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Head of the archdiocese of Teheran-Ispahan since 2021, Archbishop Dominique Mathieu is one of the most discreet prelates in the Catholic Church, given the complexity of the situation for Catholics in the Islamic Republic of Iran. By giving a cardinal to this country of more than 80 million Muslims and merely about 2,000 Latin Catholics, Pope Francis is sending a strong signal in line with his desire for a minority Church in dialogue.
In this interview, the Belgian Franciscan — who belongs to the Friars Minor Conventual — provides keys to understanding his cardinalate on both spiritual and diplomatic levels.
At 61, this astronomy enthusiast also retraces his pastoral itinerary, which has taken him to Lebanon among other places. Finally, he recounts the daily life of an archbishop who has to “manage everything” with a tiny team and a budget of $35,000 a year.
What is your spiritual reading of your cardinalate?
Archbishop Dominique Mathieu: Before becoming a religious, one of my confreres prayed for many years in front of the closed door of a church in Iran. A door, even if closed, is not a wall. As Archbishop of Teheran, I want to be the one who strives to ensure the existence of this door. Because tomorrow, or in 20 years’ time, it may open.
In my case, I see the cardinalate as an opportunity to go through that door, but above all to go out! Let me explain: as Archbishop of Teheran, I continue my mission in my local Church. But as a cardinal, I can look upwards towards the scale of the universal Church.
As the Pope has written to the cardinals, we are advisors who, from our local realities, bring experience and a culture to the universal Church. That’s why the Pope sees small ecclesial realities like Iran’s as a richness for the whole.
Was this also a way for the Pope to honor Iran?
Archbishop Mathieu: I do believe that the Pope is sending a signal to the country. In fact, he said so publicly at the audience on November 20, when I was with the ayatollahs. “The Church is not against the government. No: those are lies!” he insisted, assuring us that Catholics were there to make their contribution for the good of Iranian society.
I also think that this “cardinalate of outreach” offers the opportunity for another point of contact with the authorities. To give an example, in recent months the Vatican has deployed two levels of diplomacy with the war in Ukraine. The Secretariat of State and the nunciatures are playing their classic role, while the Pope has sent Cardinal Mario Zuppi to play a different part. In this way, he’s able to reach levels that are undoubtedly more in touch with the concrete humanitarian reality.
The announcement of your cardinalate came at a time of escalating violence in the Middle East. Did Pope Francis want to send a further sign of his attention?
Archbishop Mathieu: He may have. When we look at the Holy Land today, it’s like looking at Christ crucified. We have to see this suffering, find it unacceptable. But we can’t leave it at that. We need the hope of the Resurrection. We have to believe that in this terrible crisis there is also a story of salvation at work.
What is your relationship with Pope Francis?
Archbishop Mathieu: The first time I met him, he called me “poverino,” meaning “poor little one” [one of the nicknames of St. Francis of Assisi, Editor’s note], three times. This was after my appointment as Archbishop of Teheran. I was able to talk to him about Iran. He’s well aware of the issues. I also think he remains fascinated by Asia and its particular worlds. In our dealings, he’s very warm, free, and open. I see him as a father figure, my father being 86 and he 87. But he’s also like a brother.
How did a Belgian Franciscan become Archbishop of Teheran?
Archbishop Mathieu: Since the beginning of my vocation, I’ve been fascinated by missionary life. My family tells me that my vocation goes back to the age of 5 or 6. As a child, I lived with my maternal grandfather, who was also my godfather. One day, I inherited the bedroom of “Uncle Octave,” who had been a Capuchin bishop in the Congo. There were devotional books, including one on the Oblates in Canada, another on the Jesuits in China, and a third on Assisi and St. Francis, my favorite.
By a combination of circumstances, I ended up meeting the Conventual Franciscans. I did my novitiate in Germany, came to study in Rome, and then returned to Belgium. I then realized that I wouldn’t be able to go as a missionary because I had to take care of our elderly confreres — there hadn’t been an ordination for 30 years before mine!
So, in Brussels, I used my confessional to be a missionary. Then, after closing some convents in Belgium, renewing the one in Brussels, and burying a large number of my brothers, I was sent to Lebanon.
