Luc Christian Joseph Marie Terlinden is a

Belgian Catholic Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

prelate who has served as Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Primate of Belgium and head of the

Military Ordinariate of Belgium The Military Ordinariate of Belgium (, ) is a Latin Church military ordinariate of the Catholic Church in Belgium. Immediately Exemption (Catholic canon law), exempt to the Holy See, it provides pastoral care to Catholics serving in the Belgian A ...

since September 2023. He is president of the

Episcopal Conference of Belgium The Belgian Bishops' Conference or the Episcopal Conference of Belgium (; ; ) is the permanent organ of the Roman Catholic bishops in Belgium. It is a member of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences. It includes the bishops, auxiliary bish ...

and the second-youngest Primate of Belgium.

Biography

Luc Terlinden was born in

Etterbeek Etterbeek (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the Cit ...

on 17 October 1968. He is the youngest of seven children born to Colonel Baron Maximilien Terlinden (1927-2016) and Geneviève van der Rest (1935-2002). He attended the Institut Saint-Stanislas in Brussels from 1980 to 1986. He began his university work in commercial and management engineering at the

Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and earned a degree in economics at the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its main camp ...

in 1991, having chosen the latter to perfect his

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

. Terlinden completed his military service in

Siegen Siegen () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg (region), Arnsberg region. The university town (n ...

, Germany, as a reserve officer in the 1st Guide Regiment. While in the military, he joined in a pilgrimage to

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

. After a brief stint as a teacher, he entered the diocesan seminary. He was ordained a deacon on 16 October 1998 and a priest on 18 September 1999, both by Cardinal

Godfried Danneels Godfried Maria Jules Danneels (4 June 1933 – 14 March 2019) was a Belgian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and the chairman of the Episcopal Conference of Belgium from 1979 to 2010. He was elevated to the car ...

for the Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels. He has described having a profound spiritual experience at

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for the youth organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Its concept has been influenced by the Light-Life Movement that has existed in Poland since the 1960s, where dur ...

in Rome in 2000. Terlinden then earned a licentiate in moral theology in 2001 at the

Alphonsian Academy 150px, Alphonsus Liguori, whose teachings inspired the establishment of the Academy. The Pontifical Alphonsian Academy (; ), also commonly known as the Alphonsianum, is a pontifical institution of higher education founded in 1949 by the Redempt ...

in Rome and a doctorate in moral theology in 2005. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the internalization of moral sources according to the writings of Charles Taylor and

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an ...

. In 2003, Terlinden was appointed vicar for the parish of Saint-François in

Louvain-la-Neuve Louvain-la-Neuve (; French for "New Leuven"; ) is a planned town in the municipality of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Wallonia, Belgium, situated 30 km southeast of Brussels, in the province of Walloon Brabant. The town was built to house th ...

and in 2010 parish priest of the Sainte-Croix pastoral unit in

Ixelles (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Pentagon (Brussels), Brusse ...

. He also founded ''Pôles Jeunes'' for young people in Brussels between 18 and 30 years old. From 2005 to 2014 he also had responsibility for the diocesan vocational service. In 2017, he became president of the seminary for the French-speaking dioceses of Belgium, member of the diocesan council for the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels and a canon of the chapter of Saint-Rombaux. He also became a professor at the major seminary of Namur. In September 2021, Terlinden was appointed

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

for the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels. He was a member of the Charles de Foucauld fraternity for priests and spiritual advisor of a ''Équipe Notre-Dame'', a spirituality movement for married couples. He was chaplain of the Saint-André scout unit ''de Coninck''. On 22 June 2023,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

named Terlinden to succeed Cardinal

Jozef De Kesel Jozef De Kesel (born 17 June 1947) is a Belgian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels from 2015 to 2023. He previously served there as auxiliary bishop from 2002 to 2010. He served as Bishop of Bruges from 2010 to 20 ...

as Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. Terlinden's name had been the one most often mentioned as De Kesel's successor. His appointment follows the tradition of alternating between a native speaker of French and of Dutch when filling this position, though most likely candidates in the modern era are bilingual. He was the first in a century to be named to the position without already being a bishop . On 28 June he was named head of the

. He chose as his episcopal motto "''Tous frères''", based on the title of Pope Francis's encyclical ''

Fratelli tutti ''Fratelli tutti'' (''All Brothers'') is the third encyclical of Pope Francis, subtitled "on fraternity and social friendship"; it was released in 2020. In the document, Francis states that the way the COVID-19 pandemic was managed by world co ...

''. In anticipation of his installation in September, he received the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...

, the symbol of his office as a metropolitan, from Pope Francis on 29 June. He is ''ex officio'' chancellor of his alma maters, Leuven and Louvain. He received his episcopal consecration on 3 September 2023 in the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold in

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

from De Kesel, his predecessor, with Bishops

Johan Bonny Johan Jozef Bonny (born 10 July 1955) is a Belgian Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Antwerp since 2009. Biography Johan Bonny was born in Moere (Gistel) on 10 July 1955, the oldest of five children born to Gustaaf Bonny and Mari ...

of Antwerp and François Touvet of Châlons (France) serving as co-consecrators. King Philippe and

Queen Mathilde Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz (; born 20 January 1973) is Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Philippe. She is the first native-born Belgian queen, and has four children. She formerly worked as a speech therapist. S ...

attended the ceremony. At the age of 54, he was the second youngest prelate to assume the title of Primate of Belgium, after

, who was 46. On 12 October 2023, he was elected president of the Conference of Belgian Bishops.

Personal life

Terlinden has been a lifelong enthusiast of the

scouting movement Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, includin ...

, beginning as a member in his youth. He enjoys cycling and mountaineering.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terlinden, Luc Living people 1968 births People from Etterbeek Université catholique de Louvain alumni KU Leuven alumni Alphonsian Academy alumni Roman Catholic archbishops of Mechelen-Brussels 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Belgium Bishops appointed by Pope Francis Belgian Roman Catholic archbishops

Biography

Personal life

See also

References

External links