Jozef De Kesel
His Eminence Jozef De Kesel | |
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Bishop of Bruges (2010–2015) | |
Alma mater | Catholic University of Leuven Pontifical Gregorian University |
Motto | Vobiscum Christianus (With you, I am a Christian) |
Coat of arms |
Ordination history of Jozef De Kesel | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Styles of Jozef De Kesel | |
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His Eminence | |
Spoken style | Your Eminence |
Informal style | Cardinal |
Jozef De Kesel (born 17 June 1947) is a
Early life
De Kesel was born on 17 June 1947 in Ghent, the sixth of eleven children.[1] He entered the seminary in 1965, studied philosophy and theology at the seminary of Saint-Paul in Ghent and received his degree in Philosophy and Letters at the Catholic University of Leuven. From 1968 until 1972 he studied theology in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University, he gained first his license and then in 1977 his doctorate.[2]
He was ordained a priest for the
Bishop
When Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, reached retirement age in 2008, the Nuncio to Belgium, Archbishop Karl-Josef Rauber, recommended De Kesel to succeed him, a candidacy supported by Danneels as well. Pope Benedict XVI ignored Rauber's recommendation and De Kesel remained an auxiliary. The affair was recalled in later years as Pope Francis took a different stance, making Rauber a cardinal, moving De Kesel to Mechelen-Brussels, and then making De Kesel a cardinal as well.[5][6]
On 25 June 2010, De Kesel was appointed bishop of Bruges after the early resignation of Roger Vangheluwe[4] and installed there on 10 July 2010.
In September 2010 De Kesel said: "I think the Church must ask itself the question of whether it is appropriate to keep the mandatory character of celibacy. We could say that there are celibate priests, but that people for whom celibacy is humanly impossible should also have the chance of becoming priests."[1][7]
Archbishop
On 6 November 2015
De Kesel was elected president of the Belgian Episcopal Conference on 26 January 2016[11] and served until he retired as archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels in 2023.[citation needed]
Pope Francis made De Kesel a cardinal in the consistory of 19 November 2016.[12]
On 23 December 2017 Pope Francis appointed De Kesel a member of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life.[13][14] He was named a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture on 11 November 2019.[15]
He has advocated allowing 10-year-olds to both receive their First Communion and be confirmed.[3]
He was treated for cancer in 2020-21.[16]
In 2022, together with other bishops of Flanders, he published a formula for the blessing of same-sex couples, underlining that it is not to be understood as recognizing a different form of marriage.[17]
Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 22 June 2023.[18]
References
- ^ a b c "Mgr. Jozef De Kesel, primat de Belgique et futur cardinal". La Libre (in French). 9 October 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Rinunce e Nomine, 20.03.2002" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ a b c De Kesel, Jozef (6 November 2015). "Allereerste interview nieuwe aartsbisschop Jozef De Kesel". Kerknet-redactie (Interview). Interviewed by Lieve Wouters. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ a b c "Rinunce e Nomine, 25.06.2010". Holy See Press Office. 25 June 2010. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
- ^ Gagliarducci, Andrea (1 September 2019). "Five keys to interpreting Pope Francis' sixth consistory". Catholic News Agency.
- ^ de Souza, Raymond (21 January 2016). "Is Francis really against Benedict?". Catholic Herald. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ Waterfield, Bruno (21 September 2010). "Belgian bishops question whether priests need be celibate". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ "Jozef De Kesel: 'Kerk moet een open gemeenschap worden'". De Standaard (in Flemish). 6 November 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ "Malines-Bruxelles: Mgr De Kesel prend possession de son siège" (in French). Vatican Radio. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ Lamb, Christopher (6 November 2015). "Moderate named new head of Catholic Church in Belgium". The Tablet. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ "La Conférence des Évêques". CathoBel (in French). Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ "Pope announces 17 new Cardinals in consistory". Vatican Radio. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ "Kardinaal De Kesel krijgt nieuwe functie in het Vaticaan". De Standaard (in Flemish). 24 December 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ "Resignations and Appointments, 23.12.2017" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ "Resignations and Appointments, 11.11.2019" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ De Kesel, Jozef (31 August 2021). "Belgian cardinal says the Church of the future will be more humble" (Interview). Interviewed by Christophe Henning. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ "Belgian bishops publish text for same-sex blessings". The Pillar. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
- ^ "Rinunce e nomine, 22.06.2023" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- Additional sources
- Henning, Christophe (26 May 2021). "Cardinal Jozef De Kesel, a man of extraordinary freedom". La Croix International.
External links
- "Mgr Jozef De Kesel, cardinal-archevêque de Malines-Bruxelles". CathoBel.
- "De Kesel Card. Jozef". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.