Alain Paul Charles Lebeaupin (2 March 1945 – 24 June 2021) was a French prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who joined the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

in 1979 and was the Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union from 2012 to 2020.

Early life

Lebeaupin was born in Paris on 2 March 1945 and was ordained a priest on 28 June 1975 for the

Diocese of Nice The Diocese of Nice (Latin: ''Dioecesis Nicensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Nice'') is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the Department of Alpes-Maritimes. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Ma ...

after studying at the

Pontifical French Seminary The Pontifical French Seminary (La. ''Pontificium Seminarium Gallicum'', Fr.: ''Séminaire Pontifical Français'', It. ''Pontificio'' ''Seminario Francese'') is a Roman College dedicated to training French-speaking Roman Catholic priests. Histor ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He held a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in Civil Law and

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

s in

Canon Law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

and

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Career

To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (, ) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic corps and the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. Despite its name, the P ...

in 1977. He entered the

diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

of the

in 1979. His first appointments were to the Holy See Observer Mission to the United Nations in New York (1979–1982), the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

(1982-1985), and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

(1985–1989). Lebeaupin then worked in Rome in the offices of the Secretariat of State and served at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE -

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

) from 1989 to 1998. On 27 March 1996, Archbishop Lebeaupin was named ''

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

'' of the Apostolic Nunciature to the European Union as well. On 7 December 1998, he was named

titular archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Vico Equense and appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Ecuador. He was consecrated a bishop by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 6 January 1999. On 14 January 2005, Lebeaupin was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

and the

United Nations Human Settlements Programme The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1977 as an outcome of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settle ...

(UN-Habitat). On 23 June 2012,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union. Having turned 75 years of age in March 2020, Lebeaupin tendered his resignation as required under

1983 Code of Canon Law The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of Ecclesiastical Law, ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the sec ...

which

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

accepted on 16 November 2020. On 27 February 2021, he was appointed a consultor of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State.

Death

He died late on the night of 23 June 2021 in Rome from a heart attack. His death was announced by the Vatican the next day.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Alain Paul Charles Lebeaupin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebeaupin, Alain Paul Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni French Roman Catholic archbishops 1945 births 2021 deaths Roman Catholic titular archbishops French Roman Catholic titular archbishops Apostolic nuncios to Ecuador Apostolic nuncios to Kenya Apostolic nuncios to the European Union Permanent Observers of the Holy See to UNEP and UN-HABITAT Clergy from Paris

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References

External links