2023-09-03 08:55:49
Pope Francis has appointed Canon Luc Terlinden Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels where he succeeds Cardinal Jozef De Kesel, whose resignation has been accepted and who, until his successor takes office, is appointed administrator of the archdiocese, we learned Thursday during a press conference at the premises of the Interdiocesan Center in Brussels.
The episcopal ordination and taking possession of the archiepiscopal see will take place on Sunday, September 3 at 3:00 p.m. in Saint-Rombaut’s Cathedral in Mechelen. The celebration will be presided over by Cardinal De Kesel.
Luc Terlinden, born in Etterbeek on October 17, 1968, has held the position of Vicar-General of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels since September 1, 2021. This is, moreover, the first time in almost a century (since Cardinal Van Roey in 1926, ed.) that a priest who has not yet received episcopal consecration is appointed archbishop.
Bishop De Kesel repeated several times on Thursday his satisfaction to see Luc Terlinden “a deeply religious but open man” and endowed with “profound humanity” succeeding him. The cardinal also underlined that he has gotten to know his successor well over the past two years and that he has been “of great help and support”.
The native of Etterbeek confided for his part that he received a phone call last Sunday and knew “that the conversation would not be regarding the Red Devils”, he jokes and that following mass that day, he had decided to answer yes to the question of becoming an archbishop.
The new archbishop has chosen “Fratelli tutti” as the episcopal motto because he attaches great importance to fraternity. He was inspired for this by Pope Francis, who published an encyclical on the subject, but also by Saint Charles de Foucauld who “by the total gift of their life to God, manifested this universal fraternity by making themselves close to the most smaller and more abandoned, explains Luc Terlinden.
The man also intends to emphasize community and believers, and give more responsibility to women. He also intends to “an open Church with ambition and more attention for people”.
Luc Terlinden will go to Rome next week to receive from the hands of the pope, on June 29, the pallium, a sign of his office and of communion with the Church of Rome. The pallium is a small white wool scarf embroidered with black crosses and worn on the shoulders during liturgical celebrations. It symbolizes papal power and the fidelity of the ecclesiastical provinces to the Holy See. The crosses and pins also symbolize the five wounds of Christ on the cross. Only the Pope and metropolitan archbishops are authorized to wear it. The sovereign pontiff on all occasions, the archbishops only in their province.
Read also Luc Terlinden takes the helm of a Belgian Church on the defensive
Archbishop De Kesel had been Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels since 2015. Reached the age limit of 75, he presented his resignation to Pope Francis last year as required by the code of canon law.
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