Eighteen months after the Holy See suspended all priestly ordinations in the traditionalist-friendly French diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, the crisis has been resolved with the installation of a new ‘coadjutor’ bishop.
Msgr. Dominique Rey, the bishop of the diocese, had been under close surveillance by the Vatican after being accused of a “lack of discernment” in welcoming a wide variety of traditionalist communities.
The papal decision was accompanied by an apostolic visit lasting several weeks at the beginning of 2023. For many months, uncertainty hung over this southern diocese, reputed to be one of the most dynamic in France, with no signal from Rome as to the future of its bishop.
A few weeks ago, a solution was found with the appointment of Bishop François Touvet as coadjutor bishop. A coadjutor serves as deputy to the incumbent bishop before succeeding him when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75. Bishop Rey is currently 71.
On Sunday, December 10th, Bishop Touvet, until now bishop of Châlons-en-Champagne in northern France, was installed at Notre-Dame-de-la-Seds cathedral in a ceremony presided over by Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, archbishop of Marseille.
His installation brings to a close the long disciplinary crisis that has troubled the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon since the Holy See’s decision in June 2022 to suspend all ordinations there.
The profile of Msgr. Touvet, a dynamic prelate from a conservative background, was reassuring to the faithful of the Toulon diocese, who are attached to tradition and make a major contribution to the diocese’s dynamism in terms of vocations.
At the end of the Mass during which he was welcomed as coadjutor bishop, Msgr. François Touvet announced, on behalf of Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung Sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, that the decree of 28 April 2022 postponing ordinations had now been revoked. The pending ordinations will therefore be able to resume, to the great relief of the fourteen seminarians, future priests and deacons, who have been uncertain about their fate for many months.
A first celebration of ordinations will take place on Sunday, January 21st, 2024, at 3.30pm in Toulon Cathedral. A second round of ordinations is scheduled to take place in the following months, at a date currently unknown.
