Pope names bishops to prominent sees in Spain, Belgium

November 06, 2015

Pope Francis has named new archbishops to the prominent sees of Barcelona and Mechelen-Brussels. 

Bishop Juan José Omella Omella, 69, succeeds Cardinal Lluís Martínez Sistach, 78, as Archbishop of Barcelona, and Bishop Jozef De Kesel of Bruges, 68, succeeds Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard, 75.

Ordained a diocesan priest in Zaragoza in 1970, Bishop Omella has served as auxiliary bishop of Zaragoza (1996-99), bishop of Barbastro-Monzó (1999-2004), and bishop of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño (since 2004). The last four archbishops of Barcelona have been cardinals—though Pope Francis’s appointments to the College of Cardinals have called the custom of cardinalatial sees into question.

Bishop De Kesel was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Ghent in 1972 and has served as auxiliary bishop of Mechelen-Brussels (2002-10) and bishop of Bruges (since 2010). With the exception of Archbishop Léonard, every archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels since 1831 has been named a cardinal.

Bishop De Kesel served as an auxiliary under Cardinal Godfried Danneels, and was reportedly the cardinal's choice to succeed him when he retired in 2010. But Pope Benedict XVI chose Archbishop Léonard for the post, signaling a shift in direction for the Belgian hierarchy.

Archbishop Léonard’s tenure had been marred by controversy. In April—just before he submitted his resignation, as required by canon law, upon reaching his 75th birthday-- a Belgian court had ordered the archbishop to pay €10,000 in damages to a sex-abuse victim, ruling that the prelate was responsible for a failure to take action on prior abuse complaints.

The Catholic hierarchy in Belgium has been torn for several years by charges of covering up sexual abuse. Cardinal Danneels was also accused of protecting guilty clerics—including Bishop Roger Vangheluwe of Bruges, who resigned after admitting that he had molested his own nephew. In June 2010 police raided the cardinal’s home and the offices of the Belgian bishops’ conference, apparently seeking evidence of criminal negligence by the hierarchy in abuse cases. A Belgian court eventually ruled that the search had been illegal and any evidence discovered as a result of the raid could not be used in court.

Archbishop Léonard said in April that upon his retirement, if his successor permits, he plans to live with the Fraternity of the Holy Apostles, a community he founded in 2013. He also said that his greatest joy in his 23 years as a bishop in Namur and Mechelen-Brussels has been ordaining over 100 men to the priesthood.

 

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Further information:

• Rinunce e nomine (Holy See Press Office)
• Belgian primate plans to live with new religious community upon retirement (CWN, 4/23)