Michel Guyard

Guyard studied to be a priest at the Saint-Sulpice Seminary in Issy-les-Moulineaux. He was ordained on 25 June 1965 in the Archdiocese of Paris.

Guyard began his life as a priest in several small Parisian parishes, such as the Church of St Odile [fr] and Saint-François-de-Sales Church [fr]. From 1970 to 1984, he was spiritual director of the Carmelite seminary at the Institut Catholique de Paris before being appointed to serve as a priest at the Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Grenelle [fr] before serving as archpriest at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-Paris. He was then vicar general of the Diocese of Paris from 1994 to 2003.

On 9 July 2003, Guyard was nominated to replace Monsignor Michel Saudreau [fr] as Bishop of Le Havre. He was consecrated on 12 October 2003 by Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger. Within the Bishops' Conference of France, he served on the Committee of Health and subsequently became a member of the Council for Family and Social Questions. He retired on 24 June 2011 due to old age.

Michel Guyard died in Vannes on 23 July 2021 at the age of 85.^[3] He will be buried on 2 August at Le Havre Cathedral.

In 2006, a telethon was held raising money for medical research using human embryos. Guyard publicly stated that, while he was in favor of medical research, he was opposed to its use of human embryos.^[4]

In 2008, Guyard and Monsignor Jean-Charles Descubes [fr] authored a document titled "Le dimanche au risque de la vie actuelle". The text pleaded for Sunday to not become a day just like any other and underlined the importance of the day to break the rhythm of the week, allowing a time for relaxation. Therefore, great opposition was expressed to the opening of shops on Sundays.^[5]