André-Joseph Léonard

Upon reaching the age of 75 on 6 May 2015, Léonard submitted his resignation as archbishop to the Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See to Belgium, as required by Church law. On the following 1 June, the archdiocese announced that Pope Francis had accepted it, to be effective with the naming of his successor. While the archdiocese described it as a routine response, some media speculated that this was an exceptionally quick action.

In April 2013, Léonard was doused with water from bottles shaped like the Virgin Mary by four topless FEMEN activists while participating in a debate with philosophy professor Guy Haarscher on the subject of blasphemy and freedom of speech at the Université libre de Bruxelles. The archbishop remained in silent prayer during the incident.

On 5 January 2011, Léonard was appointed among the first members of the newly created Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation.

As Bishop of Namur, Léonard focused in particular upon youth ministry and the promotion of vocations to the priesthood. His seminary complex, which also includes Redemptoris Mater Seminary run by the Neocatechumenate movement, is said to have the largest enrollment in Belgium (where in 2010, 35 of the 71 Belgian seminarians study). Italian Vatican writer Andrea Tornielli reports that Léonard is considered "the most traditional of the Belgian bishops".

On 18 January 2010, Léonard was appointed Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels by Pope Benedict XVI, replacing the retiring Cardinal Danneels.

In April 2010, the then-Bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, retired and admitted that for years he had abused a nephew. In June 2010, police raided both the palace of the archbishop and the home of retired Cardinal Godfried Danneels. The offices of an independent commission set up by the newly installed Léonard in early 2010 to look into cases of sexual abuse were also raided. At the time, Léonard said the move showed that the Church wanted to "resolutely turn a page on a very painful" topic. There was no suggestion Léonard was involved in a coverup (having been in the office for half a year), but he was criticized for saying that full prosecution of elderly abusive priests was unnecessary given their age and the effect public prosecutions would have on victims.

In April 2009, the Belgian courts ruled that Léonard's comments were not severe enough to be considered slander or discrimination.

On 9 July 2008, Bishop Léonard published an open letter on the website of the Diocese of Namur entitled The end of Belgium? (French: La fin de la Belgique?). He wrote that Belgium will not fall apart:

In 2007, Belgium was facing one of the longest and most intense political crises in its 178 years of existence. After the Belgian general election of 2007, Belgium entered a period of communitarian tensions and political instability, mostly caused by the different opinions about the need and the extent of a state reform.

In an April 2007 interview for the weekly Télé Moustique [fr], Léonard was asked about his position on homosexuality and described homosexual behaviour as "abnormal".

As a consequence, Léonard was charged with homophobia under Belgium's 2003 Anti-Discrimination Act, after gay activists have said he sought to "stigmatize" homosexuals. Due to the criticisms that followed his interview, Bishop Léonard quickly clarified that it is their behaviour that is abnormal, not their very person.

Léonard preached the 1999 Lenten retreat for Pope John Paul II and the Roman Curia.

Léonard was appointed Bishop of Namur by Pope John Paul II on 7 February 1991, for which he was consecrated on 14 April of that year by Cardinal Godfried Danneels. He has been described as a man whose theological vision is in line with Pope Benedict XVI's.

In 1974 Léonard obtained a doctorate in philosophy from the Catholic University of Louvain, with a thesis entitled "A literal commentary on the logic of Hegel". He taught in the philosophy department of Louvain until 1991. In the late 1980s he became a member of the International Theological Commission, the consultative organ of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Léonard continued his studies in Rome at the Belgian Pontifical College, where he graduated with a degree in theology. He was ordained a priest on 19 July 1964 by Charue. He stayed in Rome, and earned a Licentiate of Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

André-Joseph Léonard (born 6 May 1940) is a Belgian prelate who served as the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and Primate of Belgium after his installation on 27 February 2010. He had previously served as Bishop of Namur from 1991 until 2010 under the name André-Mutien Léonard. Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 1 June 2015.

Léonard was born André Léonard on 6 May 1940 in Jambes, Namur. His father died shortly after his birth during the first days of the German invasion of Belgium. He is one of four brothers who all became diocesan priests. After his studies at the Collège Notre-Dame de la Paix in Namur, he was sent by André-Marie Charue, the Bishop of Namur, to Pope Leo XIII Seminary in Leuven, where he earned a master's degree in Philosophy.