On August 15, 2023, Friar Gerard Timoner, Master of the Order and Grand Chancellor of the École Biblique, appointed Friar Olivier Poquillon, op, Director of the Ecole Biblique de Jérusalem.
On October 1, he will succeed Friar Jean-Jacques Pérennès, whose term of office has come to an end.
Fr. Olivier Poquillon arrives from Mosul where, since 2019, he has been overseeing the restoration of the Dominican convent of Notre-Dame de l’Heure, severely damaged by Daech, as part of UNESCO’s flagship program, “Reviving the Spirit of Mosul”.
Aged 56, fr. Olivier is a jurist specializing in international public law and an auditor at the IHEDN. An expert for the Holy See at the Council of Europe, he served from 2008 to 2013 as Permanent Delegate of the Dominican Order to the United Nations. After serving as prior of the Strasbourg convent and chaplain to ENA, he was appointed Secretary General of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union in 2016.
He is also involved in various pastoral ministries, notably with the diocese of Les Armées, the Scouts et Guides de France, Caritas and the diocese of Strasbourg.
The École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem is delighted to welcome a director who is committed to teamwork, has extensive international experience, and is familiar with the Middle East and project management in complex environments.