Jean Clément Marie Gérard Joseph Françoise Georges Laffitte (born 5 May 1952) is 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 ...

. A bishop since 2009, he has had an academic career and served in several positions in the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

. He has been

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

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 ...

since 4 July 2015.

Biography

Laffitte was born on 5 May 1952 in

Oloron-Sainte-Marie Oloron-Sainte-Marie (; ; ) is a commune in the southwestern French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. History The town was founded by the Romans in the 1st century, then known as ''Illoronensium''. Situated on the Roman way between the ...

, France. He attended the

Toulouse 1 University Capitole Toulouse Capitole University (, ) is a public university in Toulouse, France. It is one of the three universities of the city of Toulouse, in southwestern France. The university, presided by Hugues Kenfack, focuses on social sciences, law, polit ...

, graduating with a degree in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

in 1973. He was also educated at the Universities of Cambridge in 1979 and

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

in 1980. In 1984 he entered 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 ...

in Rome where he read philosophy and theology at 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 ...

, receiving the

degrees Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a two- to five-year undergraduate degree or graduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically (but not exclusively) pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, de ...

and

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

in 1988. He was ordained as a priest on 2 July 1989 in the

diocese of Autun The Diocese of Autun (–Chalon-sur-Saône–Mâcon–Cluny) (Latin: ''Diocesis Aeduensis'', ''Dioecesis Augustodunensis (–Cabillonensis–Matisconensis–Cluniacensis)''; French: ''Diocèse d'Autun (–Chalon-sur-Saône–Mâcon–Cluny)''), m ...

and is a member of the Community of Emmanuel. He pursued further studies at the

Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family The John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences is a Catholic pontifical institute of theological studies on marriage and family with affiliated campuses around the world. Its main headquarters is in Rome. ...

and earned a doctorate in

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics" A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfyin ...

. From 1994 to 2009 he taught at the Institute as a professor of conjugal ethics, anthropology and spirituality. From 1999 to 2001, he served as its Vice-Dean. He has also taught at the

Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

. Beginning in 2003 he was a consultor of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

. On 28 January 2005, he became Deputy Secretary of the

Pontifical Council for the Family The Pontifical Council for the Family was a pontifical council of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church from 1981 to 2016. It was established by Pope John Paul II on 9 May 1981 with his motu proprio ''Familia a Deo Instituta'', replacing the Com ...

, before being named Vice-President of the

Pontifical Academy for Life The Pontifical Academy for Life or Pontificia Accademia per la Vita is a Pontifical Academy of the Catholic Church dedicated to promoting the Church's consistent life ethic. It also does related research on bioethics and Catholic moral theology. ...

on 24 January 2006. He was appointed Secretary of the

and

Titular Bishop 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 ...

Entrevaux Entrevaux (; ) is a Communes of France, commune (municipality), former episcopal seat (not bishopric in title; that remained the Diocese of Glandèves) and Latin Catholic titular see in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Departments of France, departme ...

on 22 October 2009. Laffitte was consecrated as a bishop on 12 December 2009 by Cardinal

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican City, Vatican diplomat. A Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as S ...

, SDB. His work as Secretary ended when that body ceased its operations on 1 September 2015 and its operations were merged into the new

Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life is a dicastery of the Roman Curia. Pope Francis announced its creation on 15 August 2016, effective 1 September 2016. It took over the functions and responsibilities of the Pontifical Council for the Lai ...

. On 7 April 2015

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 ...

appointed him

of the

to succeed

Angelo Acerbi Angelo Acerbi (born 23 September 1925) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who has been an archbishop since 1974 and a cardinal since 2024. He served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See as the Apostolic Nuncio to New Zealand, th ...

Writings

* ''The Choice of the Family: A Call to Wholeness, Abundant Life, and Enduring Happiness''. New York: Image Books, 2015. * "The Sacramental Reality of Human Love". In ''Not Just Good, but Beautiful: The Complimentary Relationship Between Men and Women'', edited by Steven Lopes. Walden, NY: Plough Publishing, 2015.

Notes

References

External links

The Order of Malta: Religious superior of the Order of Malta clergy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laffitte, Jean 1952 births Living people People from Oloron-Sainte-Marie Alumni of the University of Cambridge Toulouse 1 University Capitole alumni University of Salamanca alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Pontifical Council for the Family Officials of the Roman Curia French Roman Catholic titular bishops 21st-century French Roman Catholic bishops French expatriates in Spain French expatriates in the United Kingdom French expatriates in Italy Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI