the Archbishop of Marseille distinguished by a Pope Francis at the end of his pontificate – Liberation
One after the other, the 20 new cardinals, appointed in May, will come to kneel this Saturday afternoon in Saint Peter’s Basilica, before Pope Francis. He will ritually give them the red bar, a square headdress and a cardinal’s ring, insignia of their function as adviser to the head of the Catholic Church and elector, responsible for choosing when the time comes the successor to the Argentine Jesuit. Among these new “princes of the Church”, as on the nicknames and whom Francis chose with care, figure – a fact that has become extremely rare under this pontificate – a Frenchman, Jean-Marc Aveline, 63 years old and archbishop of Marseilles.
“It is an intellectual profile, with a simple and warm approach but which retains a certain reserve”, underlines the academic Blandine Chélini-Pont, specialist in the geopolitics of religions at the University of Aix-Marseille. Born into a pied-noir family from Algeria, Jean-Marc Aveline has been from Marseille since the age of 8. And very attached, according to relatives, to his city. Brilliant is first and foremost a theologian specializing in dialogue with other religions, questions of the Mediterranean and migration, concerns in line with the priorities of the pontificate of Francis. Which, according to specialists, explains why he was promoted to cardinal.
For the past ten years, Jean-Marc Aveline has however abandoned the intellectual field to take on important responsibilities within his institution. In 2013, he became auxiliary bishop of Marseille then, in 2019, succeeded Georges Pontier at the head of the diocese. If Marseille Catholicism is a demographic minority and represents barely a third of the population, it is very much inscribed, according to Blandine Chélini-Pont, in local life, in particular through a dense network of schools.
Even for a secular state like France, having cardinals is still of some importance, a sign of diplomatic weight and cultural aura. Despite the assurances that Jean-Marc Aveline continues to give in his recent interviews, France is not, however, a priority for Pope Francis. During his pontificate, the Jesuit favored the “peripheries”, abandoning the great Western powers. And even if he was marked by the great names of French theology like Henri de Lubac or Yves Congar, Pope Francis is not a Francophile either, as John Paul II or Benedict XVI might be.
French presence reduced to bare minimum
Three French personalities had thus strongly marked the pontificate of John-Paul II: the cardinals Jean-Marie Lustiger, one of his relatives; Jean-Louis Tauran, who was one of the great diplomats of the Vatican; and Roger Etchegaray who was also Archbishop of Marseilles before being appointed to the Roman curia where he led secret missions to Fidel Castro, in Rwanda or in China. Currently, the French presence in the Vatican is reduced to a bare minimum. The only cardinal in office is Dominique Mamberti, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the equivalent of the Court of Cassation, a personality of little significance in the current pontificate.
On the other hand, the Archbishop of Marseille is gaining weight within the French episcopate. Recently, Pope Francis appointed him a member of the very powerful Congregation for Bishops, one of the great “ministries” of the Roman curia, responsible for proposing to the head of the Catholic Church the names of future bishops. With the appointment of Laurent Ulrich as head of the diocese of Paris, a clear shift began within French Catholicism, whose episcopate was one of the most turbulent during the 1970s and became under the pontificates of Jean -Paul II and Benedict XVI one of the most conservative in Western Europe.
With his new title of cardinal, Jean-Marc Aveline, does not despair of bringing the pope to France, in particular to Marseille, a world city, a city of the surroundings as Francis likes. However, this seems more and more improbable in view of the declining health of the Pope, which is increasingly reducing these trips outside the Vatican.
An upcoming release?
In Rome, an atmosphere of the end of the pontificate begins to reign. Through the creation of these new cardinals, Francis has finished shaping the configuration of the next conclave, where the weight of Europeans has been shrinking for ten years. Since becoming pope, Francis has undertaken a rebalancing between North and South. Among the 20 new cardinals, there are 8 Europeans, 5 Asians, 4 Latin Americans, 2 Africans and 1 North American.
In the wake of Saturday’s ceremony, more than 200 cardinals from around the world were summoned to Rome on Monday and Tuesday – this had not happened for three years and the start of the pandemic – now to study the new operating rules of the Roman curia, recently enacted by Francis. This could be the occasion for important announcements on his part. That of an upcoming show? Since this spring, the question is no longer taboo. But it is probably premature at this stage.
The fact remains that, unable to walk, François is forced to consider his succession. And erasing a show. Himself besides by feeding the rumor. This Sunday, he goes on a pilgrimage to L’Aquila, east of Rome, to the tomb of Celestine V, the first pope to have resigned, in the 13th century.