Cardinal Jozef De Kesel is a Belgian prelate and former Metropolitan Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels well known for his liberal views on social issues that closely ally with those of Pope Francis.

Born on June 17, 1947, in Ghent, East Flanders, he was ordained as a priest on August 26, 1972, for the diocese of Ghent. De Kesel’s academic achievements include obtaining a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, with a dissertation on Rudolf Bultmann’s theology.

Throughout his career, De Kesel has held several significant positions within the Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of Mechelen-Brussel from 2002 to 2010, during which time he also acted as vicar general for the Vicariate of Brussels. In 2010, he was appointed as the bishop of Brugge.

His most notable appointment came on November 6, 2015, when Pope Francis named him the Metropolitan Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and Military Ordinary for Belgium.

De Kesel’s influence extended beyond his archdiocese when he became the president of the Episcopal Conference of Belgium in January 2016. His prominence in the Church was further solidified when Pope Francis created and proclaimed him cardinal in the consistory of November 19, 2016, with the titular church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo.

As a scholar and religious leader, De Kesel has contributed to theological discourse through numerous articles and a book on the Church and various aspects of Christian life. He has also served as a lecturer at the seminary of Ghent, a training center for future religion teachers, and the progressive University of Leuven.

However, De Kesel’s tenure has not been without controversy. He has faced criticism for his handling of sexual abuse allegations within the Church. As a local bishop, he drew scrutiny for his management of five separate sexual abuse cases.

Like many of his fellow bishops from the Low Countries, he holds views inconsistent with the Church’s perennial Magisterium. In 2015, he told a television reporter that he respected homosexuals and the way they live their sexuality. In 2010, he voiced support for women’s ordination to the priesthood, saying it was “negotiable,” but subsequently backtracked. He also said that priestly celibacy should be optional as for some people it may not be “humanly possible.”

In October 2024 in a speech in Bologna, Cardinal De Kesel presented a vision of the Church that critics argued deviated from traditional Catholic teachings. In his talk, he said he viewed secularization as a positive development, arguing that it allows for a more authentic faith by removing social pressure to believe. He also criticized what he called an “integralist” vision of Catholicism, which he believed was outdated and incompatible with modern society.

Critics argued that his approach risked diluting the Church’s mission and compromising its core beliefs, and that if widely adopted, could negatively lead to a fundamental change in the Catholic Church’s role in society and its understanding of its own mission.

De Kesel has also attracted opposition from Catholics attached to the Vetus Ordo by surprisingly closing down the “Fraternity of the Holy Apostles,” a flourishing priestly association in the archdiocese supported by his predecessor, Archbishop André-Joseph Leonard.

Despite these challenges, sympathetic progressive media have described De Kesel as a man of extraordinary freedom, advocating dialogue between the Church and society. He has positioned himself as a key papal ally in Europe, aligning with Pope Francis’s vision for the Church.

On June 22, 2023, Pope Francis accepted De Kesel’s resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussel, marking the end of his tenure as archbishop.

Cardinal De Kesel is multilingual, proficient in French, Dutch, English, and Italian.