Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels
Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels Mechliniensis-Bruxellensis Mechelen-Brussel (Dutch) Malines-Bruxelles (French) | |
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Location | |
Country | Belgium |
Territory | Mechelen, the Brussels-Capital Region, Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant |
Ecclesiastical province | Mechelen-Brussel |
Coordinates | 51°1′48.4″N 4°28′43.6″E / 51.030111°N 4.478778°ECoordinates: 51°1′48.4″N 4°28′43.6″E / 51.030111°N 4.478778°E |
Statistics | |
Area | 3,700 km2 (1,400 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2013) 2,815,842 [1] 1,801,000 (64%) |
Parishes | 659 |
Information | |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Rite | Latin Rite |
Established | 12 May 1559 |
Cathedral | St. Rumbold (Mechelen) (Primatial cathedral) |
Co-cathedral | St. Michael and Gudula (Brussels) |
Patron saint | Saint Rumbold of Mechelen |
Secular priests | 1812 |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Metropolitan Archbishop | Jozef De Kesel |
Suffragans |
Antwerp Brugge Ghent Hasselt Namur Tournai Liège |
Auxiliary Bishops |
Jean Kockerols Jean-Luc Hudsyn Leon Lemmens |
Vicar General | Etienne Van Billoen [2] |
Emeritus Bishops |
Godfried Danneels Cardinal, Archbishop Emeritus (1979-2010) André-Joseph Léonard Archbishop Emeritus (2010-2015) Paul Lanneau Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus (1987-2009) Jan De Bie Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus (1982-2002) |
Map | |
Territorial extent of the Archidiocese of Mechelen-Brussels | |
Website | |
www | |
Source Annuario Pontificio 2007 |
The Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium. It is the Primatial See of Belgium and the centre of the Ecclesiastical Province governed by the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, which covers the whole of Belgium. It was formed in 1559 and the bishop has a seat in two cathedrals, St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen and the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels. The current Archbishop is Jozef De Kesel, who was installed in November 2015.
Overview
The Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels consists of the Province of Brabant in addition to eight municipalities in the Province of Antwerp, including Bonheiden, Duffel, Mechelen and Sint-Katelijne-Waver.[3]
In 1995, the Province of Brabant was later split into three areas:
- A Dutch-speaking province Flemish Brabant
- The bilingual Brussels Capital Region
- A French-speaking province Brabant Wallon
The Church did not form new dioceses to fit with this, instead three vicariates general were created, often with their own auxiliary bishop, to accommodate the three regional entities.[3]
Language issues
The name differs in the diocese's two languages; the Dutch name of the See is Mechelen-Brussel and in French, it is called Malines-Bruxelles.
In English, Mechelen was traditionally called Malines but now it more commonly remains being called Mechelen. Traditionally, in English, it was changed into Mechlin. Both Brussel and Bruxelles are Brussels.
Cathedrals
The duality of the Belgian archbishopric is also reflected in its two active co-cathedrals: St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen and St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral in Brussels.
History
The Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels was historically primate of the whole of the Low Countries following the 1559 reorganization creating fifteen dioceses. Over time, the two other ecclesiastical provinces broke from Mechelen-Brussels' primacy. Cambrai was already in France and its kings managed gradually to annex French Flanders, and Utrecht and its suffragans in the Dutch republic (later kingdom) would long have their hierarchy suspended because the northern state was a champion of 'anti-papist' Calvinism.
The Napoleonic 1801 concordat re-drew the whole map again.
The country, by tradition, has the Archbishop of Mechelen made a cardinal.
The Archdiocese of Mechelen was renamed the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels on 8 December 1961 as part of a restructuring of the Catholic dioceses in Belgium.[4] Two new dioceses were created. On the same day, the Diocese of Antwerp was created from areas previously administered by the Archdiocese of Mechelen. Six years later the Diocese of Hasselt was also created.[5] This meant that the new dioceses largely corresponding to the provinces of Belgium. Most of the Catholic Church's presence in the Province of Antwerp (except in the municipality of Mechelen) was made into the Diocese of Antwerp.
Archbishop André-Joseph Leonard succeeded Cardinal Danneels in January 2010. On 22 February 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed: Fr. Jean Kockerols, Fr. Jean-Luc Hudsyn, and Fr. Leon Lemmens as Auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels.[6] Upon reaching 75 years Leonard tendered his resignation, which was accepted. In the autumn of 2015 Pope Francis appointed the bishop of Bruges, Jozef De Kesel, as the new archbishop.
Archbishops
- Cardinal Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle (1561–1582)
- Joannes Hauchin (1583–1589)
- Mathias Hovius (1596–1620)
- Jacobus Boonen (1621–1655)
- Andreas Creusen (1657–1666)
- Joannes Wachtendonck (1667–1668)
- Alphonse de Berghes (1670–1689)
- Humbertus Guilielmus de Precipiano (1690–1711)
- Thomas Philip Wallrad d'Alsace-Boussut de Chimay (1715–1759)
- Joannes-Henricus von Franckenberg (1759–1801)
- Jean-Armand de Bessuéjouls Roquelaure (1802–1809)
- Dominique-Georges-Frédéric Dufour de Pradt (1809-1817)
- François Antoine Marie Constantin de Méan et de Beaurieux (1817–1831)
- Cardinal Engelbert Sterckx (1832–1867)
- Cardinal Victor-Auguste-Isidore Dechamps (1867–1883)
- Cardinal Pierre-Lambert Goosens (1884–1906)
- Cardinal Desiré-Félicien-François-Joseph Mercier (1906–1926)
- Cardinal Jozef-Ernest van Roey (1926–1961)
- Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens (1962–1980)
- Cardinal Godfried Danneels (19 December 1979 – 18 January 2010)
- André-Joseph Léonard (18 January 2010 – 6 November 2015)
- Cardinal Jozef De Kesel (6 November 2015 – )
References
- ↑ Municipal population figures, Federal Ministry of interior
- ↑ Organigramme de l'Archidiocèse (French)
- 1 2 "Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels". memim.com. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
- ↑ Cheney, David. "Mechelen-Brussel {Malines-Brussels} (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
- ↑ Cheney, David. "Hasselt (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
- ↑ Service, VIS,. "VIS news - Holy See Press Office: Tuesday, February 22, 2011". visnews-en.blogspot.ca. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
Bibliography
- "Dioceses in Belgium [Catholic-Hierarchy]". catholic-hierarchy.org. 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Mechlin". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links
- Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels Dutch-language site
- Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels French-language site