A diocese, also known as a bishopric, is an administrative unit under the supervision of a bishop, of which there are currently 8 in the Belgian Catholic Church. The 8 dioceses are divided into 1 ecclesiastical province and 7 suffragan dioceses, but also one military ordinariate, which was created as military vicariate in 1957, and elevated to a military ordinariate in 1986.
Since December 1961, following the restructuring of the Catholic dioceses in Belgium, the Archdiocese of Mechelen was renamed the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels. This newly created archdiocese is the primatial see of Belgium and the center of the ecclesiastical province governed by the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, which covers the whole of Belgium.
There are also a few former Roman Catholic dioceses in Belgium, including the Dioceses of Eupen-Malmedy and Ypres, but also the ancient Diocese of Thérouanne. The latter was split between the Dioceses of Saint-Omer, Boulogne and Ypres after the Council of Trent's reform of sees.
In Belgium, most dioceses coincide with a province, but there are a few exceptions.
List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Belgium
Ecclesiastical Province of Mechelen-Brussels Diocese Coat of arms Territory Cathedral Bishop (consecration) Founded Province of Antwerp (except for 9 municipalities) Cathedral of Our Lady(1559-1801; since 1961) Johan Bonny (2009) 1961 (restored) Province of West Flanders St. Salvator's Cathedral(since 1834) Lodewijk Aerts (2016) 1834 (restored) Province of Limburg St. Quentin's Cathedral(since 1967) Patrick Hoogmartens (2004) 1967 Province of East Flanders St. Bavo's Cathedral(since 1559) vacant 1559 Province of Liège St. Paul's Cathedral(since 1794) Jean-Pierre Delville (2013) 4th century (Civitas Tungrorum) Mechelen, Brussels-Capital Region, Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant St. Rumbold (Mechelen) (Primatial cathedral)St. Michael and Gudula (Brussels) (Co-cathedral) Luc Terlinden (2023) 1559 Namur and Luxembourg St Aubin's Cathedral Fabien Lejeusne, AA (2025) 1559 Hainaut Cathedral of Our Lady Frédéric Rossignol, C.S.Sp. (2025) 1146
Exempt (directly subject to the Holy See) Diocese Flag Jurisdiction Seat Ordinary Founded Military OrdinariateMembers of Belgian Armed Forces and their familiesChurch of St. James on Coudenbergvested in the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels1957 See also List of Catholic churches in Belgium
External links Catholic-Hierarchy entry. GCatholic.org.
References