Meeting with Monsignor Étienne Guillet (Masters 1999), Bishop of Saint-Denis (93)

Étienne Guillet graduated from EDHEC in 1999 and has since followed a path out of the ordinary. After a promising start to his career, he chose to serve God. Ordained as a priest in 2006, he went on to exercise in several parishes of the Versailles diocese before being appointed Bishop of Saint-Denis last September.

He was present all weekend long at the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris; Monsignor Guillet tells us about his journey and with emotion recounts this historic event, combining spirituality and a duty of collective memory.

Tell me about your career …

After two years in post-secondary preparatory studies, I was admitted to EDHEC. I spent three wonderful years in Lille, a joyful period that left a mark on my life, and I have kept in touch with many of my classmates. I then completed my national service, which was still mandatory at the time. I chose the cooperation service and left for Bangkok, where I worked for two years at the French embassy and with a Catholic congregation known as the Missions Etrangères de Paris. It was a fascinating experience: learning the language, living in immersion and discovering such a different culture.

When I returned to France, I faced several different paths. I could have returned to Sodexo where I had done my final-year internship and a permanent position awaited me. I also considered a career in the penitentiary system, with the option of doing the exam to become a prison director. But there was something else, persistent thoughts, an intuition that had long inhabited me: life as a priest. I took the time out for this decision to take shape, in prayer and reflection, and in the end I applied to the Bishop of Versailles to enter the seminary.

How long had you been considering becoming a priest?

I think it's always been a part of me. It's an idea my mind kept returning to. Indeed, after sharing my decision with my family, by chance my parents spoke about it to my former primary school teacher from the age of 10, who reacted with great emotion. She recalled that even back then in class I had said that I wanted to become a priest. She remembered it distinctly, even though she herself wasn't at all a practising Catholic. I also have a clear memory of one evening, when I was still a student at EDHEC, walking the streets of Lille and asking myself: Are you serious about this idea? Is this really the right path? 

This process of reflection stayed with me for a long time, but eventually I found the answers I was looking for. 

You served as parish priest of Trappes for 9 years, what did you take away from that experience?

Trappes is a unique town, enriched by its diversity and the challenges it has faced. Serving as a priest in that parish allowed me to bear witness and build dialogue between the communities. In Trappes, Christians and non-Christians live side-by-side in a multicultural environment, and I often felt how fraternity and benevolence can overcome differences.

What I remember more than anything are the human relationships that left a lasting impression. I recall sincere friendships built up with people from other systems of faith, Muslims in particular, who taught me just as much as I taught them. In that town, faith is also expressed through otherness and mutual respect.

I will never forget the young people of Trappes, who often face formidable social adversity. Their energy, their thirst for meaning and their questions spoke to me and inspired me. That's another reason why I wanted to be a parish priest who is present and accessible, because those young people embody the future of our society.

Trappes taught me that a priest’s mission is not limited to the walls of the church, but extends to meeting and sharing with others, and constant efforts to build bridges in an often fragmented humanity.

How does one become a Bishop?

Honestly, it's a mystery because you don't apply, you don't run a campaign. And then, one day, you get a phone call without warning. Mine was on 17 September of this year. The Vatican's ambassador in Paris sent me an SMS asking to see me the following day at 5pm. I had no idea why. And when I arrived, he announced that the Pope had named me Bishop of Saint-Denis the previous day. That's how I learned of my appointment to the Diocese of Saint-Denis, which shares the same perimeter as the Seine-Saint-Denis department (93). 

You were present at the celebrations for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, tell us how you felt.

It was truly incredible. I was able to see everything up close, this absolutely magnificent cathedral, a gem handed down to us in the Middle Ages with its centuries of faith. I was happy to hear the President remind everyone that this place is more than just a religious symbol, but also the stage of many key moments in the history of France, from the Middle Ages until more recent events like the Liberation of Paris. It is a place that carries within it the history of Christians, but much more besides: it tells the story of our nation. And now, after restoration work that lasted just five years, the cathedral is resplendent, lustrous. 

What struck me most was the palpable emotion. Prayer seems almost natural in that place. You simply have to open your eyes to sense a great communion. The firefighters who saved Notre Dame were there, generously applauded, as were all the skilled workers and artists who toiled unrelentingly to restore it. Many of them had tears in their eyes!

And what a unique gathering! Presidents, heads of state, monarchs, governments, but also street dwellers and disabled persons, all gathered under the same vaulted roof. I was struck by this diverse and fragile humanity that had come to pray together. For me, this was not a high-society event, far from it. Over the course of those 48 hours, it was as though time was suspended.

I believe that the reopening of Notre Dame has touched many people in France and millions of others around the world because it reminds us all that man cannot be reduced to consumption or superficiality. In each of us there is a thirst for meaning, peace and beauty. And Notre Dame, in all of its splendour and history, satisfies that thirst. It transcends time and brings people together. It is a place that lifts up the soul.

What message do you have for the alumni of EDHEC?

I would like to share a simple message. When we leave EDHEC, we are often called upon to take up responsibilities, whether they be economic, political or in public administrations. But I profoundly believe that responsibility is above all a service. It is this that gladdens man's heart: to serve the common good.

As I see it, it is not your bank account balance which, at the end of your life, will make you truly happy. What fulfils us is the quality of relationships we have developed, our commitment to the well-being of all, and especially the most fragile among us. I believe that, from the outset of your career, it is essential to cultivate human relationships, for they carry much more value than any salary ever can. They constitute true wealth, and are the most lasting.

At the moment, I am preparing to become Bishop of a unique diocese, marked by history and contemporary challenges: the Diocese of Saint-Denis, where nearly all the kings of France lie in repose. This is a place that also has a certain fragility, but it is this fragility that carries huge potential. And ultimately, in the face of these challenges, we have two choices: walk away or rise to the challenge of hope and fraternity. 

Each of us has his own path to follow, his own adventure to pursue. But all of us have an opportunity to serve others, especially the most vulnerable. I think it is this that truly fills the hearts of men and women. And so I wish all the alumni of EDHEC a wonderful year of commitment and service!