Archbishop Luc Terlinden

Biography of Archbishop Luc Terlinden Archbishop Luc Terlinden was born in Etterbeek on October 17, 1968, the youngest of seven children. He attended secondary school at the Sint-Stanislasinstituut in Brussels (1980–1986) and pursued university studies at the Université Catholique de Louvain (undergraduate studies in commercial engineering) and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (licentiate degree in economics). He subsequently completed his military service as a reserve officer in Siegen, Germany, with the 1st Guides Regiment. After working in education for a few months, he began his priestly training in 1993 at the diocesan seminary of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels. Cardinal Godfried Danneels ordained him as a deacon on October 16, 1998, at the Church of Notre-Dame du Rosaire in Uccle, and as a priest on September 18, 1999, at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels. He then studied at the Accademia Alfonsiana in Rome, where he obtained a licentiate and a doctorate in moral theology (2001 and 2005). His doctoral thesis focused on the sources of morality, specifically the modern individual as described by philosopher Charles Taylor and the concept of conscience according to Cardinal John Henry Newman. Parish, youth, and vocations ministry In 2003, Luc Terlinden became a parish vicar at the Saint Francis parish in Louvain-la-Neuve. There, following an Italian model, he launched an oratory for young people—an after-school space for relaxing, eating, and praying together. From 2005 to 2014, he was also responsible for the archdiocese's French-language vocations ministry. In 2010, he was appointed parish priest of the Holy Cross pastoral unit in Ixelles, with the additional task of launching a hub for young people aged 18 to 30 in the capital. Seminary and Vicar General: In 2017, he also became president of the archdiocese's French-speaking major seminary, a member of the episcopal council, and a canon of the Chapter of Saint Rumbold in Mechelen. Additionally, he taught moral theology at the major seminary in Namur. On September 1, 2021, Cardinal Jozef De Kesel appointed him Vicar General of the archdiocese, moderator of the episcopal council, and head of the Vicariate for Education and Formation for the French-speaking part of the archdiocese. He retained his position as president of the diocesan seminary. On June 22, 2023, Pope Francis appointed Msgr. Terlinden as Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, and on June 28, 2023, as Bishop of the Military Ordinariate (the diocese serving the Belgian Armed Forces). He succeeded Cardinal Jozef De Kesel, who had been granted an honorable discharge. His episcopal ordination and the taking possession of the archiepiscopal see took place on Sunday, September 3, 2023, at Saint Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen. Cardinal De Kesel presided over the ceremony. During their meeting on Thursday, October 12, 2023, the bishops of Belgium elected Msgr. Luc Terlinden as President of the Belgian Bishops' Conference for a three-year term, renewable twice. The new archbishop is a member of the Charles de Foucauld Priestly Fraternities and a spiritual advisor to an *Équipe Notre-Dame* (a spirituality movement for married couples). He also served as chaplain to the scouts of the *Unité Saint-André – P.L. de Coninck*. Luc Terlinden has been an avid scout since childhood; he also enjoys cycling and mountain sports.