Pierre Bürcher (; born 20 December 1945) is a Swiss
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 ...
. He was
Bishop of Reykjavík,
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
, from 2007 to 2015. He served as apostolic administrator of the
diocese of Chur between 2019 and 2021.
Biography
Pierre Bürcher was born on 20 December 1945 in
Fiesch
Fiesch is a municipality in the district of Goms in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Nearby Fiescheralp is administered by Fiesch and is accessible by the Eggishorn lift.
It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site for its view o ...
,
Valais
Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...
. He was ordained a priest on 27 March 1971. After filling a variety of pastoral assignments, he spent the year 1989–90 studying clerical formation and then became rector of the major seminary of the Lausanne Diocese from 1990 to 1994.
[
On 3 February 1994, ]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 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 ...
of Maximiana in Byzacena and auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions.
...
of the Diocese of Lausanne, Genève and Fribourg. He received his episcopal consecration on 12 March.[ His tenure as episcopal vicar for the ]Canton of Vaud
Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms bears the motto "Liberté et patrie" on a white-green bicolou ...
was marked by a longstanding dispute about personnel as the authorities with financial control did not support the staffing his pastoral program required. The bishop of the Diocese eventually relieved him of his responsibilities for the Canton.
On 30 October 2007, 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 Bishop of Reykjavík.Congregation for the Oriental Churches
The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named the Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches (), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible f ...
in 2004, and Pope Francis confirmed his membership for another five-year term in 2014. In 2010 he participated in the Synod of Bishops on the Church in the Middle East.[
]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 his resignation on 18 September 2015, at the age of 69, because of health problems linked to volcanic dust. In retirement he lived in Jerusalem and spent part of the year accompanying pilgrimages.
See also
* Roman Catholicism in Iceland
* Christianity in Iceland
References
External links
Roman Catholic Church in Iceland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burcher, Pierre
21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Switzerland
21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Iceland
1945 births
Living people
Roman Catholic bishops of Reykjavík