The Conventual Franciscans, the order that the Cardinal Dominique Mathieu, the archbishop of Tehran, belongs to, confirmed to Rome Reports that the cardinal is safe after being evacuated from Iran to Rome.
At this moment, I can only confirm that our brother, Cardinal Mathieu, is well.
The departure from Iran of the Belgian cardinal, following the escalation of the conflict, was first reported by the Belgian Bishops’ Conference’s outlet Cathobel. The cardinal sent them the following message on March 9:
I arrived in Rome yesterday, not without regret and sorrow for our brothers and sisters in Iran, as part of the complete evacuation of the Italian Embassy, the seat of the Archdiocese. While waiting to return, pray for the conversion of hearts to inner peace.The cardinal was part of a group of about 50 people from the Italian Embassy to Iran that evacuated. The Italian foreign minister ordered the evacuation on February 28 after tensions escalated. They left the country through the border with Azerbaijan.
Italy and the Holy See maintain a very close relationship in their presence in Iran. The Cathedral of the Consolata, for example, is located inside the Italian embassy
This is because Catholics are very few in number in Iran, only about 3,500. In fact, Cardinal Mathieu is the only cardinal in the whole country. In addition, Italy provides diplomatic protection for the Church as it tries to operate in an Islamic country. Finally, there are also their historical ties.
Many of the Catholic missionaries in ancient Persia—Salesians, Franciscans, and more—were Italian, and the Vatican cooperated with Italy to maintain a pastoral presence in the country throughout history.
CA/CTR
