| Jurisdiction: | Archdiocese |
| Mechelen–Brussels | |
| Latin: | Archidioecesis Mechliniensis–Bruxellensis |
| Local: | Aartsbisdom Mechelen-Brussel Archidiocèse de Malines-Bruxelles |
| Country: | Belgium |
| Territory: | Mechelen, the Brussels-Capital Region, Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant |
| Province: | Mechelen-Brussels |
| Coordinates: | 51.0301°N 4.4788°W |
| Area Km2: | 3,700 |
| Population: | 2,950,000 [1] |
| Population As Of: | 2019 |
| Catholics: | 1,886,000 |
| Catholics Percent: | 63.9 |
| Parishes: | 593 |
| Denomination: | Catholic Church |
| Rite: | Roman Rite |
| Sui Iuris Church: | Latin Church |
| Established: | 12 May 1559 |
| Cathedral: | St. Rumbold (Mechelen) (Primatial cathedral) |
| Cocathedral: | St. Michael and Gudula (Brussels) |
| Patron: | Saint Rumbold of Mechelen |
| Priests: | 1812 |
| Bishop: | Luc Terlinden |
| Bishop Title: | Archbishop |
| Suffragans: | Antwerp Bruges Ghent Hasselt Namur Tournai Liège |
| Auxiliary Bishops: | Jean Kockerols Jean-Luc Hudsyn Koenraad Vanhoutte |
| Vicar General: | Etienne Van Billoen |
| Emeritus Bishops: | André-Joseph Léonard Jan De Bie Jozef De Kesel |
| Map: | AartsbisdomMechelenBrussel.png |
| Map Alt: | Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels |
| Footnotes: | Source Annuario Pontificio 2007 |
| Coat: | Blason de l'Archidiocèse de Malines-Bruxelles (Belgique) avec ornements extérieurs.svg |
The Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels (Latin: Archidioecesis Mechliniensis–Bruxellensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the 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 Luc Terlinden, who was installed in September 2023.
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.[2]
In 1995, the Province of Brabant was later split into three areas:
The Church did not form new dioceses to fit with this; instead, three vicariates general were created, with their own auxiliary bishop, to accommodate the three regional entities.
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 Mechlin or Malines but now it more commonly remains being called Mechelen. Both Brussel and Bruxelles are called Brussels.
See main article: Co-cathedral. 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 St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels.
Former chapters in the archdiocese.
In the territory of the diocese important abbeys can be found:
The Archbishop of Mechelen–Brussels was historically primate of the whole of the Low Countries following the 1559 reorganisation 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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] 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, who was created Cardinal in 2016. De Kesel was succeeded on 3 September 2023 by Luc Terlinden.[6]
| Year Adopted: | 1961, when the name of the archdiocese was changed.[7] [8] |
| Escutcheon: | Quarterly 1st and 4th, Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory-counter-flory of the second (Scotland), 2nd and 3rd quarterly, Gules St-Michael Or, slaying the demon Sable (the City of Brussels).[9] |
| Previous Versions: | From 1559 to 1961: Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory-counter-flory of the second (Scotland) |