François Robert Bacqué (; 2 September 1936 – 9 November 2023) was a French

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

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 spent his career in 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 ...

, fulfilling several assignments as an

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

Biography

François Robert Bacqué was born in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, France, on 2 September 1936 and ordained a priest of the

Archdiocese of Bordeaux The Archdiocese of Bordeaux (–Bazas) (Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Lati ...

on 1 October 1966. He completed a year of pastoral work at the parish of Notre-Dame d'Arcachon. Bacqué studied in Rome, Paris, and Toulouse, earning degrees in canon law and political science, and completed the course of studies at 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 1967 and entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1969. His early assignments included stints in the papal representatives' offices in China (1967–72), the Netherlands (1972–75), and Chile (1975–78); in Rome at the Secretariat of State and as a member of the Council for Public Affairs of the Church (1978–83); and then at the apostolic nunciatures in Portugal (1981–85) and Scandinavia (1985–88). In Chile he served under the nuncio

Angelo Sodano Angelo Raffaele Sodano (23 November 1927 – 27 May 2022) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the Dean of the College of Cardinals from 2005 to 2019 and previously as the Cardinal Secretary of State from 1991 to 2006; S ...

, later Secretary of State, during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Bacqué defended Sodano's record there, noting that the nunciature sheltered about thirty political refugees.

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 ...

appointed him

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 Gradisca and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

on 17 June 1988. He received his episcopal consecration on 3 September 1988 from Cardinal

Agostino Casaroli Agostino Casaroli (24 November 1914 – 9 June 1998) was an Italian Catholic priest and diplomat for the Holy See, who became Cardinal Secretary of State. He was an important figure behind the Vatican's efforts to deal with the religious persec ...

, the Secretary of State. Pope John Paul named him Apostolic Nuncio to 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 ...

on 7 June 1994 and on 27 February 2001 Apostolic Nuncio to the Netherlands. Bacqué retired upon the appointment of his successor in the Netherlands,

André Dupuy André Pierre Louis Dupuy (; born 13 February 1940) is a French prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1974 to 2015. Biography André Pierre Louis Dupuy was born on 13 February 1940 in Sousto ...

, on 15 December 2011. He died in Rome on 9 November, at the age of 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacque, François Robert 1936 births 2023 deaths Clergy from Bordeaux Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Apostolic nuncios to Sri Lanka Apostolic nuncios to the Dominican Republic Apostolic nuncios to the Netherlands French expatriates in Italy French expatriates in China French expatriates in the Netherlands French expatriates in Chile French expatriates in Portugal French expatriates in Sri Lanka Officers of the Legion of Honour Grand Officers of the Order of Prince Henry Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders of the Order of Christ (Portugal) French Roman Catholic titular archbishops

Biography

See also

References