Those were your first steps in the East …
Archbishop Mathieu: Yes. There were dynamic young people there, fascinated by spirituality. But they also lacked guidance. I left Belgium in 2013 in the difficult context of the sexual abuse revelations. When I arrived in Lebanon, I was made chaplain to 350 scouts. I was terrified at the thought of being with all those young people. But that country freed me from my fears.
My heart became so attached to it that the question of opening a new convent arose. In the process, the Nunciature mentioned starting in Iran. But Providence decided otherwise, as the General Chapter of my order called me to ask me to become assistant for Central Europe.
When I left Lebanon, I had the feeling that I was leaving as the Three Wise Men had left their land 2,000 years earlier. I hoped one day to be able to return to it. When I was appointed Archbishop of Teheran, I remembered that the Magi had not returned by the same route, and that I was finally going to visit their native Persia. As an astronomy enthusiast, I like to think of it this way.
What’s an ordinary day like for the archbishop of Teheran?
Archbishop Mathieu: Let’s start with the night! Given my age, I get up once and take the opportunity to recite the office readings before going back to sleep. In the morning, I watch the news and go to the chapel. When Mass is in the morning, at 7:30 a.m., there may be a few nuns present. In the Latin Church of Teheran, there are three Iranian Daughters of Charity. And in Ispahan, an Italian and an Austrian, who for many years cared for and accompanied lepers.
After a light breakfast, I work at my desk until 2 pm. I have to manage everything with my three assistants — two at the bishop’s office and one for the parishes! Our diocese has human resources to train and is financially limited, with a budget of around $35,000 per year. That’s the equivalent of an average annual salary in France.
And the cost of living, following years of embargo and sanctions, is weighing more and more heavily on the population. And don’t think that when I become a cardinal I’ll be drawing a salary from the Vatican! Divine Providence has never failed me, and my motto is and remains: “My God, I trust in you.”
What other activities are part of your ministry?
Archbishop Mathieu: I take care of material things, like cleaning the building and refurbishing the libraries. In Iran, apart from the sacraments of the Eucharist and reconciliation, others are rare. Other kinds of requests come from students, non-Christian Iranian authors who have worked on translations of the Bible, and so on.
I also have a project to train catechists and group leaders. After conferring a period of training, I instituted the parish secretary into the ministries of acolyte and lector. That’s how I applied synodality! It’s a necessity for our Latin Church, which has no priests apart from the nuncio and his secretary.
After lunch, which I cook, I head off to one of Tehran’s three parishes to ensure a presence. I meet the faithful in the parishes, not at their homes. My evenings are devoted to reading, and sometimes to learning Persian.
Do you use this language?
Archbishop Mathieu: We can’t use it for liturgy. So I use English, which is the common language among Latins, and sometimes French. In everyday conversations, I also speak English. With the Iranian administration, my secretariat communicates in Persian. I would have liked to speak the language more quickly, but my arrival in 2021 required a lot of energy and physical work. As my predecessor had left before I arrived in the country, I had almost no one to pass on information and put things in order.
Do you travel within the country?
Archbishop Mathieu: I can get around Greater Tehran. To go to Ispahan, in the center of the country, where there are two nuns, or to Tabriz, in the northwest, where we have a church, I have to announce my arrival to the authorities. The person hosting me also has to do the same.
Do you ever feel lonely?
Archbishop Mathieu: I’m quite alone, but I don’t feel isolated because the spiritual presence of my brothers is real. Brotherhood is something I’ve discovered along the way. I try to create this community spirit here. Often, when I work with immigrants, I note that they try to defend their Korean or Filipino identity, in order to reproduce their church here. But what we need to do is work together to form a new ecclesial reality.
Are Masses celebrated every day?
Archbishop Mathieu: Yes. In Iran, the days of rest are Thursday afternoon and Friday. In our Latin Church, festive celebrations take place mainly on Fridays, when people can come. All celebrations are announced to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
Could Pope Francis travel to Iran?
Iran is a country where reciprocity is important. Pope Francis visited Iraq in 2021, something that had never been done before. He met Ayatollah Al-Sistani. I don’t think we can rule out the Holy Father making such a trip to Iran.
Look at this: Pope Francis isn’t going to Paris for the reopening of Notre-Dame, but to Ajaccio to visit my dear confrère François Bustillo. Now that’s Pope Francis! I imagine he’d like to visit Iran in the same way he visited Mongolia, to meet a Christian minority.
And today we celebrate...