Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic church, is creating 21 new cardinals. The Vatican says that their number includes Belgian Dominique Mathieu. Mathieu is archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan, the only Roman Catholic diocese in Iran.
Vatican to appoint Belgian archbishop of Tehran as a cardinal: ‘Important to strengthen dialogue with Iran’
Colin Clapson
Published:
Dominique Mathieu (61) was born in Arlon, in Luxembourg province, but grew up in Damme (West Flanders) near Bruges. He belongs to the order of the Friars Minor Conventuals. These are followers of St Francis of Assisi, who founded the brotherhood within the Roman Catholic Church in the year 1209.
Mathieu worked in Lebanon from 2013 onwards. In 2021, he became archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan. That is the only Catholic diocese in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a predominantly Muslim nation. The diocese is said to have just over 60,000 Catholic faithful.
According to the Vatican, the fact that Mathieu is now a cardinal is ‘important to strengthen the dialogue with Iran, especially in the current context of war in the Middle East’. The Vatican has maintained diplomatic relations with Iran since 1954.
Belgian is 'fine, simple guy'
Last week, Dominique Mathieu was in Belgium for the Pope's visit. Geert De Kerpel, spokesman of the Belgian bishops, was able to speak with him briefly at that time. He describes Mathieu as ‘a fine, simple guy, with a wealth of pastoral experience in very diverse situations’.
Dominique Mathieu becomes only the second Belgian cardinal, alongside Archbishop Emeritus Jozef De Kesel.
The official creation of the new cardinals takes place on 8 December. It will bring the total number of cardinals to 256.
What does a cardinal do?
After the pope, a cardinal is one of the most important clerics in the Roman Catholic Church and can advise the church’s administration in Rome. It is the cardinals who elect a new pope. But only cardinals who are under 80 years old can help decide who will be the new pope, the new bishop of Rome.