Belgian Cardinal Dominique Mathieu, Archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan, has been evacuated to Rome along with Italian embassy staff following the launch of US-Israeli military operations in Iran on February 28.
The cardinal, whose archdiocesan headquarters is housed within the Italian embassy compound in Tehran, arrived in the Italian capital on March 8. In a message shared on March 9 and relayed by Belgian Catholic outlet CathoBel, he expressed sorrow for the situation in Iran.
“I arrived in Rome yesterday, not without sorrow and pain for our brothers and sisters in Iran, as part of the complete evacuation of the Italian embassy, which also hosts the seat of the archdiocese,” Mathieu said.
He called for prayers and voiced hope of returning soon: “Pray for the conversion of hearts to inner peace.”
Communication blackouts in Iran had left his whereabouts uncertain for several days. Iran is home to around 20,000 Christians, including some 3,500 Catholics, of whom about 1,300 belong to the Latin Church directly under the Holy See. Christians have long faced restrictive conditions, with the Tehran community particularly affected by government measures in 2025.
Mathieu, the only Roman Catholic bishop in Iran, serves five parishes in Tehran without priests or deacons. The Cathedral of the Consolata lies inside the Italian embassy grounds, offering a measure of diplomatic protection. Appointed archbishop by Pope Francis in 2021 and created cardinal on December 7, 2024, he had maintained a “ministry of presence” and hoped his role would foster dialogue between the Holy See and Iranian authorities.
