Cardinal-elect Dominique Mathieu, Archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan and the highest-ranking Catholic authority in the Islamic Republic of Iran, spoke about the situation of Christians in the country, regional conflicts in the Middle East and his personal life.
The 61-year-old Franciscan will be among the 21 new cardinals who will receive their red caps this Saturday, December 7, in St. Peter’s Basilica. Pope Francis announced the consistory on Sunday, October 6, after the Angelus prayer.
Receive the main news from ACI Prensa by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channels today:
“I shook after the nomination,” Bishop Mathieu recalled to EWTN News. He said he was in a car in Rome when he heard the announcement on the radio. Initially, he did not fully understand the news, until the phone of the friar who was accompanying him began to ring with congratulatory messages.
“I reacted with trembling at that moment. I am diabetic and I started turning completely white. It took me some time to recover,” added the cardinal-elect.
“It was a surprise,” he reiterated. He added that he later realized there might have been “signs from the Holy Father during some visits I had with him.”
Faith in the midst of challenges
When asked about his life and why he spent several years as a conventual Franciscan friar in Lebanon, becoming a missionary to the Middle East when many were leaving, Bishop Mathieu recalled the time he first visited the “country of the cedars” for the ordination of a priest in 1993.
On that occasion he saw Beirut in its post-civil war state, but was deeply moved by the people’s devotion to their saints and the Virgin Mary, and their determination to rebuild despite everything.
There are nearly 2,000 Latin-rite Catholics in Iran among a population of nearly 89 million people, the vast majority of whom are Shiite Muslims. These Catholics “can meet in churches that are recognized by the State. Only they can enter these places of worship,” explained the future cardinal. “Generally, they can do so during services or at times that have been announced to the authorities in relation to the churches themselves.”
“Our doors exist and are open to these people, but they are closed to almost everyone else. We, as Latinos, also keep the doors open for our brothers and sisters of the Assyrian or Armenian Church: they can come, it is not a problem, because we are not an ethnic Church,” said Bishop Mathieu. “We hold a door, praying from within, hoping that one day maybe the door can open to others.”
living witness
“I am convinced, perhaps strengthened by the fact of being a Franciscan, of the importance of our witness, which is not verbal,” said the Archbishop of Tehran about the role of Christians in Iranian society. “You cannot proselytize, but it does not prevent us from living in society and giving witness,” he stated.
Unlike Türkiye, Christians in Iran can wear religious habits and pectoral crosses in public, Bishop Mathieu noted. The cardinal-elect stressed that he constantly reminds people of “the importance of our testimony, of prayer, of virtuous living, of working on our sanctification, because there we are also truly leaven for the country. “We can be that salt that gives life.”
The cardinal-elect also explained the openness towards Christianity of some Muslim study centers, such as the University of Qom. He noted that the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue maintains relations with Iranian state entities.
Signs of hope
Describing signs of hope among Iranian Catholics today, Bishop Mathieu said: “There is a great thirst for spirituality.” He explained that apart from him, the apostolic nuncio and the nuncio’s secretary, there are no Latin Catholic bishops or priests in the country. However, there are five Daughters of Charity sisters, two of whom have worked for many years in a leper colony in northern Iran.
Regarding the direct and indirect conflict between Iran and Israel over the past year and its influence on Iranian Christians, the cardinal-elect said: “I don’t think there is a direct influence on Christians and the population, because their concern is really about sanctions and embargo.”
Finally, on how to achieve peace in the Middle East as Christmas approaches, the cardinal-elect expressed his sadness that, with the exception of Vatican diplomacy, the diplomacy of peace and dialogue often seems to be missing and replaced by threats and reprisals.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.
Elias Turk
Elias Turk is the Vatican/Rome editor for ACI Mena.