Jean-Marie Speich

His Excellency, the Most Reverend
Jean-Marie Speich
Apostolic nuncio to Ghana
Appointed 17 August 2013
Predecessor Archbishop León Badikebele Kalenga
Other posts Titular archbishop of Sulci
Orders
Ordination 9 October 1982
Consecration 24 October 2013
by Pope Francis
Personal details
Birth name Jean-Marie Speich
Born (1955-06-15) 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
History
Diaconal ordination
Date 26 June 1982
Priestly ordination
Ordained by Bishop Léon Arthur Elchinger, Bishop of Strasbourg.
Date 9 October 1982
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecrator Pope Francis
Co-consecrators
  • *Archbishop Giovanni Tonucci, Archbishop-Prelate of Loreto
  • Archbishop Jean-Pierre Grallet, O.F.M., Archbishop of Strasbourg
Date 24 October 2013

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 Abbaye Saint-Louis-du-Temple at Vauhallan.

Speich was ordained to the priesthood on 9 October 1982,[1] by Bishop Léon Arthur Elchinger. 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

Coat of arms and motto

Coat of Arms of the maternal family of Archbishop Jean -Marie Speich.

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".

Honours

Ecclesiastical

Others

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Archbishop León Badikebele Kalenga		 Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana – August 17, 2013 Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by
Archbishop George Antonysamy		 Titular Archbishop of Sulci – August 17, 2013 incumbent

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Rinunce e nomine, 17.08.2013". Bollettino (in Italian) (B0528). Vatican City: Holy See Press Office. 2013-08-17. Archived from the original on 2013-12-02.
  2. ↑ Cf. Annuario Pontificio (2012), p. 1313.
  3. ↑ Bollettino della Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, Rinunce e nomine (B0116), 22 febbraio 2013.
  4. ↑ GCatholic.org
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ "Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica: Ex-alunni 1950–1999". vatican.va. Vatican City. Archived from the original on 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
  7. 1 2 "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. 2010-01-06. Archived from the original on 2015-08-20. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
  8. ↑ Annuario Pontificio (2009), p. 1181;Annuario Pontificio (2013), p. 1149.
  9. ↑ Annuario Pontificio (2014), p. 1309.
  10. ↑ 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. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 – via gl.ch. ; 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). Truchtersheim, FR: Association des amis du Kochersberg (65): 26–32. ISSN 0243-2498.
  11. ↑ Charles d'Hozier, Armorial général de France, 1701, volume Alsace, p. 1038, Bibliothèque nationale de Paris.
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