Pope Leo XIV has appointed Martial Bernard, a priest of the diocese of Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes, where he served as vicar general and moderator of the curia, as bishop of Soissons, Laon and Saint-Quentin in northern France. The appointment was made public on Saturday, October 31, in the bulletin of the Holy See Press Office. At 48 years old, EWTN News presents him as the youngest bishop in France.
Bernard succeeds Renauld de Dinechin, who was transferred in September 2025 to the diocese of Luçon, leaving the see of Soissons without its own pastor for approximately one year. According to the press release from the French Episcopal Conference, the episcopal ordination will take place on Sunday, December 20, at 3:00 p.m., in the Cathedral of Saints Gervasius and Protasius in Soissons.
A priest trained in Issy-les-Moulineaux and Louvain-la-Neuve
Martial Bernard was born on January 26, 1978, in Bourg-la-Reine, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, and was ordained a priest on June 25, 2005, in the Cathedral of Évry for the diocese of Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes. He trained at the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Issy-les-Moulineaux and at the Seminary of Saint Paul in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, and holds a licentiate in theology with a specialization in catechetical and practical theology. During his formation, he also completed an internship at the municipal conservatory of Viry-Châtillon, according to the biography released by the French bishops.
His entire ministry has been carried out in the diocese of Évry. After his ordination, he joined the pastoral team of the Brétigny sector, which he led from 2009 to 2014, and served as diocesan delegate for vocations and for the pastoral care of altar servers. Later, he worked in the pastoral sector of Évry from 2014 to 2018, and between 2015 and 2018 he served as episcopal vicar for the diocesan direction of Catholic education.
Vicar general since 2018 and responsible for seminarians
In 2018 he was appointed vicar general, a position he held at the time of his episcopal election. Between 2018 and 2025, he was also diocesan delegate for the formation of seminarians and an ex officio member of the diocesan commission for sacred art. Previously, he had served as secretary general and member of the presbyteral council from 2012 to 2015, and as a member of the board of trustees for Catholic education.