titular bishop of Pertusa and Apostolic Administrator of Estonia by Pope John Paul II,[1] becoming the second Catholic bishop in Estonia since the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. His predecessor, Eduard Profittlich S.J., died in 1942 in a Soviet prison.[5]
He received his episcopal consecration in Tallinn on 10 September 2005 by Archbishop Peter Stephan Zurbriggen, Apostolic Nuncio to the Baltic states. Archbishop Tadevuš Kandrusievič of Moscow and Bishop Javier Echevarría, prelate of Opus Dei, were the co-consecrators.[5] Because the Catholic community has no church of sufficient size, the ceremony took place in the church of St. Olaf, loaned by the local Baptist church for the occasion, and acknowledged by Jourdan as a gesture of ecumenical solidarity typical of Estonia's Christian communities.[2] In 2013 he became a member of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE), as the representative of Estonia.
He has been vice president of the Estonian Council of Churches since March 2004[3][6] and a bishop delegate to the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) since 2010.[3]
On 26 September 2024, he was appointed the first bishop of the Diocese of Tallinn, after the Apostolic Administration of Estonia was raised from an apostolic administration to a diocese.[7]
He became an Estonian citizen on 22 December 2005.[3][8] He was awarded the French Legion of Honor with the rank of chevalier on 11 July 2008.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Rinunce e Nomine, 01.04.2005" (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 1 April 2005. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ a b c "Une ordination sous le signe de l'œcuménisme" (in French). Zenit. 8 September 2005. Archived from the original on 8 September 2005. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Bishop Philippe Jourdan". Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ a b Yoder, Katie (15 June 2021). "Meet the only bishop of the 'least religious' country in Europe". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ a b c "Bishop Philippe Jourdan". Estonian Catholic Church. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ "Philippe Jourdan". Estonian Institute of Human Rights. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ "Resignations and Appointments, 26.09.2024" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ "A Doctorate in Hope". Priestly Society of the Holy Cross (Interview). Interviewed by Jorge Gutiérrez. 23 February 2015. Religión en Libertad. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ "Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur". Ambassade de France en Estonie (in French). Retrieved 27 September 2024.
External links
[edit]
- "Bishop Philippe Jourdan: "Our Lady wanted to remain in the Estonian language, even after the Lutheran reform"". Omnes Magazine (Interview). Interviewed by Maria José Atienza. 24 September 2024.
- Catholic Church in Estonia
- "Bishop Philippe Jean-Charles Jourdan". Catholic Hierarchy.
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