Jean-Marie Speich (born 15 June 1955) is 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 works 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 ...

Biography

Speich was born on 15 June 1955 in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, to Xavier Speich and Marie Thérèse Goetz, residents of Willgottheim (

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

). His sister Andrée Speich is a cloistered Benedictine nun. Speich was ordained to the priesthood on 9 October 1982, by Bishop Léon Arthur Elchinger. From 1982 to 1984, he served as assistant pastor at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in the

Archdiocese of Strasbourg The Archdiocese of Strasbourg (; ; ; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France, first mentioned in 343 AD. It is one of nine archbishoprics in France that has no suffragan dioceses. It is the o ...

. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1984.

Diplomatic career

He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 1 July 1986 and was assigned to Apostolic Nunciatures of the Holy See in Haiti, Nigeria, Bolivia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Spain and Cuba. On 27 March 2008, he became head of the section for French-speaking countries at the Secretariat of State. Speich's academic degrees include a doctorate in canon law, and a licentiate in sacred theology, both from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

. On 17 August 2013,

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 ...

named Speich Apostolic Nuncio to

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

and

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 ...

Sulci Sulci or Sulki (in Greek , Stephanus of Byzantium, Steph. B., Ptolemy, Ptol.; , Strabo; , Pausanias (geographer), Paus.), was one of the most considerable cities of ancient Sardinia, situated in the southwest corner of the island, on a small isla ...

. He received his episcopal consecration from Pope Francis on 24 October. On 19 March 2019, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Slovenia and Apostolic Delegate to Kosovo. On 12 April 2025, Pope Francis appointed him as nuncio to

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The Speich family coat of arms dates to the first half of the 13th century. Speich assumed the motto of Speich family of Strasbourg, which has been in use since 1415. This motto, "", which is in

Alemannic German Alemannic, or rarely Alemannish (''Alemannisch'', ), is a group of High German dialects. The name derives from the ancient Germanic tribal confederation known as the Alemanni ("all men"). Distribution Alemannic dialects are spoken by approxi ...

and means "As I can".

Honours

;Ecclesiastical * External Ornaments of a Chaplain of His Holiness

Chaplain of His Holiness Chaplain of His Holiness is a title of distinction given by the Pope in recognition of a priest's service to the Church. They are addressed with the honorific of "Monsignor" and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and ve ...

, 15 October 1988. * External Ornaments of a Domestic Prelate

Honorary Prelate A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor (typically abbreviated 'Mgr') and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.

of His Holiness, 10 November 1998. ;Others * National Order of Honour and Merit of Haiti, Commander, 2 August 1989. * GER Bundesverdienstkreuz 4 GrVK

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

, Commander, 24 February 1999. * SMOM-c

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

, Conventual Chaplain ''ad honorem'', 24 June 2006. * Legion Honneur Chevalier ribbon

Legion of Honor of the Republic of France, Knight, 1 January 2010. * Grande ufficiale SSML BAR

Dynastic Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus of the House of Savoy, Grand Officer, 14 September 2013.

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