As unlikely as it seems, the pope still has the power to make men princes — at least in one case!
In naming Bishop Josep-Lluis Serrano Pentinat coadjutor of the Catalan diocese of Urgell on July 12, 2024, Pope Francis has at the same time designated the future co-Prince of Andorra, who will exercise the role of Head of State of the small Pyrenean country in tandem with the President of the French Republic.
The Spanish priest, currently a member of Vatican diplomacy, is expected to replace the current Bishop of Urgell, Archbishop Joan-Enric Vives i Sicilia, who has held the post for over 20 years.
Archbishop Vives was appointed by Pope John Paul II in 2001 and assumed the title of Co-Prince of Andorra in 2003. He has shared this position with French presidents Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy, François Hollande, and Emmanuel Macron. Andorra's two heads of state, while not Andorran citizens, are the guarantors of the small mountain principality's constitution and its highest representatives.
Archbishop Vives is due to celebrate his 75th birthday — the canonical retirement age — on July 24. Consequently, Pope Francis has decided to appoint a coadjutor bishop, who, by virtue of this title, will automatically take his place when Archbishop Vives retires.
The pontiff's choice fell on the profile of a young diplomat: Josep-Lluis Serrano Pentinat, 47, was a nunciature advisor in the General Affairs section in Rome, and has worked at nunciatures in Brazil, Nicaragua, and Mozambique.
A treaty going back eight centuries
The unusual political mission awaiting this Catalan, ordained in 2002, was established in a treaty dating back to the 13th century. To settle a territorial dispute between the County of Foix and the Diocese of Urgell, a treaty for governance of the Andorran territory was drawn up, leading to the current system of co-suzerainty — with presidents of France inheriting the title after the fall of the monarchy.
