From 1996 to 2004 he served as Archbishop of Sens-Auxerre (the see lost its metropolitan functions in 2002) and simultaneously as Prelate to the Mission de France (Pontigny).
Its principle distinction is for being the home of Pontigny Abbey.
The Society of Saint Edmund is a religious congregation of the Catholic Church founded in 1843, in Pontigny, France by Rev. Jean Baptiste Muard.