Today, Tuesday May 11, 2021, at noon, the Holy See officially announced Pope Francis’ appointment of our confrere, Friar François BUSTILLO as the Bishop of Ajaccio, on the island of Corsica, France. Friar François was the former Custos of the Provincial Custody of St. Bonaventure in France-Belgium.
Friar François, 52, was born in Pamplona, Spain, on November 23, 1968. In 1979, he entered our minor seminary in Elizondo, Spain. He carried out his novitiate year from 1986 to 1987 and studied philosophy and theology in Padua from 1987 to 1992. He completed his theology studies at the Institut Catholique in Toulouse, France, where he obtained a licentiate in theology. He professed his simple vows on September 12, 1987, his solemn vows on September 20, 1992 and was ordained to the priesthood on September 10, 1994.
Friar François was part of the “France Project” initiated by Minister General Lanfranco SERRINI in Narbonne (southern France). From 1994 to 2002, Friar François served as the Vicar Guardian of the friary. From 2002 to 2006, he served as the Guardian and Pastor. From 2006 to 2018, he served as the Custos of France-Belgium, and from 2007 to 2018, he served as the Episcopal Vicar of the Diocese of Carcassonne-Narbonne, France.
Since 2018, he has served as the Guardian of the friary in Lourdes (Diocese of Tarbes-Lourdes, France). In addition, he has been a member of the Episcopal Council and the Episcopal Delegate for the protection of minors and vulnerable people.
Friar François will be ordained a bishop in Ajaccio by the Most Reverend Jean-Marc AVELINE, Archbishop of Marseille, France, on June 13, 2021. The Diocese of Ajaccio has about 350,000 inhabitants and is deeply connected with Franciscan spirituality.
We wish our confrere all the best and abundant blessings on his new service to the Church in France.
Office of Communications
