Diocesan Administrator of Algeria’s Constantine Catholic Diocese Appointed Bishop

Constantine, 11 July, 2025 / 8:47 PM

Pope Leo XIV has appointed the Diocesan Administrator of Constantine Catholic Diocese in Algeria the Local Ordinary of the same Episcopal See.

The appointment of Mons. Michel Guillaud as Bishop was made public by the Holy See Press Office on Friday, July 11.

The Algerian Catholic Diocese has been vacant since April 2024 following the Papal transfer of Archbishop Nicolas Pierre Jean Lhernould to the Catholic Archdiocese of Tunis in Tunisia.

Born in June 1961 in Villeurbanne, France, Mons. Guillaud was ordained a Priest in July 1990 for France’s Catholic Archdiocese of Lyon.

As a Priest, the holder of a Licentiate in theology from the Faculty of Theology and Religious Sciences at Lyon Catholic University (UCLy) and a Licentiate in Islamology from the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in Rome served in various positions.

He served as lecturer in Islamology at the Catholic Faculty of Lyon; Chaplain at the Catholic University of Lyon; and Parish Priest in Batna, Constantine, and Skikda, among other Priestly duties.

The Bishop-elect also served as Vicar General of the Diocese of Constantine and Secretary General of the Regional Episcopal Conference of North Africa (CERNA).

Since 2024, he has been serving as Diocesan Administrator of the same Episcopal See.

Once Consecrated Bishop, Mons. Guillaud will become the 17th Bishop of Constantine Diocese that measures 110,522 square-kilometer, with a population of 670 Catholics, according to 2023 statistics.