Jean-Marie Speich
 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (July 2015) |
His Excellency, the Most Reverend Jean-Marie Speich | |
|---|---|
| Apostolic nuncio to Ghana | |
 | |
| Appointed | 17 August 2013 |
| Predecessor | Archbishop León Badikebele Kalenga |
| Other post(s) | Titular archbishop of Sulci |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 9 October 1982 |
| Consecration | 24 October 2013 by Pope Francis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jean-Marie Speich 15 June 1955 Strasbourg, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Alma mater | |
| Motto | WI I KAN (As I can) |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Styles of Jean-Marie Speich | |
|---|---|
| |
| Reference style | His Excellency |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Archbishop |
Ordination history of Jean-Marie Speich | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Jean-Marie Speich is a prelate of the Catholic Church. He is Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana and titular archbishop of Sulci. Archbishop Speich was appointed to his present diplomatic post by Pope Francis, on 17 August 2013,[1] to succeed Archbishop León Badikebele Kalenga.[2][3] He is the fourth Apostolic Nuncio and the ninth Papal Representative to Ghana.[4] He was born on 15 June 1955 in Strasbourg, France, to his father, Xavier Speich, and mother, Marie Thérèse Goetz – residents of Willgottheim (Bas-Rhin).[5] Andrée Speich, his sister, is a cloistered Benedictine nun in fr.[citation needed]
Speich was ordained to the priesthood on 9 October 1982,[1] by Bishop Léon Arthur Elchinger.[citation needed] From 1982 to 1984, he served as assistant pastor at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in the Archdiocese of Strasbourg. Later, he was sent to study in Rome and to join the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, where he was among the members of Class 1984,[6] After finishing his training at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1986, he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, having been assigned to Apostolic Nunciatures of the Holy See in Haiti, Nigeria, Bolivia, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Egypt, Spain and Cuba.[1]
In May 2008, he was given responsibility at the Secretariat of State in Rome, as Head Officer of the Section for French-speaking Countries.[1][7]
Speich speaks Italian, English, German, and Spanish, as well as his native Alsatian and French languages.[1] He can also read Portuguese, Flemish, Latin and Greek. His academic credentials include, among others, a doctorate degree in Canon Law, and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (with specialization in Dogma), both from the Pontifical Gregorian University.[1]
Diplomatic assignments
- 2008 – 2013: Head of the Francophone Section of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See[8]
- 2013 – present: Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana[9]
Coat of arms and motto
Speich family coat of arms dates back to the first half of the 13th century (around 1241), and is well-known among the Swiss heraldic circles.[10] The blason of the arms is as follows:
- (German)
- "In Silber über grünem Dreiberg steigender gebildeter goldener Mond, uberhöht von goldenem Kreuz",
- (French)
- "D'argent à la croix d'or alésée à pal brochant la fasce en chef sur la lune croissante d'or figurée en abîme,le tout sur trois pointes de montagne sinople".
The coat of arms of Archbishop Speich's maternal family (Goetz or Götz), on the other hand, was granted by the French King Louis XIV (1697).[11] It is blasoned as follows :
- "D'argent à un coeur de gueule surmontė d'un chicot de sinople posé en pal, et accosté de quatre étoiles de gueule en flancs et deux en pointe".
Speich assumed the motto of Speich Family of Strasbourg, which has been in use since 1415. This motto "Wi I Kan", which is in Alemannic German and which Speich prefers to be excluded from his ecclesiastical coat of arms (in line with his family tradition), means "As I can".[citation needed]
Honours
Ecclesiastical
Chaplain of His Holiness, 15 October 1988.
Honorary Prelate of His Holiness, 10 November 1998.
Others
National Order of Honour and Merit of Haiti, Commander, 2 August 1989.
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Commander, 24 February 1999.
Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Conventual Chaplain ad honorem, 24 June 2006.
Legion of Honor of the Republic of France, Knight, 1 January 2010.[7]
Dynastic Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus of the House of Savoy, Grand Officer, 14 September 2013.
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Rinunce e nomine, 17.08.2013". Bollettino (in Italian). No. B0528. Vatican City: Holy See Press Office. 17 August 2013. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Cf. Annuario Pontificio (2012), p. 1313.
- ^ Bollettino della Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, Rinunce e nomine (B0116), 22 febbraio 2013.
- ^ GCatholic.org
- ^ Cf. Pays d'Alsace, Willgottheim Woellenheim, Deux villages du Kochersberg, Société d'Histoire et d'Archéologie de Saverne et environs, No. 120 -123 (1982-1983), ISSN 0245-8411.
- ^ "Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica: Ex-alunni 1950–1999". vatican.va. Vatican City. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Mgr Speich reçoit la Légion d'Honneur". eglise.catholique.fr (in French). Paris: Église catholique en France. Édité par la Conférence des évêques de France. 6 January 2010. Archived from the original on 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Annuario Pontificio (2009), p. 1181;Annuario Pontificio (2013), p. 1149.
- ^ Annuario Pontificio (2014), p. 1309.
- ^ Wild, Samuel (1902). Wappen der am Schlusse des 19. Jahrhundert lebenden Bürger-Geschlechter des Kantons Glarus. Sorgfältigst zusammengetragen und dargestellt nach Wappenbüchern älterer und neuerer Zeit, sowie nach Sigillen und Pettschaften (in German). Glarus http://www.gl.ch/xml_1/internet/de/application/d1256/d33/d106/d107/f1732.cfm – via gl.ch.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link); Gottfried Heer, Zur Geschichte glarnerischer Geschlechter, derjenigen des Serftales insbesondere. Allerlei Bilder aus vergangenen Tagen, Ed. Rud. Tschudy, Glarus, 1920; JMS (Summer 2012). "[s.n.]". Kocherschbari (in French) (65). Truchtersheim, FR: Association des amis du Kochersberg: 26–32. ISSN 0243-2498. - ^ Charles d'Hozier, Armorial général de France, 1701, volume Alsace, p. 1038, Bibliothèque nationale de Paris.
