Romanian Cardinal Mureşan dies at 94; led Eastern Catholic church for decades
September 26, 2025
Cardinal Lucian Mureşan, the most prominent prelate in the Eastern-rite Romanian Catholic Church from 1994 until his death, passed away on September 25 at the age of 94.
The Romanian Catholic Church (CNEWA profile) suffered intense persecution under Romania’s Communist regime (1947-1989). Mureşan studied secretly for the priesthood while working in construction and was ordained in 1964.
Following the Romanian revolution, Mureşan was ordained a bishop in 1990 and appointed archbishop of Făgăraş and Alba Iulia, the church’s most prominent see, in 1994.
In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI raised the Eastern Catholic church to the dignity of a major archepiscopal church. Pope Benedict created Major Archbishop Mureşan a cardinal in 2012.
The Romanian Catholic Church has an estimated 764,000 members. There are seven Romanian Catholic eparchies: six in Romania and one in the United States. Romania also has five Latin-rite dioceses.
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