Jean-Marc Aveline was born on 26 December 1958 in Sidi Bel Abbès, in the diocese of Oran, Algeria; his family moved to Marseille in 1966, and he grew up in the Saint-Barthélemy neighborhood, where his father worked for the railway. After studies at the Lycée Thiers, he entered the interdiocesan seminary of Avignon in 1977 and then the Séminaire des Carmes in Paris, earning a doctorate in theology at the Institut Catholique de Paris in 2000 and a licentiate in philosophy from the Sorbonne. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Marseille on 3 November 1984 and spent his ministry in that city: teaching theology, serving as episcopal vicar for ongoing formation (1987–2007), heading the diocesan vocations service (1991–1996), and becoming vicar general in 2007. From 2008 to 2012 he was a consultor of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
In 1992 he founded the Institut de sciences et de théologie des religions (ISTR) in Marseille and directed it for a decade; from 1995 to 2013 he directed the Institut Saint-Jean, which became the Institut Catholique de la Méditerranée in 1998. On 19 December 2013 Pope Francis appointed him titular bishop of Simidicca and auxiliary bishop of Marseille; he received episcopal ordination on 26 January 2014. On 8 August 2019 Pope Francis appointed him Metropolitan Archbishop of Marseille, and he was installed on 15 September 2019.
Pope Francis created him a cardinal in the consistory of 27 August 2022, assigning him the titular church of Santa Maria ai Monti. A leading voice on migration and the Mediterranean, he hosted Pope Francis and the Mediterranean Meetings (Rencontres méditerranéennes) in Marseille in September 2023 and has proposed a churchwide Mediterranean ecclesial conference. He is a member of the Dicasteries for Bishops, for Clergy, for Interreligious Dialogue and for Evangelization. Elected president of the Bishops' Conference of France in April 2025, he took office on 1 July 2025. He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.
Consequential Quotes
We must understand how the church can contribute to efforts for justice and peace in this region.
Because God has entered into dialogue with humanity, the church's mission is also to enter into dialogue.
À Marseille, on sait d’expérience que l’identité ne peut se construire sans altérité, qu’il peut y avoir du bonheur à s’ouvrir à l’autre et qu’une rencontre partagée à hauteur de visage procure de la joie.
Depuis vingt-six siècles, Marseille n’a cessé d’accueillir des femmes et des hommes venant de divers peuples des autres rives : Phocéens, Grecs, Arméniens, Italiens, Pieds-Noirs, Maghrébins, Comoriens, et bien d’autres encore. Ensemble, ils sont devenus les artisans d’une mosaïque, dont la diversité fait la beauté.
Major Works & Initiatives
Founder and director of the Institut de sciences et de théologie des religions (ISTR), Marseille
Founded the Institute of Sciences and Theology of Religions (ISTR) in Marseille in 1992 and directed it until 2002, making the multicultural port city a center for the study of interreligious dialogue.
Director of the Institut Catholique de la Méditerranée
Directed the Institut Saint-Jean from 1995 to 2013; in 1998 it became the Institut Catholique de la Méditerranée, associated with the Faculty of Theology of Lyon.
Dieu a tant aimé le monde: petite théologie de la mission
Book setting out his theology of mission — mission, revelation, Judaism and the Church's catholicity; published by Éditions du Cerf, Paris (158 pp.); Italian edition published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana and presented in Rome on 2 May 2024.
President of the Bishops' Conference of France
Elected by the French bishops in April 2025 and took office on 1 July 2025, succeeding Éric de Moulins-Beaufort as head of the Conférence des évêques de France.
Controversies
On the record
No significant public controversies reported.