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François-Xavier Bustillo

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His Eminence

François-Xavier Bustillo

OFMConv
Cardinal
Bishop of Ajaccio
Bustillo in 2021
ChurchCatholic Church
DioceseAjaccio
Appointed11 May 2021
Installed13 June 2021
PredecessorOlivier de Germay
Other post(s)Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria Immacolata di Lourdes a Boccea (2023-)
Orders
Ordination10 September 1994
Consecration13 June 2021
by Jean-Marc Aveline
Created cardinal30 September 2023
by Pope Francis
RankCardinal Priest
Personal details
Born
François-Xavier Bustillo

(1968-11-23) 23 November 1968 (age 56)
Pamplona, Spain
NationalityFrench,[1][dubious – discuss] Spanish
Alma materCatholic University of Toulouse
MottoIn ipso vita erat
Coat of armsFrançois-Xavier Bustillo's coat of arms

François-Xavier Bustillo OFMConv (born 23 November 1968) is a French Catholic prelate of Spanish origin who has been the Bishop of Ajaccio in Corsica since 2021. He is a member of the Conventual Franciscans.

Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 30 September 2023. He is the subject of controversy[2] due to his ties with Daniel Marie Thévenet.

Biography

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François-Xavier Bustillo was born on 23 November 1968 in Pamplona in Navarre, Spain,[3] the eldest of four children.[4] He entered the minor seminary of Baztan, Navarre, and then joined the Order of Conventual Franciscans in Padua, Italy, where he completed his work in philosophy and theology at the Istituto Teologico Sant'Antonio Dottore. He earned a licentiate in theology at the Catholic University of Toulouse in 1997. He professed his vows as a Franciscan on 20 September 1992 and was ordained a priest on 10 September 1994.[3]

In 1994 he was one of the Franciscans who reestablished the Convent of Saint Bonaventure in Narbonne, France, which was founded in 1260 and abandoned in 1934. Their mission was to evangelize a region that had been de-Christianized.[4] From 2006 to 2018 he was Provincial Custos of the Conventual Franciscans for France and Belgium, and from 2005 to 2018 carried out his ministry in the diocese of Carcassonne-Narbonne, serving as a parish priest, as a member of the diocesan council from 2007 to 2018, as episcopal vicar for a region of the diocese, and as diocesan delegate for new spirituality movements and for interreligious dialogue from 2012 to 2018. From 2018 to 2021 he was appointed guardian of the convent of Saint-Maximilien-Kolbe in Lourdes, France.[3]

On 11 May 2021, Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Ajaccio.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on 13 June in the cathedral in Ajaccio from Jean-Marc Aveline, Archbishop of Marseilles.[5]

In February 2022, after Paris-Match reported that Bustillo was one of the leading candidates for the position of Archbishop of Paris, he said he had not been contacted and that it was not Church practice to move a bishop so soon. It said it would be "unfair": "Paris needs a man of experience. What I really want is to be here, with you and for you."[6]

In April 2022, Pope Francis gave an Italian-language version of Bustillo's book Witnesses, Not Officials to each of the priests attending the Chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on Holy Thursday.[7][8]

On 9 July 2023, Pope Francis announced he plans to make him a cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 30 September.[9] He is the first bishop of his diocese to be named a cardinal.[10][a] At that consistory he was made cardinal priest of Santa Maria Immacolata di Lourdes a Boccea.[11]

Controversies

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In September 2023, the French Catholic magazine Golias published an investigation titled "The Strange Friends of Neo-Cardinal Bustillo".[12] The investigation sheds light on charismatic and mystico-spiritual deviations attributed to Brother Daniel-Marie Thevenet. Cardinal Bustillo is particularly implicated in this matter, as he is one of the three co-founders of the order at the Narbonne convent, alongside Daniel-Marie Thevenet. The magazine therefore suggests that the cardinal could not ignore these deviations, given his close relationship with the latter.

Furthermore, according to Golias, during his tenure as custodian of his community, a youth group affiliated with the community traveled to Syria during the civil war in regions under the control of the Bashar al-Assad regime. This trip was organized and publicized by the association "SOS Chrétiens d'Orient", an organization that had already been questioned by the Church even before the trip took place.[13] The NGO is the subject of a preliminary investigation for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes, opened by the French National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office.[14]

Publications

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  • La fraternità pasquale. Raccontare la vita comunitaria, in Memoria e profezia, EMP, 2013, ISBN 978-8825033953
  • La vocation du prêtre face aux crises: La fidélité créatrice, Bruyères-le-Châtel, Éditions Nouvelle Cité, 2021, ISBN 978-2-37582-242-5

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In the 17th century, Giovanni Stefano Donghi was already a cardinal when named bishop of Ajaccio.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Qui est Mgr François-Xavier Bustillo, nouveau cardinal français?". Famille Chrétienne (in French). 7 October 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  2. ^ Alain, BOURDEAU (2023-09-13). "783. Golias Hebdo n° 783 (Version papier)". Éditions Golias (in French). Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  3. ^ a b c d "Rinunce e nomine, 11.05.2021" (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b Henning, Christophe (13 May 2021). "A Spanish Franciscan is the new bishop of French Corsica". La Croix. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Monseigneur François-Xavier Bustillo a été ordonné évêque du diocèse d'Ajaccio pour la Corse". Corse Net Infos (in French). 13 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  6. ^ Padovani, Ghjilormu (25 February 2022). "Archevêque de Paris : le nom de Mgr Bustillo circule au Vatican?". Corse Matin (in French). Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Pope Francis gives a book to priests present at Chrism Mass". Vatican News. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  8. ^ Bustillo, François-Xavier (2022). Testimoni, non funzionari. Il sacerdote dentro il cambiamento d'epoca (in Italian). Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
  9. ^ "Le parole del Papa alla recita dell'Angelus, 09.07.2023" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  10. ^ a b Frias, Roland; Giudicelli, Christophe (9 July 2023). "L'Evêque de Corse Mgr Bustillo parmi les 21 nouveaux Cardinaux créés par le Pape François" (in French). France Bleu. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Assignation of Titles and Deaconries to the new Cardinals, 30.09.2023" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 30 September 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  12. ^ Golias (2023-09-15). "Les étranges amis du néo-cardinal Bustillo". Éditions Golias (in French). Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  13. ^ "Que reproche l'Église de France à l'association SOS Chrétiens d'Orient ?". La Croix (in French). 2017-11-09. ISSN 0242-6056. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  14. ^ "L'association SOS Chrétiens d'Orient visée par une enquête pour complicité de crimes de guerre". La Croix (in French). 2022-02-18. ISSN 0242-6056. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Ajaccio
2021– 		Incumbent
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