Bishop of Viviers
Hervé Giraud was born in Tournon, in the Diocese of Viviers, on February 26, 1957. After completing his secondary education, he pursued university studies in Lyon and taught mathematics for two years. He subsequently entered the inter-diocesan seminary in Lyon, completing his theological training with a Licentiate in Moral Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome and admission to doctoral studies at the Institut Catholique de Paris. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Viviers on September 22, 1985. He exercised his priestly ministry initially as a parish vicar in his diocese, and later as a professor at the Institut Pastoral d’Etudes Religieuses (IPER) in Lyon and at the Abbey of Champagne. He served as a formator at the Lyon seminary and as its Rector from 1997 to 2003. From 1999 to 2003, he also held the positions of Secretary of the National Council of Major Seminaries and Secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Ordained Ministries. Appointed Titular Bishop of Silli and Auxiliary Bishop of Lyon in April 2003, he was ordained on May 25 of that year. On November 13, 2007, he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Soissons, becoming the Ordinary on February 22, 2008. He currently serves as President of the Council for Communications within the French Episcopal Conference.