Didier Berthet - Misplaced Pages

French Roman Catholic prelate (1962–2023)

His Excellency Didier Berthet
Bishop of Saint-Dié
Berthet in 2019
Metropolis	Besançon
Appointed	15 June 2016
Term ended	8 September 2023
Predecessor	Jean-Paul Mathieu
Successor	Vacant
Orders
Ordination	27 June 1992
Consecration	4 September 2016 by Jean-Luc Bouilleret
Personal details
Born	(1962-06-11)11 June 1962 Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Died	8 September 2023(2023-09-08) (aged 61) Portieux, Vosges, France
Alma mater	Sciences Po Pontifical Gregorian University

Didier Berthet (11 June 1962 – 8 September 2023) was a French Roman Catholic prelate who was bishop of Saint-Dié from June 2016 until his death. Raised as a Protestant, Berthet converted to the Catholic Church as a young adult after attending an event when Pope John Paul II was present in France in 1980. He was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nanterre in 1992 and in 2016 was named bishop of Saint-Dié.

Biography

Conversion and Training

Didier Barthet was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine to a Roman Catholic father and a Calvinist Protestant mother. He was baptized in the Reformed Church of France, receiving a Calvinist education. As a teenager, he attended the Saint Jean Hulst Catholic College in Versailles (1975–1980). At the end of high school, wishing to become a pastor, he reflected on what the Church is and came to the idea that the Catholic Church is apostolic, heir to the faith and succession of the apostles. In 1980, while Pope John Paul II was in France, he took part in a meeting with young people and discovered "the mystery of the Church around , as a successor of Saint Peter and his person being the guarantor of a Church that comes from the origins of a universal Church". While studying at Sciences Po (1980–1983), he finally converted to Catholicism in 1983. He then entered the French seminary of Rome (1987–1993) and the Gregorian University of Rome (1987–1993), where he obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Theology (1991) and a Bachelor's degree in Canon Law (1993).

Major departments

Roman Catholic Diocese of Nanterre

Ordained priest on 27 June 1992, for the diocese of Nanterre, Father Berthet worked in the cities of Rueil-Malmaison, Antony, Nanterre and Issy-les-Moulineaux.

In Rueil-Malmaison (1993–1998), he was curate of the parish of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul, responsible for the chaplaincy of public education, and parish priest of St. Joseph of Buzenval.

In Antony (1998–2006), he was parish priest of Saint-Saturnin (1998–2005); in charge of the accompaniment of seminarians (2001–2003); Episcopal Vicar of the South Sector of Nanterre (2003–2006), Member of the Episcopal Council and parish priest of Sainte-Maxime (2005–2006).

Berthet became chancellor of the diocese of Nanterre, a member of the Episcopal Council and the animator team of the Seminary Saint-Sulpice in Issy-les-Moulineaux (2006-2007), before becoming its superior (2007–2016).

Bishop of Saint Die

Named bishop of Saint-Dié on 15 June 2016 by Pope Francis, his episcopal consecration took place on 4 September 2016, by the Archbishop of Besancon Jean-Luc Bouilleret, assisted by the Bishop Emeritus of Saint Die Jean-Paul Mathieu (whom he succeeded) and the Bishop of Nanterre Michel Aupetit (his former supervisor). It is also engaged in ecumenical dialogue with the Eastern Orthodox Churches.