Mechelen-Brussel
From Freepedia
MECHELEN-BRUSSEL is the Dutch name of the only archbishopric in Belgium, and the ecclesiastical province that coincides whith the country.
In English, Mechelen is either maintained or changed into Mechlin, Brussel is Brussels; in the diocese's minoritary other official language, French, it is called Malines-Bruxelles.
The second term of the name, the national capital Brussels, is actually a fairly recent addition, as part of a restructuring of the Belgian province adapting to the socio-political reality : most of the secular province of Antwerp (except the 'arrondissement', i.e. district, of Mechelen itself) made into was one of several new dioceses, thus generaly corresponding to the administrative structure of the country. The later split of Brabant, the one containing Brussels and making up the bulk of the remaining archdiocese, into a Dutch-speaking Flemish province Vlaams-Brabant and a French-speaking province Brabant wallon was not followed by a enw break-up into dioceses, but had actually been anticipated upon by the creation of vicariates general, often with their own auxiliary bishop, to accomodate both rivalling cultural communities.
- Such a dual name is not unique, compare for example Eztergom-Budapest, but usually that is just retaining the mere name of the former seat after a de facto full move.
The duality of the Belgian archbishopric is also reflected in the rare fact that the archbishop has two active cathedrals : St. Rumbold cathedral in Mechelen AND St.Michael and Gudula Cathedral in Brussels.
- The see has the status of primas, making the archbishop the Primate of Belgium.
In fact, is historical titlet was primate of the whole of the Netherlands (i.e. the Low Countries, larger then the present Benelux) since the 1559 reorganization creating fifteen dioceses, but history saw the breaking away of both other provinces from its primatial territory : Cambrai was already in France and its kings managed gradualy to annex French Flanders, and Utrecht and its sufragans in the Dutch republic (later kingdom) would long have their hierarchy suspended beacuse the northern state was a champion of 'anti-papist' calvinism.
The napoleonic 1801 concordate re-drew the whole map again.
- Also, as the papal concordate with the kingdom of the Belgians (the Saxony-Coburg dynasty is traditionally devoutly catholic; other creeds are numerically insignificant except amongst some of the growing immigrant communities) stipulates, the country is entitled to at least one cardinal (not a crown cardinal: Rome designates all Belgian bishops freely, in practice from among the Belgian clergy), it has became a tradition for the incumbent to be raised fairly soon to the cardinal's red, even if there is still a predecessor alive and/or a Belgian cardinal abroad, say in the Roman curia.
