Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussel, Malines-Bruxelles
Mechlinien(sis)-Bruxellen(sis)
Metropolitan see · Latin Church · Mechelen-Brussel, Malines-Bruxelles, Belgium
Metropolitan archdiocese and primatial see of Belgium, erected in 1559 as the Archdiocese of Mechelen and renamed Mechelen-Brussels in 1961. The archbishop has seats in two cathedrals, St. Rumbold's in Mechelen and St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, and also heads the Military Ordinariate of Belgium.
The see
- Rank
- Metropolitan see
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 12 May 1559
- Latin
- Mechlinien(sis)-Bruxellen(sis)
- Patron
- Saint Rumbold of Mechelen
- Annuario code
- 001002207
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 1,886,000
- Population
- 2,950,000
- Catholic share
- 63.9%
- Priests
- 1,812
- Catholics per priest
- 1,041
- Extent
- 3,700 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 510
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Archbishop
- Luc Terlinden
- Born
- 17 October 1968
- Birthplace
- Etterbeek
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
St. Rumbold's Cathedral, Mechelen stands in Mechelen-Brussel, Malines-Bruxelles, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
Its co-cathedral is Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, Brussels.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Mechelen-Brussels
This see is the metropolitan of its province.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of Antwerpen, AnversAntwerpen, Anvers
- Diocese of Brugge, BrugesBrugge, Bruges
- Diocese of GentGent
- Diocese of HasseltHasselt
- Diocese of LiègeLiège
- Diocese of Namur, NamenNamur, Namen
- Diocese of Tournai, DoornikTournai, Doornik
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
Belgium's primatial see is the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels (Latin: Archidioecesis Mechliniensis-Bruxellensis), a Latin Church archdiocese. The Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels also governs the local ecclesiastical province centered here, whose territory covers the middle of the country, corresponding to the now defunct Belgian Province of Brabant along with a few adjacent municipalities.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].